True meaning of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is fast approaching.

But there's a problem. Most people have come to look upon Memorial Day as a kickoff for summer, a time for picnics and barbecues. Memorial Day is much, much more than that.

We need to remember and we need to offer our respect for those who paid the price for our freedoms; we need to hold in sacred reverence the memory of those who died serving their country. We need to ensure that they are never forgotten.

Over the years, the original meaning and sprit of Memorial Day has faded from the public consciousness.

If it is considered a holiday, why? I consider it to be a national day of mourning. That is how we observe the day in our home. Because of what that day represents, the rest of the days of the year are our holidays.

Memorial Day is a day to stop and pay, with sincere conviction, our respects for those who died protecting and preserving the freedoms we enjoy, for they are owed more than we can ever repay.

On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union Army veterans, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30, a date believed to be chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

Unfortunately, when Congress made Memorial day part of a mandatory three-day weekend through the National Holiday act of 1971, it made it all that much easier for us to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day.

It wasn't until after World War I that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then that it was also assigned to the last Monday in May, similar to other federal holidays relocated to Mondays.

These veterans lived and died, but not in vain, for they paused with us on their way to immortality--and our world is a better place for their efforts.

Let us never forget the sacrifices of those men and women--Our Patriots--who have paid the ultimate price to defend their country's freedom.

May they rest in Peace.

The perpetual light shines upon them.


Richard Kendzierski is the chairman of the Bedford Joint Veterans Council. (Bedford Sun)

Recapturing America's Glory!

"It is said that there has never been a Democracy in the history of the world that has flourished for more than three centuries. If America slides into mediocrity, it will not be attributed to a shortage of money or an economical recession; rather, it will be because of the ever-widening gap in two important values in our society--"God & Integrity".

With God comes much love and respect--two virtues that are fast disappearing on the American societal landscape of the current day. Former President Ronald Reagan once said "We are One Nation Under God. The day we fail to realize this, we will be a Nation Gone Under." Some in the radically liberal left of our government, in particular, are taking our Christian. democratic principles and rights away from us at an alarming rate and in the process, are robbing America of the very spirit that gave birth to our great nation and the reason for which we have been so bountifully blessed since our founding.

Americans who truly love, appreciate, and understand how difficult it has been to obtain our cherished freedoms are our Patriots. America's Patriots know the heavy cost of our freedoms and as such, realize how easily it would be to lose these freedoms if we are not careful, vigilant, or elect to follow a path off course from those morally true principles and values that have never failed to define us as a morally elite Democracy and leader of the Free World.

American Patriots everywhere must lead all of America in standing up in protest and reclamation of our religious freedoms before they are gone. Before America is gone--a mere 300-year blip and another failed Democracy in the world's historical chronicles.

Take a close look at what is truly important. Our history has been characterized by many hills and valleys. But we have always persevered and rose above it all, because when we have taken the time to look up, we see the face of God, and it was he, himself, who pulled us up out of those dark valleys, so we could be warmed by the sun of a new fervent day.

Never be ashamed of your Christian roots! Never doubt our nation as long as God watches over us and is an active part of our lives. Don't let the politicians, the greedy, the jealous, and those who hate what we stand for, to take our inherent rights away from us and ultimately our nation.

Open your eyes, America, before it is too late! Stand up against big, corrupt government; hold our leaders accountable to the people many of them have forgotten; elect patriots who value "character" over change; and never, ever, let anyone tell you to hide your Christian-selves.

It's quite proper to say "Merry Christmas","God Bless America", and "In God We Trust!"--and mean it!

Let the New Era of Freedom Ring!

And always, Love & Pray for Our Nation.

Patriotic Quotes of The Day

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.
~Abraham Lincoln

America is a tune. It must be sung together.
~Gerald Stanley Lee, Crowds

We can't all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots.
~Charles F. Browne

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from."
~Marilyn vos Savant, in Parade

[P]atriotism... is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
~Adlai Stevenson

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.
~George William Curtis

When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect.
~Adlai Stevenson

Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart, blushing, whispered the first word of love; it is the home that God has given you that by striving to perfect yourselves therein you may prepare to ascend to him.
~Giuseppe Mazzini

There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream.
~Archibald MacLeish

National honor is national property of the highest value.
~James Monroe, first inaugural address, 4 March 1817

How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.
~Paul Sweeney

May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!
~Daniel Webster

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.
~Elmer Davis

The stern hand of fate has scourged us to an elevation where we can see the great everlasting things that matter for a nation; the great peaks of honour we had forgotten - duty and patriotism, clad in glittering white; the great pinnacle of sacrifice pointing like a rugged finger to heaven.
~David Lloyd George

Yet America is a poem in our eyes; its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Poet," Essays, Second Series, 1844

If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.
~Hamilton Fish

And I'm proud to be an American,where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.
~Thomas Jefferson

America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.
~Adlai Stevenson

From every mountain sideLet Freedom ring.
~Samuel F. Smith, "America

"Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.
~John Gunther

America is a passionate idea or it is nothing. America is a human brotherhood or it is chaos. ~Max Lerner, Actions and Passions, 1949

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
~John Dickinson

The skies of happiness shine upon these United States of America.
~Mirakel Reves

If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag.
~Author Unknown

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.
~Benjamin Franklin

Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!
~Daniel Webster

If you take advantage of everything America has to offer, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish. ~Geraldine Ferraro

Oh, it's home again and home again, America for me!I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling seaTo the blessed land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.
~Henry Van Dyke

Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American. America is the only idealistic nation in the world.
~Woodrow Wilson

This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith. ~Lyndon B. Johnson

We sleep peacefully at night, cradled by the big strong hands of America.
~Val Saintsbury

America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love my freedom. I love my America.
~Jessi Lane Adams

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.
~Theodore Roosevelt

Of all the supervised conditions for life offered man, those under USA's constitution have proved the best. Wherefore, be sure when you start modifying, corrupting or abrogating it.
~Martin H. Fischer

He loves his country best who strives to make it best.
~Robert G. Ingersoll

It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism.
~J. Horace McFarland"

Our country, right or wrong." When right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.
~Carl Schurz

Off with your hat, as the flag goes by! And let the heart have its say; you're man enough for a tear in your eye that you will not wipe away.
~Henry Cuyler Bunner

It is the flag just as much of the man who was naturalized yesterday as of the men whose people have been here many generations.
~Henry Cabot Lodge

The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic - have always blown on free men.
~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over, heart and thought and all, the hyphen drops of its own weight out of his name.
~Woodrow Wilson

Star-spangled happiness and banner waves of pride.
~Cherishe Archer

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!
~Thomas Jefferson


America, for me, has been the pursuit and catching of happiness.
~Aurora Raigne


I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.
~Simone de Beauvoir

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. ~William J. Clinton

My favorite thing about the United States? Lots of Americans, one America.
~Val Saintsbury

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.
~James Bryce

Our great modern Republic. May those who seek the blessings of its institutions and the protection of its flag remember the obligations they impose.
~Ulysses S. Grant

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.
~Louis D. Brandeis

Men love their country, not because it is great, but because it is their own.
~Seneca

Territory is but the body of a nation. The people who inhabit its hills and valleys are its soul, its spirit, its life.
~James Garfield

Ev'ry heart beats true'neath the Red, White and Blue,
~George M. Cohan

We need a type of patriotism that recognizes the virtues of those who are opposed to us..... The old "manifest destiny" idea ought to be modified so that each nation has the manifest destiny to do the best it can - and that without cant, without the assumption of self-righteousness and with a desire to learn to the uttermost from other nations.
~Francis John McConnell

I believe in America because we have great dreams - and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.
~Wendell L. Wilkie

To me, being an American means feeling safe.
~Currielene Armstrong

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.
~Robert J. McCracken

It is sweet to serve one's country by deeds, and it is not absurd to serve her by words. ~Sallust

We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit.
~Hubert H. Humphrey

May I never wake up from the American dream.
~Carrie Latet


A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.
~Bill Vaughan

I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.
~Gary Hart

My patriotic heart beats red, white, and blue.
~Author Unknown

Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.
~Mark Twain


All we have of freedom, all we use or know - This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

What we need are critical lovers of America - patriots who express their faith in their country by working to improve it.
~Hubert H. Humphrey

You cannot spill a drop of American blood without spilling the blood of the whole world.... We are not a nation, so much as a world.
~Herman Melville

Our hearts where they rocked our cradle, Our love where we spent our toil,And our faith, and our hope, and our honor,We pledge to our native soil. God gave all men all earth to love, But since our hearts are small,Ordained for each one spot should prove Beloved over all.
~Rudyard Kipling

He is a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to understand how all men everywhere feel about their altars and their hearthstones, their flag and their fatherland. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights.
~Felix Frankfurter

Patriotism is easy to understand in America - it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country. ~Calvin Coolidge

We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.
~John F. Kennedy

The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.
~Woodrow Wilson

Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.
~Sinclair Lewis

Lincoln Ranked Best President in C-SPAN Poll

INTRO COMMENT: Keep in mind, history always gets it right! Harry Truman had a meager 22% approval rating when he left office as one of our most unpopular Presidents in history! George Bush will go down in history as the President who had the courage to stand up to radical islam on behalf of the free world! Eat your heart out, Lenore Bennett!! George Washington is my #1 President.

"Just days after the nation honored the 200th anniversary of his birth, 65 historians ranked Abraham Lincoln as the nation's best president.

Former President George W. Bush, who left office last month, was ranked 36th out of the 42 men who had been chief executive by the end of 2008, according to a survey conducted by the cable channel C-SPAN.

Mr. Bush scored worst in international relations, where he was ranked 41st, and in economic management, where he was ranked 40th. His highest ranking, 24th, was in the category of pursuing equal justice for all. He was ranked 25th in crisis leadership and vision and agenda setting.

In contrast, Lincoln was ranked in the top three in each of the 10 categories evaluated by participants.

C-SPAN's only other ranking of presidents was in 2000. Former President Bill Clinton jumped six spots from No. 21 on that assessment to 15. Other recent presidents improved as well: Ronald Reagan advanced from No. 11 to 10, and George H.W. Bush rose from No. 20 to 18. But Jimmy Carter fell from No. 22 to 25.

This movement illustrates that presidential reputations are influenced by present-day concerns, said survey adviser and participant Edna Medford.

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, be it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," Miss Medford said.

After Lincoln, the academics rated George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman as the best leaders overall. The same five received top spots in the 2000 survey, although Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt swapped spots this year.
Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

The survey was conducted in December and January. Participants ranked each president on a scale of one, or "not effective," to 10, "very effective," on a list of 10 leadership qualities, including relations with Congress, public persuasion and moral authority."

America: Founded on Christian Principles

"AMERICA"
"…FOUNDED ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES"
BECAUSE WE ARE TRULY FREE & IT IS RIGHT, JUST, & FAIR….
"TO RAISE OUR VOICES IN PRAYER…ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!!"

Our Christian Founding Fathers have spoken with great conviction. Let us listen to their voices from generations ago, as they spoke in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and with sincere hearts & uncommon wisdom. They were some of the greatest men to ever live. Have we forgotten, already, that it is our God and Christian Values that truly made this country great?!!

John Adams:

"The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. Our Independence ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." (In a letter written to his wife, Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress on July 2, 1776…yes, July 2nd)

Samuel Adams:

"He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all." ("American Independence," August 1, 1776. Speech delivered at the State House in Philadelphia)

Ben Franklin:

"God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that builds it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel" (Constitutional Convention of 1787)

"In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?" (Constitutional Convention, Thursday June 28, 1787)

John Quincy Adams:

"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth of July]?" "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity"? (1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts)

"The Law given from Sinai [The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code." (Letter to his son)

John Hancock:

"In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations. (A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, with a total abstinence from labor and recreation. Proclamation on April 15, 1775)

Patrick Henry (Orator of the American Revolution):

"This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed." (Last Will and Testament)

"It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." (May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses)

"The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed."

Thomas Jefferson:

"The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man."
"Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus."

"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever." (Excerpts are inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in the nations capital) [Source: Merrill D. Peterson, ed., Jefferson Writings, (New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984), Vol. IV, p. 289. From Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, 1781.]

Samuel Johnston:

"It is apprehended that Jews, Mahometans (Muslims), pagans, etc., may be elected to high offices under the government of the United States. Those who are Mahometans, or any others who are not professors of the Christian religion, can never be elected to the office of President or other high office, [unless] first the people of America lay aside the Christian religion altogether, it may happen. Should this unfortunately take place, the people will choose such men as think as they do themselves. [Elliot’s Debates, Vol. IV, pp 198-199, Governor Samuel Johnston, July 30, 1788 at the North Carolina Ratifying Convention]

James Madison:

"We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all of our heart."
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." [1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia]

"I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare the unsatisfactoriness [of tem portal enjoyments] by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way." (Letter by Madison to William Bradford, September 25, 1773)

In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill, which economically aided the Bible Society of Philadelphia in its goal of the "mass distribution of the Bible." ("An Act for the relief of the Bible Society of Philadelphia" Approved February 2, 1813 by Congress)
"It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other."

A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven. [Letter by Madison to William Bradford [urging him to make sure of his own salvation] November 9, 1772]
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read: (Isaiah 33:22… "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us")

James McHenry (Signer of the Constitution):

"Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience."

Jebediah Morse:

"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. . . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."

John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg:

In a sermon delivered to his Virginia congregation on Jan. 21, 1776, he preached from Ecclesiastes 3. Arriving at verse 8, which declares that there is a time of war and a time of peace, Muhlenberg noted that this surely was not the time of peace; this was the time of war. Concluding with a prayer, and while standing in full view of the congregation, he removed his clerical robes to reveal that beneath them he was wearing the uniform of an officer in the Continental army! He marched to the back of the church; ordered the drum to beat for recruits and over three hundred men joined him, becoming the Eighth Virginia Brigade. John Peter Muhlenberg finished the Revolution as a Major-General, having been at Valley Forge and having participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Stonypoint, and Yorktown.

Thomas Paine:

"It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the other sciences, and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only; whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of divine origin. Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles: he can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author."

"The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools, in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only, has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of his existence. They labour with studied ingenuity to ascribe every thing they behold to innate properties of matter, and jump over all the rest by saying, that matter is eternal." ("The Existence of God--1810")

Benjamin Rush:

"I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them…we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism." "By withholding the knowledge of [the Scriptures] from children, we deprive ourselves of the best means of awakening moral sensibility in their minds." [Letter written (1790’s) in Defense of the Bible in all schools in America]

"Christianity is the only true and perfect religion."

"If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into our world would have been unnecessary."

"Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and write and above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education" (Letters of Benjamin Rush, "To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for Free Schools", March 28, 1787)

Justice Joseph Story:

"I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law. . . There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations." [Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States p. 593]
"Infidels and pagans were banished from the halls of justice as unworthy of credit." [Life and letters of Joseph Story, Vol. II 1851, pp. 8-9.]

"At the time of the adoption of the constitution, and of the amendment to it, now under consideration [i.e., the First Amendment], the general, if not the universal sentiment in America was, that Christianity ought to receive encouragement from the state, so far as was not incompatible with the private rights of conscience, and the freedom of religious worship." [Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States p. 593]

Noah Webster:

"The duties of men are summarily comprised in the Ten Commandments, consisting of two tables; one comprehending the duties which we owe immediately to God-the other, the duties we owe to our fellow men."

"In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people." [Source: 1828, in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language]

Let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God [Exodus 18:21]. . . . If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted . . . If our government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws. [Noah Webster, The History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337, 49]

"All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." [Noah Webster. History. p. 339]

"The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields." [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5]

"Education is useless without the Bible" [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5]

George Washington:

"The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion" ...and later: "...reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle
" It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible."

"What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ." [Speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779]

"To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian" [May 2, 1778, at Valley Forge]

During his inauguration, Washington took the oath as prescribed by the Constitution but added several religious components to that official ceremony. Before taking his oath of office, he summoned a Bible on which to take the oath, added the words "So help me God!" to the end of the oath, then leaned over and kissed the Bible.

Is it necessary that any one should [ask], "Did General Washington avow himself to be a believer in Christianity?" As well may we question his patriotism, his heroic devotion to his country. His mottos were, "Deeds, not Words"; and, "For God and my Country." (Letter to Nelly Custis-Lewis, Washington’s adopted daughter).

"O Most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father; I acknowledge and confess my guilt in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of my sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin, and they stand in need of pardon."

"I have sinned against heaven and before Thee in thought, word, and deed. I have contemned Thy majesty and holy laws. I have likewise sinned by omitting what I ought to have done and committing what I ought not. I have rebelled against the light, despising Thy mercies and judgment, and broken my vows and promise. I have neglected the better things. My iniquities are multiplied and my sins are very great. I confess them, O Lord, with shame and sorrow, detestation and loathing and desire to be vile in my own eyes as I have rendered myself vile in Thine. I humbly beseech Thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my sins for the sake of Thy dear Son and only Savior Jesus Christ who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me." [George Washington; from a 24 page authentic handwritten manuscript book dated April 21-23,1752 William J. Johnson George Washington, the Christian (New York: The Abingdon Press, New York & Cincinnati, 1919), pp. 24-35.]

"Although guided by our excellent Constitution in the discharge of official duties, and actuated, through the whole course of my public life, solely by a wish to promote the best interests of our country; yet, without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors". [1797 letter to John Adams]

James Wilson:

Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Supreme Court Justice appointed by George Washington Spoke 168 times during the Constitutional Convention
"Christianity is part of the common law" [Sources: James Wilson, Course of Lectures [vol 3, p.122]; and quoted in Updegraph v. The Commonwealth, 11 Serg, & R. 393, 403 (1824).]

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS:

- Liberty Bell Inscription: " Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof" [Leviticus 25:10]

Proposals for the seal of the United States of America:

"Moses lifting his wand and dividing the Red Sea"

–Ben Franklin

"The children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night."

- Thomas Jefferson

On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams "to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America." Franklin's proposal adapted the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. Jefferson first recommended the "Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by night. . . ." He then embraced Franklin's proposal and rewrote it Jefferson's revision of Franklin's proposal was presented by the committee to Congress on August 20, 1776.

The Three Branches of the U.S. Government: Judicial, Legislative, & Executive
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22: "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us."

Article 22 of The Constitution of Delaware (1776) Required all officers, besides taking an oath of allegiance, to make and subscribe to the following Declaration:

"I, [name], do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration."
New York Spectator (August 23, 1831)

"The court of common pleas of Chester County, [New York] rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice: and that he knew of no cause in a Christian country where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief.

NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL PRIMER

Used in public and private schools from 1690 to 1900, second only to the Bible:

- Some of its contents: Song of praise to God; Prayers in Jesus’ name; The famous Bible alphabet; & a shorter Catechism of faith in Christ.

Compiled by William D. Park

"In the Name of Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ"
"IN GOD WE TRUST & GOD BLESS AMERICA!!"

It's The Veteran

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag!

DHS Forecasts 5-year Terror Threats

5-year Terror Threats Forecast
December 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013.

The al-Qaida terrorist network continues to focus on U.S. attack targets vulnerable to massive economic losses, casualties and political "turmoil," the assessment said.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains "the highest priority at the federal level." Speaking to reporters on Dec. 3, Chertoff explained that more people, such as terrorists, will learn how to make dirty bombs, biological and chemical weapons. "The other side is going to continue to learn more about doing things," he said.

Marked "for official use only," the report does not specify its audience, but the assessments typically go to law enforcement, intelligence officials and the private sector. When determining threats, intelligence officials consider loss of life, economic and psychological consequences.

Intelligence officials also predict that in the next five years, terrorists will try to conduct a destructive biological attack. Officials are concerned about the possibility of infections to thousands of U.S. citizens, overwhelming regional health care systems.

There could also be dire economic impacts caused by workers' illnesses and deaths. Officials are most concerned about biological agents stolen from labs or other storage facilities, such as anthrax.

"The threat of terrorism and the threat of extremist ideologies has not abated," Chertoff said in his year-end address on Dec. 18. "This threat has not evaporated, and we can't turn the page on it."

These high-consequence threats are not the only kind of challenges that will confront the U.S. over the next five years.

Terrorists will continue to try to evade U.S. border security measures and place operatives inside the mainland to carry out attacks, the 38-page assessment said. It also said that they may pose as refugees or asylum seekers or try to exploit foreign travel channels such as the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 34 countries to enter the U.S. without visas.

Long waits for immigration and more restrictive European refugee and asylum programs will cause more foreigners to try to enter the U.S. illegally. Increasing numbers of Iraqis are expected to migrate to the U.S. in the next five years; and refugees from Somalia and Sudan could increase because of conflicts in those countries, the assessment said.

Because there is a proposed cap of 12,000 refugees from Africa, officials expect more will try to enter the U.S. illegally as well. Officials predict the same scenario for refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Intelligence officials predict the pool of radical Islamists within the U.S. will increase over the next five years due partly to the ease of online recruiting means. Officials foresee "a wave of young, self-identified Muslim 'terrorist wannabes' who aspire to carry out violent acts."

The U.S. has already seen some examples of these homegrown terrorists. Recently five Muslim immigrants were convicted of plotting to massacre U.S. Soldiers at Fort Dix in a case the government said demonstrated its post-Sept. 11 determination to stop terrorist attacks in the planning stages.

The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah does not have a known history of fomenting attacks inside the U.S., but that could change if there is some kind of "triggering" event, the Homeland assessment cautions.

A 2008 Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism assessment said that Hezbollah members based in the U.S. do local fundraising through charity projects and criminal activity, like money laundering, smuggling, drug trafficking, fraud and extortion, according to the homeland security assessment.

In addition, the cyber terror threat is expected to increase over the next five years, as hacking tools become more sophisticated and available. "Youthful, Internet-savvy extremists might apply their online acumen to conduct cyber attacks rather than offer themselves up as operatives to conduct physical attacks," according to the assessment.

Currently, Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaida, would like to conduct cyber attacks, but they lack the capability to do so, the assessment said. The large-scale attacks that are on al-Qaida's wishlist - such as disrupting a major city's water or power systems - require sophisticated cyber capabilities that the terrorist group does not possess.

But al-Qaida has the capability to hire sophisticated hackers to carry out these kinds of attacks, the assessment said. And federal officials believe that in the next three to five years, al-Qaida could direct or inspire cyber attacks that target the U.S. economy.

Counterterrorism expert Frank Cilluffo says the typical cyber attack would not achieve al-Qaida's main goal of inflicting mass devastation with its resulting widespread media coverage. However, al-Qaida is likely to continue to rely on the Internet to spread its message, said Cilluffo, who runs the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University.

Officials also predict that domestic terrorists in the forms of radical animal rights and environmental extremists will become more adept with explosives and increase their use of arson attacks.