Happy Fourth of July 

From Hangtide

How to maintain and display our American flag  

Yes, Can Anyone Explain to Me
 

What America is

About?

Well some of us can
in

Can you feel

what America

is for you?

Can freedom ring?
Can spirits show?
Can one stand strong?
When  all seems wrong?

Well some of us can see it

and feel it
and show it

Each year we celebrate the birth of our nation .

Each year families come together , times are shared 

Picnics are held and warmth from the   scorching sun 

brings about coolers and watermelons .

All the good things of summer come about

The playing of sports what ever it is to be,

the gathering among  friends are the delight of the day

We share those moments, In my moments that mark a day

To memories that will hold  in a life time

One of the memories we share is how this nation came to be 

Each July night ,on the 4th ,we fire  fireworks

At dusk .We enjoy all the good things the laughter an fun.

Throughout this wonderful country of ours ,

every town ,every city, every  public place

has a fireworks display that is observed by their communities

One of my fondest memories of  the night  is watching those  brilliant colors flash before me.

With the listening of the Star Spangle Banner

I stand in tears, as a Veteran, gazing at those shells going off

Then does memories come to me that I'm proud to be a American

I remember the countless lives who fought for our freedom.

The endless lives who perished to make this nation what it is strong.

Then does a small tear, a croak and lump in the throat come within me, with a slight tear.

Then I know I'm born and raised in American,  the greatest nation of all,

With pride for what this Nation stands for I stand to the glory

Sure this Nation has faults, Sure it has scandals,

Sure it doesn't take care of its own,

all these things take a bit of time to resolve. One thing  we have is freedom and we preserve it.

One strike of a drum,  one stroke of a keyboard ,one time with interest, one fine letter, one word to another, ones freedom to assembly,

and changes can be made .With hope and care, this nation stands for democracy

One dream ,one hope, One pursuit  for  happiness  .

With all the freedom that is within lawful means can we pursue to bring changes, using our right to vote.

Some came here to this nation when persecuted, others came here for a better life.

We all have are reasons for being here.

What other nation can you pursue your dreams and

enjoy freedoms. Work for our goals pursue our dreams.

Yes, the answer is Only in America can we stand strong and independent.

I will leave you my friends  to the holiday but for me I'm a American  with pride

Think twice before you slam this nation .

Then bring changes by organizing and passing those bills that bring about more freedom.

Be a part of the cause love your children make moments for them is what its about.

Then you will know Democracy, let your vote count at elections,

Know what these people count for, and who you voted for.

Most of all.......

Happy 4th  everyone

and  remember this nation its strength depends on you . For what it stands for

One nation indivisible , diverse, with honor, respect  what was given to you.

Hanger    (Ray)

Little known facts to share

The Declaration Of Independence

                                              h                                            l
Declaration of Independence By Thomas Jefferson

In Congress July 4, 1776

• 

     The History ht

  Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between
  June 11 and June 28, 1776, the
  Declaration of Independence is at
  once the nation's most cherished
  symbol of liberty and Jefferson's
  most enduring monument. Here, in
  exalted and unforgettable phrases,
  Jefferson expressed the convictions
  in the minds and hearts of the
  American people. The political
  philosophy of the Declaration was
  not new; its ideals of individual
  liberty had already been expressed

  
  by John Locke and the Continental
  philosophers. What Jefferson did
  was to summarize this philosophy in
  "self-evident t o     
  a list of grievances against the King
  in order to justify before the world
  the breaking of ties between the
  colonies and the mother country. We
  invite you to read a transcription of
  the complete text of the Declaration.
  The unanimous Declaration of the
  thirteen united States of America,
  

  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

  •  

J

Star Spangle Banner

The History

The Star-spangled banner, the National Anthem of the United States of America is a poem inspired by the Battle of Baltimore, fought on September 12-14, 1814 during the War of 1812. During the British campaign against Washington, D.C., an elderly and respected physician, Dr. William Beanes was arrested for unfriendly acts toward the British soldiers which resulted in his arrest. Francis Scott Key, a prominent lawyer and friend of Dr. Beanes was sent by President James Madison to obtain his release. Following negotiations, the British agreed to release Beanes. However, since the British were going to attack Baltimore, Maryland next, they would allow no one to go ashore. The British landed soldiers on September 12 and engaged in a brisk land battle, however, they were not able to capture Baltimore. As part of a two pronged attack, the British now sent their naval fleet to attack and destroy the port city. The main defense of Baltimore harbor was Fort Mc. Henry. For 25 hours the British fleet fired rockets and bombs at the fort. The fort's defenders bravely withstood the bombardment and did not surrender. The British realized they could not take Baltimore without paying for it with heavy casualties. Since they were not willing to pay this price, they departed from Baltimore. During the bombardment, Key was down river and while watching was inspired to write a poem that tells the story of the battle. When he reached Baltimore he finished the poem. Key wrote the poem to match the meter to be sung to an old English tune To Anacreon in Heaven. The song slowly grew in popularity and was well known and used by both sides during the Civil war. In later years it was very popular with the military and it was used as an "unofficial" national anthem. During World War I, the song became so widely accepted that a drive resulted in the Congress making it the National Anthem in 1931. The National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, displays in its main lobby the Star-Spangled Banner which is 30 feet wide and 42 long. Each star is two feet from point to point and each stripe is two feet wide. Because of its deteriorated condition, most Americans have long assumed that this flag flew during the battle. However, historians using both British and American sources have found that during the battle there was a late summer storm which would have prevented the 1260 square foot woolen flag from being flown. A 17 by 25 storm flag would have been the size of the actual flag flying during the battle. The large flag, however, was raised the following morning as the British were departing from Baltimore. This would have been the flag Key would have seen when entered Baltimore. The manuscript that Key wrote was not on the back of an envelope, they had not yet been invented. The original manuscript is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Fort Mc. Henry still stands and it is part of the National Park Service. The fort is the only site to have both a national monument and historic shrine designation.

The Defense of Fort Mc. Henry
by Francis Scott Key
20 September 1814

Words to the National Anthem of The United States of America

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Just

A little Humor

Only in America...

1. Only in America...can a pizza get to your house
faster than an ambulance.

2. Only in America...are there handicap parking places
in front of a skating rink...

3. Only in America...do drugstores make the sick walk
all the way to the back of the store to get their
prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes
at the front.

4. Only in America...do people order double cheese
burgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

     5. Only in America...do banks leave safe doors open and
then chain the pens to the counters.

  6. Only in America...do we leave cars worth thousands
of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in
the garage.

   7. Only in America...do we use answering machines to
screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't
miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in
the first place.

    8. Only in America...do we buy hot dogs in packages of
ten and buns in packages of eight.

  9. Only in America...do we use the word "politics" to
describe the process so well: "Poli" in Latin meaning
"many" and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures."

10. Only in America...do they have drive-up ATM
machines with Braille lettering..

    11. Only in America...can a homeless combat veteran
   live in a cardboard box and a draft dodger live in the
White House.

               12. Only in America can a president declare a war under false
pretence and still hold a office. and say there was
weapons of mass destruction there.
Every Nation has weapon s of mass destruction

               13 .Only in America ....can one be productive and get laid -off
          and his coworker who's a worthless bum stays working. They call this productive.

14.Only in America... do we have handicap spaces
 in every store and mall and there's always some one looking to park closer
 and decides to use the space. Usually ignored if it's a Mercedes, Lexus ,
or Cadillac by local law enforcement.

Always My Favorite

America: The Good Neighbor.

Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto
by Gordon Sinclair*, a Canadian television commentator.
What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as
printed in the Congressional Record: (*He also sang a song
several years ago about America)

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and,
to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the
debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of
dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these
countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining
debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward
was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I
was there. I saw it.

When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States
that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American
communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions
of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in
those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering
Americans.

I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating
over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane.
Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the
Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas 10?
If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines
except Russia fly American Planes?

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a
man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German
technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about
American technocracy, and you find men on the moon -
not once, but several times and safely home again.

You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs
right in the store window for everybody to look at . Even
their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They
are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are
breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from
ma and pa at home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were
breaking down through age, it was the Americans who
rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New
York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old
caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me
even one time when someone else raced to the Americans
in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during
the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbors have faced it
alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing
them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing
with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to
thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their
present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."

Stand proud, Americans

~Author Gordon Sinclair

Something to think about

The Original Price of American 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 Mc. Keam 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. 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, 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."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books
never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We
didn't just fight 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...We shouldn't.

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

To all my friend I hope you a safe and Happy Fourth

Drive safe and use caution with fireworks