She's a Grand Old Flag

We salute Old Glory. Long may she wave over America's shores, a beacon of Liberty and Freedom to all of us. Listen, and she will tell you a story of the struggles and bloodshed that have kept this country free. She will tell you about the men and women that gave all in defense of the light of freedom found in her stars and stripes. She will tell you of sacrifice, deprivation and loneliness as soldiers, far from home, missed their families in only the way a soldier can. She truly is a Grand Old Flag and we are honored to find her in many places around our homestead. Like Frank said in a recent comment, "Did I tell you I love my flag? It flies everyday, 365, 24/7. Rain or shine. It's just like our soldiers, it's there everyday. Rain or shine." We thought we would share her with you so that she might inspire you as well.

Do you have a flag flying? What are you waiting for? Don't wait until it is too late.

Until next time - Fern

Independence Day

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.

Independence - freedom from outside control or support; the state of being independent; the time when a country or region gains political freedom from outside control

Independent - not governed by a foreign power; self-governing; free from the influence, guidance or control of another or others; self-reliant

Frank & Fern

Trouble Is Brewing - A Re-Post

 Hello Everyone, Frank here.

A little shy of a year ago, Fern wrote an interesting piece called Trouble Is Brewing. And it is. The pot just keeps on boiling, things continue to get worse everyday. Our government is unquestionably out of control. Most of us just sit around and watch it happen like we don't have a care in the world. We all need to pay attention, because the better informed we are, the better the outcome will be. If you wouldn't mind, take the time to re-read this article that Fern posted. Then if you have comments, please share them. I hope you enjoy this article. It's mind provoking and stimulates thought.

We'll talk more later, Frank

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Folks, we're all in a lot of trouble. Things are changing so quickly in our country that it's literally impossible to keep up with everything. But there are a few things that are becoming very, very obvious. So much so, that it appears there is a planned or intentional means of upsetting the populace and putting everyone on edge, or worse yet, forcing us into a corner.

We Americans speak much of our rights. What are rights, really? Do we have a right to liberty? We believe we do, based upon the founding of our country. But that seems to be one of the things that is changing very quickly. Remember, you can now only have free speech if you can find one of those 'free speech zones'. If there is not one near you, you may have to travel a ways before you can express yourself, or you may have to apply for a permit to set one up closer to your location. That will decrease the need to burn more evil fossil fuels and decrease your portion of the carbon footprint, which is increasing global warming. Okay, so some of that was a little sarcastic, but you get the drift.

Back to our rights. According to the foundations upon which our great country was founded, The Declaration of Independence states "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." You notice the title of that document includes the word INDEPENDENCE not DEPENDENCE. This is one of the things that appears to be fading quickly into a distant memory. There are people that couldn't care less. There are those that embrace a full-fledged take over by a tyrannical government. There are those that only want their checks to keep coming so they can continue to talk on their free cell phone, eat chemicalized food and stare endlessly at their giant screen television and video games. Some people don't care that others rights are being stolen like a thief in the night. They can't even pull themselves away from staring in a zombie-like trance long enough to notice. There are even places that have made texting and walking illegal because it is such a problem. Rights come from God. I don't remember reading anything in the Bible that says people have the right to a cell phone. People have the right to the pursuit of happiness. Pursuit is an action, it requires work on the part of the person that is doing the pursuing. They do not have the right to take away my happiness to support their happiness. We have lost the true meaning of what rights are meant to be.

Another unfortunate side effect of staring at these screens all day is buying into the mantra that anyone who disagrees with some of these government tactics is a domestic terrorist or mentally unsound in some way. We have actually heard a high school counselor say that everyone that has ever been in the military has mental problems. Every single one of them. And this person is a counselor for high school students. Unbelievable, but true. 

It appears there will come a day when these two sides will have to choose. For the mindless millions now demanding their free cell phones and giant screen televisions, it will be an easy choice. They will do whatever it takes to never work a day in their lives for all of this 'free' stuff. They will do whatever it takes to continue enslaving the 'workers' so that they can NEVER WORK A DAY IN THEIR LIVES. So even if the SHTF, they won't know how to work anyway. Besides that, the working class folks OWE them the money anyway. It's one of their rights.....right? We've all heard of the experiments of how you can get good, decent people to do utter atrocities by threatening them or their families with harm. It will be no different this time.

It's amazing how it has now become okay for most, and unfortunately I now include most, politicians to lie, cheat and steal from the American people. If they have a microphone in front of their faces, they're lying. If they make a promise to The People, they will break it. It doesn't mean anymore than the hot air escaping from their lungs. Most of the political arena appears to be so deep into the pockets of major corporations or power hungry elitists, that it doesn't matter one single iota what The People need, want or demand. Not one bit. The People have become an expendable commodity, useful only to the extent that it pleases the Masters. If birds, fish and bugs can bring thriving industries to a screeching halt, regardless of the devastating impact upon the lives and welfare of The People, then what will they stoop to next?

I really think it is a matter of control. Gramsci had it right. If you try to force control upon a population in a conflict, they will revolt. But if you gradually take control of a little bit here and a little bit there, they will acquiesce. Like the frog in the pot, slowly waiting for things to cool off while it cooks to it's death. That's where we are. In the midst of cooking to death. The rights and liberties of We The People are being carved away one brush stroke of the pen at a time. Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1839) was right, 'The pen is mightier than the sword'. And it's writing us into a corner of slavery with a life devoid of freedom.

The recent treatment of the men and women of our armed forces is enough to bring us to tears. Then after that initial reaction, it angers and frustrates us to no end. Our once proud military is facing more downsizing; denied the opportunity to back up fellow Americans under fire; have been exposed for duties performed under orders when that exposure brought danger to their lives; mandated sensitivity training instead of spending their time training for battle and the protection of our country and assets abroad; and most unbelievably, the men and women that have signed an oath to protect us are now considered possible terrorists because of the training they have received. For the life of me I cannot comprehend the motivation behind gutting and demoralizing our military.

How many executive orders have been signed and implemented in the past, let's say, year and a half, since January 1, 2013? According to The White House, thirty (30). And since January 1, 2012? Sixty-nine (69). Now some of these may actually be in the

best interest of all of the country, but many of them are not. This president is not the only one that has employed executive privilege to further his agenda, many in the past have done so as well. It is just during this presidency the use of such privilege has increased dramatically, circumventing the democratic process of approval by the congress. This has been just one cog in the wheel that has increased the divisiveness in our country, and thus the willingness of people to get along all across the country. We have not been so divided in many years. The sense of working together for the common good no longer appears to be within the grasp of the common man. This sense of antagonism toward those that disagree with your agenda has increased the level of stress and discontent across all cultures, economic backgrounds and locations, and it grows more and more everyday.

Where is all of this leading to? I don't know. But I do know that it doesn't look good. The tentacles of control have slowly but surely wormed their way into the lives and minds of us all. It's now okay to be groped if you want to travel by air or go to a major sporting event, just to name two

venues in which TSA plies their wares. The national department of education continues to mandate the type of permissive education that teaches our children that anything is okay. Things that I will not specify here, are being taught to the youth of today that people would have been put in jail for when I was a kid. If you try to disagree or state a differing opinion you are labeled some kind of 'phobe' and a hate monger. We read a news story a few days ago about a 42 year old female teacher that gave a student a 4 minute lap dance for a birthday present, in the classroom, with other students video taping. It is beyond me how any adult, especially one in a supervisory capacity, would think this was an appropriate activity. Totally beyond me.

So, what do we do? How do we manage? Frank and I have talked many times about the things transpiring in our country, and what we keep coming back to is this. We need to be informed about what is happening, and with this knowledge we hope to make wise, informed decisions. Most events in this life we have no control over at all. They may bother us, or give us the courage and determination to live the best life we possibly can. But most

importantly, we can control how we react and deal with these events. We can evaluate information as it comes in, analyze the data, and determine the best choice of action for us, for our lives. That is what we are going to do. The best we can. It is all we can do. If we allow ourselves to get totally bent out of shape, we are no good for ourselves, each other, or anyone else. Some days this is a difficult feat to master, but our efforts continue to be focused in this direction. There is a scripture that says something like, after all we can do, God will help us with the rest. That is our prayer. Do all you can to maintain your honor, dignity and freedom. And remember, God is with you.

Until next time - Fern

The Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
 

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
 

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
 

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
 

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
 

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
 

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
 

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
 

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
 

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the 

Forms of our Governments:
 

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
 

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
 

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
 

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.