Slavery and death

What a title to follow.

One of my favorite movies of all time is 300. This particular scene is one of the most breath-taking and inspiring moments of the film. King Leonidas knows that his next actions will leave him and his country two options: submission/slavery or death. He chooses death (after seeking his Queens approval which I will get into later as he did not have to do this).

So why death? Freedom. Simple as that. We Americans should know this inside and out. We are a free country after all. Sadly, not a lot of us truly know what freedom means. Freedom is more than capitalism (the cardiovascular system of our economy), more than speech, more than religion, more than assembly, more than every other aspect of the constitution. It's all of these things combined at once and it even goes beyond that. It is respect and responsibility. It is also blood, war, and death.

Now, I will never (probably) know the extent of what freedom is because I will never (probably) be as intimate with blood, war, and death as our courageous soldiers, airmen and marines are every day of their lives. I do know that this aspect of freedom will never be completely avoided.

We are a unique country in that we have had freedoms without constant internal war for a very, very, very long time.

We are not unique in that we are forgetting how we got here.

The world IS a safer place

Today marks seven years since the fall of Baghdad. Thank you George W. Bush.

Interesting collection of headlines from the day can be found here.

Jubilant Iraqis greeted US troops with cheers, victory signs, and flowers. Weeping Iraqi elders kissed grinning US soldiers. A few Iraqi men, apparently caught up in the moment, rushed into the street clad only in underwear to greet passing US troops.

There is much that the MSM wants us to forget. Don't.

Abandoning your responsibilities means abandoning your freedom

Another exceptional video by Bill Whittle.

Find a Tax Day Tea Party near you and take a few friends.

Now is the time to act.

Danny Dietz

I need to re-read Marcus Luttrell's book Lone Survivor. It is an awesome depiction of how our Navy Seals fight abroad for our freedoms here in the United States.

Danny Dietz was one of his fellow Frogman who showed incredible bravery and gave the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow Seals and for our country. He was also raised here in Colorado and has a memorial in Littleton.

Dietz will soon have a highway named after him.

Read the book and thank God that there are men like him!

Denver Freedom Rally

Good job to my fellow Coloradans in rallying for freedom of health care!

This will probably be categorized as fear tactics and mob mentality not to mention indoctrination of the young (did you see the cute baby!). But seriously, we are exceptionally fortunate and blessed to be able to rally and speak our minds in this wonderful country of ours. Thank the lord that you don't live in Iran!

Now, go report me to the White House.

Independence Day Tea Party

We attended the Tea Party in Castle Rock. It was wonderfully planned and well attended.

Many thoughtful signs on display:

Tea Party or bust

We wanted to attend the last Tea Party on tax day but unfortunately Rooster started coughing the day before so we decided to skip it. We get another chance in July for Independence Day. What a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July!

Visit the site asap if you don't quite know what the Tea Party is about. Please look up where an event in your state is being held (chances are numerous places) and attend one on July 4. Bring your kids, a picnic lunch, create a neat sign and make a day of it.

We are better

A fantastic piece by Stephen Green today.

Already, the government runs our children’s education and our parents’ retirement. Now we’re allowing it to usurp our banks and nationalize what remains of our auto industries. Within weeks, Washington promises a plan to dictate our health care. To do all this, we’ve let Washington run up enough red ink to impoverish our grandchildren. As if all that weren’t enough, the president still found the time to kick our friends in London and Tel Aviv while courting a genocidal, election-stealing maniac in Tehran. He even gave a speech in Cairo — that oppressed, impoverished Old World megalopolis — in which he assured the world that America really is no better than anywhere else.

bold emphasis is mine

We live in a time were it is uncouth to proclaim one idea/thing/action/outcome/etc. is better than another. Baloney. Not everything is gray, there is black and white. America is better than every other country.

A short non-comprehensive list of why America is superior:

freedom
U.S. Constitution (or what is left of it)
military
history
access to education (or what is left of it)
healthcare
families
states
religion
guns
corporations
small businesses
responsibility (ditto)
self-reliance
innovation
economy (ditto)
individual ownership

Please add to my very, very short list in the comments.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

Flag Day

Our flag on display with pride!