News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Firecrackers, which were invented when ancient Chinese discovered naturally exploding bamboo, were not used in the earliest Fourth of July celebration
.“The norm before then was ‘illuminations’—where people placed candles in their windows—as well as bonfires, bells, musket fire, and loud parades,” according to fireworks savant Warren Dotz.
And of course, using explosives to send blacksmith anvils into the air.
And you thought those Roadrunner cartoons were not based on fact.
My country tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing
Of thee I mourn.
On this upcoming Independence Day, many of us will mourn the country we loved from childhood, that our ancestors lived and died for.
They lived for freedom. They died for freedom.
They lived so that they could practice their faith without impediment. They lived their faith so that their liberty would not be lost because the citizenry couldn’t handle the responsibility of keeping it. Freedom was born in America to house our yearning to worship in peace, and let the other guy worship in peace as well.
Now our freedom is gone. It is gone.
Hundreds of thousands of men and women died to preserve it and yet its gone without so much as a signature ceremony.
We cannot, we shall not, be able to reconstitute it from mere speeches and party politics. In our revolution from the English Crown, the colonials threw off the tyranny of a King who saw his people only as servants to his will. How are the people of these United States seen any differently today than they were in 1769? We are subjects to self-appointed royalty. Interesting that the wonderful song quoted at the beginning of this writing, stole its tune from “God Save the King”.
Our religions, our faith, our culture and standards are mocked, threatened and regulated by the entitled. Our property is up for grabs as is our very health and existence. Our borders for all intents and purposes do not exist. Yet we take continuous abuse from our “betters” and take it again and again.
The question becomes not whether or not there will be a revolution, but what kind of revolution will it be, the stealth quiet “coup” version that we see now, a slow dedication to freedom’s destruction, or must we take back our beautiful liberated land old school? What ever way we may choose if we wish to restore our republic, it will be messy. It will dictate that we are willing to lose everything in order to preserve the existence of liberty.
How many folks do you know who are so willing?
Pat Carfagno’s works can be found at FreedomeRadioRocks.Com
Five people were shot in Chester, Pa. early yesterday, July 1. It appears none of them are going to die hence the death toll for murders in the city with a population of 29,972 will remain at 16 or 53 per 100,000.
Chester now beats Detroit — no longer a top 10 city ranking a mere 18th with a population of 681,000 — which had a murder rate last year of 48 per 100,000.
Philly, last year, had 246 murders for a rate of 16 per 100,000.
For those who are convinced that banning guns is the way to safety, it should be noted that murders dropped 18 percent in Chicago, after the federal courts ruled that the State of Illinois infamous law prohibiting concealed carry of firearms was unconstitutional. One could say that is just coincidence but a similar thing happened in Philadelphia when Harrisburg forced the city to accept concealed carry in 1995 when Philly had 432 murders and in Washington D.C. after the Supreme Court overturned that city’s strict gun laws.
It should be noted that having access to guns is not a guarantee of safety though as Chester residents obviously now have the right to them.
The problem in Chester is a sick and twisted culture. The solution is stop glorifying thugs and start glorifying scholars. It’s to stop finding excuses for single moms and baby daddies and to start honoring fathers and mothers who insist on having fathers in the home.
But Democrats do like their easy and judgement-free answers even if imposing them actually makes things worse.
On this barricade in the Ukraine last January is Father Ighor Fedoryshyn.
The Independence Hall Foundation (IHF) will present its 2014 Defender of Liberty Award to the Ukrainian people–citing their determination to fight for Independence and freedom as their nation comes under siege from an increasingly hostile Russian government led by Vladimir Putin.
The award will be formally presented to Natalie Shyrba, a
representative of Razom for Ukraine, tomorrow, July 4, at the Independence Visitors Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people as they struggle against all odds to maintain their independence, just as our founding fathers and mothers did in 1776,” said Foundation organizer, Teri Adams.
“We support the efforts of the Ukrainian people to defend their national integrity and we encourage the United States government and NATO to supply Ukrainian Freedom Fighters with the weapons and other critical supplies they need to defend their nation’s independence.”
Last September, the Foundation named the four victims of the 2012 Benghazi Embassy attack–US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods–as recipients of its 2013 Defender of Liberty Award.
HB 1353, the government pension reform being pushed by Gov. Tom Corbett, was re-reported as committed from the Pennsylvania House Human Services Committee, yesterday, July 2.
The bill had been sent to the committee the day before on a 107-96 floor vote in a hope to kill it. All Democrats voted aye joined by 15 Republican backstabbers.
The move was orchestrated by Republican Gene DiGirolamo who represents the 18th District in Bucks County and chairs the Human Services Committee.
Shamefully joining him in the scheme were Delaware County Republicans Steve Barrar of the 160th District and Nicholas Miccarelli III of the 162nd District.
HB 1353 would allow current state employees to keep their sweet defined-benefit pension plans but place new workers in a 401 (k) type defined contribution plan.
Pennsylvania’s pension systems are $50 billion in debt. If the Republican-controlled legislature can’t get this small but necessary step taken towards fixing Pennsylvania’s financial problem any small sliver of hope Corbett has towards re-election vanishes as does fixing Pennsylvania’s financial problem.
Commonwealth Foundation has published these five facts concerning 2014 Pa Budget.
By Bob Dick
On June 30, the General Assembly passed a $29.1 billion budget, sending it to Gov. Corbett for his approval. While Gov. Corbett is taking time to review it, here are five facts you should know.
1. Limited spending growth: The General Assembly’s budget represents a spending increase of 2 percent over the prior year’s budget. This is consistent with Taxpayer Protection Act, which calls for limiting increases in state government spending to inflation and population growth.
If fact, the budgets over the past four years have limited spending, with an average growth of less than 1 percent. In contrast, spending increased at double the rate of inflation over the previous 8 years, and has increased by an average of 6.2 percent per year since 1970.
2. No new taxes: Lawmakers did not include any new taxes in this year’s budget, despite pressure from outside groups pushing to increase the tax burden on working Pennsylvanians.
Not only did lawmakers resist calls for a unfair severance tax, which would have hurt farmers like Shawn Georgetti, but they also moved forward with the phase out of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax after years of delaying its elimination.
3. State spending exceeds state revenues: For the seventh consecutive year, state spending will exceed state revenue collections. This is possible due to one-time transfers from other funds and one-time revenue collections.
While the state revenue sheet appears balanced, lawmakers will still have to make tough decisions to deal with our long-term fiscal challenges, which threaten the state’s fiscal health and economic growth.
4. Overall spending, including education spending, is at an all-time high: Despite the myth being touted by government union executuves, Gov. Corbett and Republican lawmakers did not cut $1 billion from public schools.
In fact, state spending on education will be at the highest level ever this fiscal year. Of course, more education spending does not automatically translate into better student outcomes, absent reform.
5. Missed opportunites: The legislature will not pass meaningful pension reform and liquor privatization before the General Assembly breaks for summer recess. Moreover, they delayed action on paycheck protection for the time being.
But those issues aren’t going away just because lawmakers have recessed for a few months. The importance of addressing the state pension crisis, delivering the alcohol convenience most Pennsylvanians want, and ending the use of taxpayer resources to fund partisan politics will be just as great when lawmakers return in September.
July 1936 is once again the hottest month on record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Two years ago it declared July 2012 to have supplanted it.
The change was discovered Sunday, June 28, during a check of NOAA data by climate blogger Anthony Watts.
“The past, present, and future all seems to be ‘adjustable’ in NOAA’s world,” Watts said.
The NOAA had July 2012 at 77.6 degrees Fahrenheit and July 1936 at 77.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The new figures show July 1936 to be 76.8 F and July 2012 to be 76.77 F.
The change was made about a week after climate blogger Steven Goddard revealed that the NOAA was discounting contemporaneous records and using computer estimates.
A law making switchblade knives legal took effect in Tennessee, yesterday, July 1.
When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet.
Seriously, beyond playing pretend that one is in West Side Story, there are many times one would find it handy to have knife that can be opened automatically with one hand.
Switchblades, it should be noted, were originally marketed in this country to farmers, hunters and even women who were told to keep one in the sewing kit.
There is nothing inherently evil about a switchblade knife. All states should repeal the stupid garbage passed during the 1950s juvenile delinquent scare.
Smart phones can browse the web and carry thousands of songs but what has always been missing is the ability to take a thermal image of your roof.
Well, wait no more. Popular Mechanics reports that a new attachment by FLIR Systems can do just that.
The FLIR ONE cost just $350 and attaches to an iPhone or Android, according to PM.
Why would anyone need to thermal image something? PM points out that they can not only find poorly insulated parts of a home but hidden wasp nests, tire leaks, and take body temperature at a distance.
Also they are great for bird watching, PM says.
Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick who deserves kudos for getting the Auqa Quest crew freed.
An Aqua Quest crew that had been jailed for two months in Honduras is coming home and a Pennsylvania congressman is instrumental in getting them released.
Aqua Quest is a salvage company based in Tarpon Springs, Fla. Their vessel was in Honduras to remove mahogany logs when police boarded it and found an AK-47, two handguns and two shotguns.
The crew’s captain, Robert Mayne, had encountered bandits on previous trips and felt the weapons were needed for protection.
The crew was arrested on the grounds they did not have a permit to carry weapons and one of the ones they carried was prohibited.
One of the crew members was Devon Butler, whose mother Rosemary Carroll lives in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional district which is represented by Republican Mike Fitzpatrick.
Mrs. Carroll contacted Fitzpatrick and he and his staff went to work.
The work paid off last week. Fitzpatrick spent June 22 through June 24 in that country where he met with Honduran administrative and judicial officials and visited the men in jail.
“I . . . witnessed the deplorable conditions in which they were wrongfully held for nearly two months,” Fitzpatrick said. “The strength and courage of these men in the face of uncertainty and danger in a far-away place is an inspiration to me.”
After the meetings the men were freed.
Thank you Congressman.
Hat tip Teri Adams of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association