Tuesday, February 19, 2013

President's Day -- A Tribute to Ronald Reagan


President’s Day - A Reagan Tribute 

Jeffrey Denning

In honor of President’s Day, highlighting the words of the late President Ronald Reagan seems appropriate.  He would have turned 102 years old this last week on Feb 6, 2013. 

During President Reagan’s first inaugural address, on January 20, 1981, he said, “Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people.”  And then he boldly added, “It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.” Reagan’s words ring from the grave and have great applicability today. 

Not too long ago I was able to pick up a book of many of the great orator’s speeches. Here are a few profound and eloquent words from this well-spoken Commander and Chief: 

“The Founding Fathers—that little band of men so advanced beyond their time that the world has never seen their like since—evolved a government based on the idea that you and I have the God-given right and ability within ourselves to determine our own destiny.  Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction—we didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

One of the things that will certainly sap our liberty and enslave us is our national debt.  Again, Ronald Reagan’s words: “Here is the main battleground! We must reduce the government’s supply of money and deny it the right to borrow.... If your Congressman should say we must cut costs first and then reduce taxes—don’t stand for it. Remind him that no government in history has ever voluntarily reduced itself in size. Governments will always find a need for the money they get.”

A recent news headline reported that Virginia may be printing it’s own money in the near future. Why? because of the looming financial problems that are rapidly becoming the quagmire of the nation—a hole of our own digging in which we have sinked into, and which abyss we may not be able to recover from unless we act with greater urgency right now. Now is the time to raise a hue and a cry. 

Reagan had a way with words.  His battle cry was for liberty and freedom.  Whether people liked him or not, these words, as our Founding Father’s outlined, are ‘self evident’. Consider the words spoken during Reagan’s first inaugural address:

“From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden."

And, finally, when Ronald Reagan became the governor of California, in his inaugural address there, in January 5, 1967, he gave these profound words:

“Perhaps you and I have lived with this miracle too long to be properly appreciative.  Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction.  It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.  Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again…

“Government is the people’s business, and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid. With all the profound wording of the Constitution, probably the most meaningful words are the first three, ‘We, the People.’  Those of us here today who have been elected to constitutional office of legislative position are in that three word phrase.  We are of the people, chosen by them to see that no permanent structure of government ever encroaches on freedom or assumes a power beyond that freely granted by the people.  We stand between the taxpayer and the taxspender.

“It is inconceivable to me that anyone could accept this delegated authority without asking God’s help.  I pray that we who legislate and administer will be granted wisdom and strength beyond our own limited power; that with divine guidance we can avoid easy expedients as we work to build a state where liberty under law and justice can triumph, where compassion can govern and and wherein the people can participate and prosper because of their government and not in spite of it.”

May the spirit of liberty and freedom be alive in each of us, and may the wisdom of the past generations of president’s be alive in our hearts and minds forevermore.  May God bless each of us, and may God bless America, the land of the free because of the brave.

My Flag -- The United States Flag



I awoke this morning, after dreaming, with a renewed vigor to protect the America I know and love—to do all in my power to preserve the greatest symbol freedom in the world today, Old Glory.  I felt, as I nearly leaped from my bed, to contact my elected officials and with all the vigor I have to muster, encourage them to preserve, sustain and/or create any and all such laws that make dropping the flag, burning, trampling, spitting upon, or disrespecting, defiling, or defacing the national flag, in any way, illegal.  

We must treat the Stars and Stripes as the physical representation of all America holds dear.  The fabric of three colors—red, white and blue—beautifully sewn in a pattern rich in national historic meaning, is the symbol of a free people and a free nation.  That incredible flag which was still standing during the War of 1812, while Francis Scott Key was held a helpless prisoner on a British vessel during the attack at Fort McHenry, is the flag I hold most dear.  That same flag, given 37 more stars, is the flag of my home.  

We must treat the United States flag as the symbol of peace and power she truly is.  Americans must look to that beautiful, incredible and majestic piece of art as the sacred emblem of “the Republic for which it stands.”  

I have seen the flag—my flag—flown high over the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and U.S. embassies and consulates in foreign lands.  I have seen the fabric and material honored, presented and saluted by men and women in military uniform.  I have witnessed men literally weep while looking to her and the free nation she represents.  I have wept myself and have received chills over my entire frame while saluting and listening to our national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.  I have silently watched as our flag has been draped over the coffins of American countrymen who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of all she stands for—foremost being freedom, liberty and equality. 

May the blood of our forefathers, who created and erected the blessings we now enjoy because of their actions, and because of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, be revered, respected and honored forever.  May the faithful and courageous military men who hoisted the flag of our nation from Fort McHenry to Iwo Jima and beyond, be remembered for sacrificing for our great nation, represented foremost by our greatest symbol of freedom, the American flag.  May the war dead who die today and tomorrow be allowed an honorable burial without protesters who, in essence, are certainly disrespecting my flag, my nation, and my brothers and sisters in arms.  

I pray that our flag—my flag and your flag—will be the banner of freedom it truly represents, the beacon of hope for all mankind, the light and glory of “one nation under God.”  May this blessed symbol—held high at ball parks, waved at parades, worn on every military uniform, and flown at half-mast during national catastrophes and loss of life—become, and forever stay, the symbol of hope for a better way, the sacred evidence of self-government, the meaning of all things Americans cherish most, the incarnate Constitution of these United States of America.  

May each of us gain anew the appreciation for Old Glory.  May we each rally together, around and behind and beside this blessed symbol of freedom.  May we all look high to see this extraordinary piece of fabric forever waving in the breeze and cherish all she stands for.  May national patriotism shown to our flag be honored, respected, and sustained and enforced by law.  

Finally, may all those who value freedom and all those who have stood with arms to defend her rich blood-red stripes, her deep-blue sky and pure-white stars and stripes, forever thank God for all she stands for.  May this people -- the American people -- remember what Abraham Lincoln once so eloquently encouraged in his Gettysburg Address every time we look upon the folded or unfurled flag.  Let us “be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Dr. Benjamin Carson's outstanding speech in front of Pres. Obama

Dr. Benjamin Carson's amazing speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Service is Sublime

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).

Why Not to Have 'Universal Healthcare'

Indian-American Dinesh D'Souza gives the very best explanation I've ever heard regarding the falsehood and skewed ideology behind helping our neighbors by government mandate. Every American should watch this.