Eric N. Ramirez - Blog and Opinion

At the Heart of it All

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 14:03:00 +0000

Even though Obamacare was the catalyst, this speech embodies the basics of why we conservatives fight to uphold basic Constitutional principles and the responsibilities/limitations held within.

Equality before the law?

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 15:01:00 +0000

When does a law begin to stink?

When our Democratic friends passed and signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, it was lauded as the change and compassion that every American needed to survive and be guaranteed the "right" to health coverage. Fast forward to today and that "right" has become way more expensive to procure. There's nothing affordable about it.

Because of this supposed "affordable" care, our king unilaterally decided to start exempting special interests; his core group of donors. Shortly afterwards came exemptions for businesses and Congress. Mr. President, why exempt people from your perfect “utopian” law? It's contents are still not easily understood all these years later.

When we fought for independence, one of the ideas that we fought for was the ability to live under the rule of law and not be favored by judgments of men. Under the law, we are all treated equal. However, when exceptions become the norm and societal classes are created because of those exceptions, laws become arbitrary and contempt is held toward the law.

When an elite mentality is allowed to grow throughout our representatives in Washington, a new ruling elite is formed. A ruling class. This elite class, when allowed to grow, begins to hold contempt for the law (even the ones they themselves pass) and in return contempt for our Constitution.

The Affordable Care Act has become so arduous and so cumbersome in its scope and reach that exemptions have been handed down from the Emperor-in-Chief himself, circumventing the Constitution and arbitrarily bestowing exemptions with no regard to the role of Congress or the law of his namesake.

Where does such contempt leave the average American? Why is a law good enough for one, but not for the other? Should not we all be treated equally under the law?

We are, I feel, headed toward a tipping point. A line has been drawn in the sand, a phrase so overused yet so accurate in its description of our current state of government overreach. We can either stand up for our Constitutional beliefs, or roll over and let decrees from the Beltway rule some while giving a pass to others.

I ask, what did we fight for if we have come to this as a society? What freedom do we have to live if government makes decisions for us? We, the People, are being given something to eat whether we want it or not. We're expected to choke on it while the people who are exempt sidestep in disgust of the foul crap they themselves passed.

The Republicans in the House are doing the right thing. They are standing firm, following a sentiment that is observed by a majority of the American people. While I prefer complete repeal, I am encouraged by the actions of the GOP to defund the ACA, or at the very least delay it. More importantly however, if aspects of this law are kept in place, we should make sure that we are all treated equally before the law.

ENR

Run-up to Election 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:45:00 +0000

A blog, is a blog, is a blog. I know, almost everyone who has a blog has something to say. It’s the nature of why they have one. And while I’m not arrogant enough to think that everyone on the internet reads what I have to write, I do of course have something to say (especially in an election year), which I know for the most part is in the mainstream of American politics.

Beginning next week, I will highlight and write on a series of topics and beliefs that I feel is important and essential to continuing the American idea. With Election 2012 one of the most important elections in our generation’s lifetime, there are more posts to come, so stay tuned!

Eric

Voting Rights or Political Posturing?

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:39:00 +0000

So, let me get this straight. The Obama administration rejected the Texas voter ID law yesterday, stating that it is discriminatory toward Hispanic voters, yet other countries, including Mexico, require an ID to vote in general elections.

Interesting.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we all need an ID to drive, go through airport security and even get a library card? Yet, the Justice Department seems to think that we don’t need an ID to vote for president of the United States?

Again, interesting.

ENR

- Justice Department Files Objection to Texas Voter ID Law
- Requirements of other democracies

Trample Away

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:07:00 +0000

I’m never surprised when I read a liberal’s interpretation of the Constitution, wishing it would say one thing and not the other. The attack on our “pre-modern” document began long ago, and of course, continues today.

With the help of a New York Times article yesterday, my explanation of the liberal’s viewpoint does not need to go too in-depth.

The author is remorseful of the fact that the US Constitution does not even guarantee the “entitlement to food, education and healthcare.” Furthermore, a professor is quoted as saying, “Nobody wants a copy of Windows 3.1.”

Statements such as these are the entire basis for the declaration of a federal government that is out of control (see 'Tea Party'). I’ll keep preaching this till it sinks in, but the US Constitution was designed to be vague and restrictive (to the federal government) in nature. The rest is deferred to the states. State’s rights are essential to understand when interpreting our Constitution. Changing the structure of this document would favor the federal government, blurring the line between consent of the people and further allowing administrations to simply decree universal truths for all states to follow, no matter what.

Then again, this administration seems to be blurring the lines in more than one way, even between the church and state.

Trample away.

ENR

- Picture Credit: "The Forgotten Man" by Jon McNaughton

The Entitlement Mentality

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:47:00 +0000

London's on fire. Greece is in chaos. Spain is on the brink.

Socialized Europe as a whole is in turmoil.

Take a closer look at these riots and you'll see exactly where the liberal vision for America will eventually take us.

From a post back in 2009 about Obamacare, I pointed out that when we start to depend on our government for handouts, we lose the ability to take initiative for ourselves. Europe is seeing the consequences of that entitlement mentality right now with people demanding their "right" to free money and government services treasuries can't cash. In response, looters and thugs take to the streets, stealing what they can as if they're entitled to their bounty in compensation for government failing them. It's a ridiculously flawed notion that inherently denies the gratification and pride of self-sufficientcy.

It's a sad state of affairs, but one we can still avoid here in America.

I posted this earlier in the year, and it's worth reading again, if only to bring home a point that big government is never the answer. Europe is proving that to us now through people who have delusional and extreme ideas for the role of government.

Will America follow Europe? I hope not, but unlike Europe, we still have a chance to prevent it, i.e. November 2012.

ENR

Post: The Money Tree Runneth Dry - Welcome to Reality

Culled:

UK Daily Mail: UK Riots 2011: Liberal Dogma has Spawned a Generation of Brutalized Youths

"Pre-revolutionary" and AAA No More

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:20:00 +0000

American's are in a "pre-revolutionary" mood according to a new poll, and here's everything you need to know about our AAA downgrade.

So much for $2.6 trillion worth of QE stimulus.

ENR

DJIA: -634

Border Crisis Rising

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Many years ago, I remember walking along the U.S.-Mexican border in the Valley of south Texas with my dad, examining old relics from a wild west era long gone. Peaceful and calm, it was a great morning walk with my dad many summers ago.

I'm not sure I'd take that same walk today.

Today, Los Zetas and other drug cartels stretch all along the border, from Monterrey to Juarez to Tijuana, the border is riddled with violence, tragedy and grief on a daily basis. In a recent Time article, an alarming statistic jumped out: over 40,000 lives have been lost in the past five years that is directly related to drug trade. To comprehend that figure, that's more than the lives we've lost in Afghanistan and Iraq combined (6,026 as of June 5, 2011).

Think about that and you'll begin to understand the gravity of a situation much closer than a world away.

Over the Fourth of July holiday one of my aunts conveyed an interesting story which reflects the dangers of border life.

Driving home late one evening to her home just north of Eagle Pass, TX, she drove by a man in a ditch, crawling and alone. Knowing that cartels set roadside traps (yes, even on our side of the border), she drove on, leaving the man to his own fate. Luckily, she stopped a truck just up the road and asked the workers to check on this seemingly stranded individual. This is after all on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert.

It turned out that the man was exhausted and had collapsed from the heat, but it could have easily gone the other way around.

This underscores the need for action. When violence expresses itself so close to home and influences your everyday decisions, a line must be drawn and decisive action must be taken.

The White House and Department of Homeland Security however claim all is well. Stay calm; everything is under control they say. Their response to rising violence is to send an insulting amount of National Guardsman to assist an under staffed Border Patrol.

The time for half-ass measures and political posturing is over. The American people are disgusted with Democrats placating to a potential 2012 voting block that tends to be more conservative than they realize. We're tired of hearing from Republicans that a long, vast fence is the fix all to end all. We're tired of hearing about immigration reform as if that will somehow curb ongoing violence. We have a national security and terror threat at our back door and all Washington seems to care about is politics.

Note to D.C.: Screw politics and actually do something you know to be in the best interest for a plurality of the American people.

As for a solution? Mexico needs help in containing this violence. As a result, I would suggest bringing back the days of the U.S. Marshal and Texas Rangers who so efficiently cleaned up the unruly west of the American frontier in the late 1800's.

Violence begets violence, but sometimes turning the other cheek only encourages the status quo. In Mexico's case, crushing the cartels along the border with overwhelming and suffocating force via Special Forces and other U.S. military assets might the best and only answer. After that, extend the operation into Mexico with the assistance of the Mexican government.

A firm hand worked in taming the wild west, why not now?

ENR

Time: Day of the Dead

The Money Tree Runneth Dry – Welcome to Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:01:00 +0000

Burdensome entitlements, big government guarantees and a crippling debt. This is the current and unsustainable path that our government is on.

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again. Our Declaration declares that we are, “. . . endowed by their [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This unalienable right to pursue happiness is a gift given to us from our Creator to individually attain honorably, not a guaranteed right provided by an overbearing government.

Our Constitution – a document that is restrictive in its nature toward government – opens by proclaiming that:

"We the people of the Unites States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Unites States of America."

These basic services in which our Union provides its citizenry gives no guarantees of financial stability, no assurances of a big government safety net through bailouts and no promises of healthcare bankrolled through onerous taxes. It only declares that we have the right to live peacefully, secure in the knowledge that our Union will maintain a robust infrastructure and strong national defense.

The social programs which have amassed over the past and current century are accelerating toward a breaking point. Reformers like Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin are demonized by the nannie state supporters and big union thugs for making hard and needed choices. Why? Because like a smoker in need of a fix, free money can be intoxicating, but over time, that fix becomes a debilitating disease that cripples the people receiving it.

These generous handouts are subsidized by the tax payer, and our ranks are much larger than any labor union demanding a free ride. Our redistributed dollars can only go so far. And at the cost of roads, border security and national defense, our guaranteed entitlements are ruining those proclaimed “Blessings of Liberty” while increasing and accommodating the desires of people in need of a fix through the transfer of wealth.

Knowing this, I think we can all agree that painful cuts and reforms need to be made. We need to step back and look at the reality of the situation. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees.

ER

Middle East Turmoil Map

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:51:00 +0000

With more and more mid-east countries joining in on anti-government protests, it's becoming more difficult to keep track of what's going on over there. The Washington Post has put together a graph and timeline of the current turmoil.

- Washington Post: Middle East Turmoil
- FoxNews : Crude on the way up

ER

The Disgrace that is NPR

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:38:00 +0000

NPR (National Public Radio), a supposed forum of free speech, tires “to create a more informed public - one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures.”

That is, until you waiver from its extreme, liberal ideology.

Juan Williams, a left-leaning NPR host and Fox News contributor was fired for voicing his first amendment rights during this appearance on The O’Reilly Factor:

NPR, who has a history of being ultra liberal, showed its true colors in taking this action late Wednesday evening.

Juan Williams, an individual who is highly respected and who is also an acclaimed civil rights author was merely stating his opinion on a very controversial topic: Muslims vs. Muslim Extremists. By making that distinction, is that not a challenge to a deeper understanding of the greater Islamic culture? Presumably not. Instead, an individual gets canned (mission statement be damned) for stating a truth that already exists.

Juan spoke a hard reality that is still a very real fear in a lot of American’s minds. Rather than opening and examining this post 9/11 reality, NPR and like-minded organizations would rather turn and look the other way in the name of political correctness.

What is NPR trying to say to its audience by making this move? What are they trying to convey? Are they really trying to examine “a deeper understanding and appreciation of events” that shape our lives, or would they rather promote some elite, liberal agenda?

Overall, the core of this entire debate should not be whether NPR is ultra liberal (duh – it is) or if it should continue to be publicly funded, but rather is NPR really the open forum in which it is supposed to represent?

It seems that it is not. If a subject is uncomfortable or controversial in any way, discussion must be discarded and stifled quickly.

Juan said it best on The O'Reilly Factor by saying, “Political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.”

Or should that say "afraid" to address reality?

ER

JUAN WILLIAMS: I Was Fired for Telling the Truth

Gov. Perry's Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:55:00 +0000

For those that are interested, the link below is a PDF of the letter given to President Obama by Gov. Perry during their brief meeting on the tarmac at Bergstrom International Airport in Austin. The letter highlights the need (again) for greater federal involvement along our southern border, more specifically, Texas.

Remember this statistic: “Since 2006, this [drug] war has taken 28,000 lives.”

Gov. Perry's Letter (PDF)

Also, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott going On the Record with Greta Van Susteren:

A Hell of a Mess

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:48:00 +0000

If you look at the US, Mexico border today, you see a political drama playing out that is somewhat reminiscent of Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger.

Brutal drug cartel car bombs detonating in Ciudad Juarez. Gun battles in Nuevo Laredo. Cartel lookout posts on mountain tops – in US territory. Etc . . .

The issue which is the southern border of the United States can be described simply as this: one hell of a mess.

Washington seems to be turning a blind eye to the national security implications, or should I say, doesn’t care and even obstructs in the security of our southern border.

What was the federal response to Arizona’s time of need? File suit in federal court (with a ruling expected this Thursday) to block the right of a sovereign state to defend itself. Compound this with federal law enforcement agencies (ICE) blatantly threatening to turn away any request of federal resources is a frightening bluff (or is it) that shows the serious disconnect of D.C. and the rest of America. Oh, and by the way, maybe we should ask the Department of Justice to file suit against “sanctuary cities” like San Francisco for harboring illegal immigrants.

Raise your hand if you think that will ever happen.

And let’s not forget about the non-profit organization that is the ACLU. It is taking up the mantle of preserving the human rights of those illegally crossing our border. In the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project, it states that, “The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every "person" and are not limited to citizens.”

Realizing that the ACLU is one of the most influential non-profit organizations in Washington D.C., let the statement previously declared above sink in for a moment.

While you contemplate the ramifications of that, let me offer this in reply: The United States Constitution is not some new world order, all encompassing government document. It is uniquely American and applies to its citizens, not the citizens of a foreign country.

Back in May, Peggy Noonan wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal making the case of securing the border first before dealing with any other issue. Logically speaking, how can you argue against that? For the sake of our sovereign identity, shouldn’t that be the first step to comprehensive reform?

Politics aside and whatever voter base the left or the right try to appease, do what is right for a change, Washington. Do what is right for America and realize that US citizens thousands of miles away need you to do your job.

Secure the border first; the rest will fall into place.

ER

The Simple Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:17:00 +0000

This health care “reform” passed by an unruly House on Sunday is not reform at all. When the president signs this bill into law today, it will do nothing to promote ingenuity in the health care industry, nor does it make health care better. What it does do is make entitlements more addicting, which in turn, raises the expectations of those chronically addicted to the drug of free government handouts.

Mandating insurance to a people whose only requirement is to be an American is something which infringes on our rights granted to us in the Constitution.

What have we become and where do we go from here? Enter socialism.

ER

The Boston Tea Party . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Scott Brown (GOP) - 52%
Martha Coakley (Dem) - 47%

The Boston Glob: Election Results
AP: Epic Upset
Fox Nation: Dems Running from ObamaCare

ER

Question:

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:12:00 +0000

If this health care reform bill is so great for the American people, why are so many representatives, groups and states getting bought off in order to secure its passage?

ER

In One Ear . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:01:00 +0000

Does anyone in Washington listen?

What good is a Republic if our representatives don’t listen to a majority of the populous? Isn’t this a majority rule society? We elected them to speak for us, yes? To push policy which is out of touch with the constituency it represents, D.C. exudes the feel of a forum for elitist ideology rather than rational practicality of the common man.

The most recent examples:

Healthcare Reform
A Majority Favor Racial, Ethnic Profiling (National Security)
The Use of Full Body Scanners

For the GOP:

Legislators out of Touch

For the current Majority in D.C.:

We are a Center-Right Country

Overall Approval:

Congressional Performance

America, Exit Left

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:17:00 +0000

We all know that over the past year, one of the President’s major objectives dating back to his campaign was an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. An all inclusive, government run system was preached as the answer to all of our problems for the insured and uninsured alike (which is unfortunately coming to fruition). According to Obama, our healthcare “crisis” will come to an end when Washington dictates how people should be given care (because government knows best, right?).

Against the wishes of a majority of the American people, a vote was finally brought to the Senate floor this morning, passing the Reid version of Obamacare down party lines.

Now, the big hurdle for healthcare “reform” is about to begin.

The leadership in both chambers will begin to merge two very different bills that a majority of people haven’t even read and a majority of Republicans have been left in the dark about.

Many Republicans, Libertarians, Tea Partiers, conservatives and independent thinkers have said all along that if you really want to reform the healthcare industry, work on making insurance companies more competitive. Capitalism is a good thing and competition breeds lower costs. It’s a Laissez-faire model that our country was made to emulate. Making a government umbrella to guarantee coverage for most Americans takes the U.S. one step closer to a socialist banana republic, granting citizens social services countries can’t afford. However, if we keep government away from private industry (healthcare, banking, car industry . . .), the markets will always take care and correct themselves. It’s the nature of Capitalism.

This government spends too much, period. Over the decades, it has slowly been going down a path of expansion and intrusion. It was and is the catalyst that inspired the grassroots movement of today’s Tea Party. Even though this new incarnation of the original movement isn’t based on the ideals of the first, it is of the same principle and spirit. In a representative’s eyes on Capitol Hill, it’s easy to spend money when it’s not theirs. And what happens when they spend too much? They make up for these deficiencies in spending by auctioning off bonds to communist countries so our treasury can continue to fund government expansion and entitlement programs with foreign-backed debt.

When we start to depend on our government for handouts, we lose the ability to take initiative for ourselves. Socializing medicine and allowing the federal government to take more control of our lives will do nothing but encourage dependency.

All what is happening now in Washington may be the easy way out of a problem that without question needs to be addressed, but in my experience, taking the easy road is never the right road.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not a guarantee in any venture, healthcare included.

ER

Rhetoric vs. Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:19:00 +0000

[video]

ER

Charles Krauthammer: Decline is a Choice

Beck: The One Thing - 07/28

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:25:00 +0000

[video]

ER

The Influence of 1773

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:07:00 +0000

After posting my 4th of July blog, I wanted to write a follow-up, or an epilogue of sorts, to explain my thought process in writing it.

Believe it or not, the first words written for that entry started over a year ago in Florida. After watching the Dow begin its brutal freefall, taxes being placed on items such as soda in New York and Hurricane Katrina victims still living in FEMA run trailers, I felt that the mind set of this country had started to go down a path that contradicted everything we should believe as Americans.

After writing down the general ideas I wanted to convey, I sat on the outline for some time, waiting on the right moment to post a blog such as that. As a matter of fact, I never really looked at it again and almost forgot about it until the tea parties (TEA - Taxed Enough Already) of this past April.

Unlike the original Boston Tea Party, the protesters of this past April weren’t railing against taxation, but more about the taxing and oppressive nature of a government that is on the verge of running our lives. In the spirit of the original act, today’s tea parties showed a motivating sprit in the original fight for freedom.

While in my hotel room on vacation this past April 15th, I watched and was inspired to finish the original blog I started last year. The tea parties embodied what I wanted to share and pushed me to complete a blog on an emotional high. Seeing Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals protesting against not only taxes, but big government intrusion was inspiring. To me, it showed a grass-roots spirit that is hopefully only beginning.

In turn, I naturally held on to ‘What We Fought For’ till the 4th of July. It only seemed fitting to post a blog about our original fight for freedom on the anniversary of our day of Declaration.

If nothing else, I’m hopeful that we will eventually enter an era of common sense. With big government healthcare and other ultra-liberal projects around the corner, our government has the feel of a power hungry control freak rather than an instrument of promoting liberty.

After all, in Common Sense by Thomas Paine, he said, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.”

ER

What We Fought For

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:07:00 +0000

In a speech to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, then representative John Adams said, “While I live, let me have a country - a free country.”

Our founding fathers gave us a vision and a gift that has stood for over two centuries. Born from the chains of an oppressive British crown, the republic that our founders helped create is one that has allowed people to live free and pursue happiness through their own means. This novel idea is not only granted to us by the providence of God, but by a constitution many believe to be the crowning achievement of a free society.

Two hundred and thirty-three years later, what would those same founders say if they saw the District of Colombia today?

Today, we live in a United States that taxes almost everything we buy or create. Our government asks CEO’s of private businesses to resign. It thinks you should eat a soy burger rather than a hamburger. They spend our money as if it were their own. We have representatives that don’t listen to their constituency, but rather push through an agenda that benefits them.

Today, we have a president who relishes in the thought of spending billions in taxpayer dollars to achieve a “21st century healthcare system” that looks more like France and Canada than the United States; where workers can unite under one banner of socialistic hope and be catered to with government handouts and other various entitlements. The previous president signed earmark-laced spending bills into law like they were autographed baseballs from his Texas Rangers days. We have a Speaker of the House who values the life habits of a field mouse in California rather than the people she represents.

The oppressive and cavalier nature of our government has not reached an apogee yet, but if we do not stay vigilant in the cause of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, we only have ourselves to blame. An elected government can easily restrict one’s rights, but as a free people, we are charged as the stewards of that government which will achieve greater power only if we let it.

Slogans from the 1770’s are returning with renewed cause. “Join or Die” and “Don’t Tread on Me” represent the fervor and ideas of a revolution that resonates today. From the tea parties of that century to the tea parties of this past April, people are beginning to speak out in the cause of what we originally fought for.

But what was it that we fought for? A free country? A representative democracy? A government free from an oppressive monarchy?

What we fought for was - and still is - an idea that is one of the most noble and idealistic in all of humanity. To think that a free and open democracy with people of varying backgrounds, religions and beliefs could stand for two hundred and thirty-three years is at the very least an amazing feat. To think that this Union has withstood a civil war, two world wars, and a devastating depression is inspiring. And to think that these United States have achieved unimagined marvels that include flight, the internet and a walk by man on the moon is at the very least a testament to the innovation that springs forth in a free country.

What we fought for was not just for the birth of a country, but for the birth of an idea that has manifested into that “shining city on a hill” as Reagan so eloquently described us.

Today, we are charged with preserving that city and to hold true on the original ideas of that fight for freedom waged many years ago. We must spread and keep the values of our fathers and grandfathers by working hard and relying on our own achievements, not advancing in the graces of Uncle Sam. We must remind our representatives that they are in Washington, D.C. for us, not for their own personal gain. We must remind the executives in the White House that we are a republic founded on freedoms that encompass all aspects of life, including separation of “business and state” and “healthcare and state”.

The innovation and free-thinking that got us to where we are today will carry us into the 21st century, not government. As a people, we American’s have always aspired to be more than the sum or our parts. Without freedom, those dreams are nothing more than a thought lost in time.

On this 4th of July, honor the revolution that gave birth to a nation of freedom-loving people. Stand tall when you see the flag while cooking out. When reading an op-ed, give thanks that you can actually read it. And when enjoying the relative tranquility of these United States, realize that maintaining our cherished peace and freedom is the responsibility of we, the people.

On this 4th of July, remember what we fought for.

ER

Stewart on Pelosi

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:18:00 +0000

[video]

O'Reilly: How Dumb are we Americans?

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:05:00 +0000

[video]

Show Me the Money

noreply@blogger.com (Eric N. Ramirez) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Cartoon by Steve Sack