Saturday, July 04, 2009

JULY 4TH, 2009......233 YEARS......

....of Independence....

.....but are we really free?

Or are we controlled by politicians who are owned by Corporations, Banks, and Wall Street?!?!

15 comments:

skyewriter said...

"Free" is such a relative term.

Gay people cannot get married; 56 million Americans don't have health care; we have the 10 commandments in courthouses; our troops are fighting a war on false pretenses; and as you write, the almighty dollar controls everything.

But...

here's to the U.S. of A today.

Happy Birthday America.

Despite our flaws, we have a lot to be proud of on this day.

LeftyLadi said...

Good morning, Eddie!

233 years young and still going strong.

PENolan said...

Thanks for the great link. My mom told me about the Rolling Stone article, and I was meaning to find it.

It's good to have freedom and easy access to information through a leftist grandpa ;)

themom said...

skywriter basically said it all. Have a Happy 4th LG!!!

Riot Kitty said...

Hard call, isn't it?

David Aquarius said...

I go back to the homestead once in a while to see my parents and connect with the sibs.

When I walk through the door, Mom asks me if I'm taking my medicine and keeping to the diet. My brother comes in and takes issue with my last email where I offered some sage advise on his job prospects. My other brother chimes in with a few gems on this and other family griefs. Mom's not happy with my 'tone' and lets me know. One of my sisters comes in with a tirade about her daughter's rehab.

The kitchen table is a cacophony of smartass and bitch. Then Dad walks in carrying my 4 year old grand niece, who stubbed her toe in the garden and has a boo-boo.

All noise stops while we take care of the little one.

America is like that.

Happy 4th of July!

Grandpa Eddie said...

skyewriter - With all that is both right and wrong with our country, we still have a lot to be thankful for.

We are truly a work in progress....which I feel will never be finished, because there will always be something new.

Happy 4th, Doc.


Nancy - Good afternoon! Happy 4th sweet lady.


PENolan - Glad you were able to use the link. This leftist grandpa is always willing to help whenever he can;)

Happy 4th young lady.


themom - Yes she did! Happy 4th Mom.


Riot Kitty - Yes it is. A very hard call. You and Mr RK have a Happy 4th.


David - You're right, America is just like that. Thanks, dude. My eyes started to get a little moist...in a good way. Happy 4th my friend.

SheaNC said...

Happy fourth all :)

We're not as free as we're said to be, but we're free-er than some, so that's something at least, in a relative way.

Grandpa Eddie said...

Shea - Yes, we are more free than some are. Just not as free as the Founding Fathers envisioned.

Happy 4th, my good friend.

Woody (Tokin Librul/Rogue Scholar/ Helluvafella!) said...

Asked by by-standers outside the Constitutional Convention when he emerged therefrom what kind of Government there would be, Franklin said: "a republic, if you can keep it." His skepticism was warranted because he might just possibly have anticipated that, eventually, somebody'd notice that huge "good-faith" loophole, exploit it, and turn the Government into a useless, toothless, symbolic adjunct to wealth and power.

David Aquarius said...

America, despite all its flaws is ours. We inherited it from our parents like the house we live in. It needs work, the plumbing isn't reliable and the electrical can go out every so often.

But we don't move and toss it out. It's our home, the place we came from, the place we will eventually rest in. We have to keep fixing it. It's a job that never ends; no final nail to pound and its all good. As soon as one problem is fixed, another crops up to take its place.

But its a labor of love because how else can you see what's going on if you're not down in the cellar seeing how it works? Most people just want a coat of fresh paint on the outside and call it good. We here in the trenches know that's not good enough. If you don't fix what really wrong, you'll get worse problems down the road. Can you say Bush and Cheney?

America is my home. it's not perfect and it pisses me off more times than I'd like to admit. But there's no other place on Earth I'd rather fix than my home. You don't leave a house to your kids, you give them their home. It may be a little dented but it won't be broken.

Distributorcap said...

we do have a lot to be thankful for - but we have a lot of work to do to get back the premise and ideals of 233 years ago.

Grandpa Eddie said...

Woody - And that's exactly what has happened. Ben was a very smart man, and he knew it would happen.


David - You're right. This is just like a house which must constantly be maintained. A new roof, a coat of paint, and so forth.


D-Cap - Yes, we have it much better than most people on this spaceship called Earth....and there is so very much to do....

BadTux said...

Eric De La Cruz became free on July 4. Thing is, it wasn't the sort of freedom he wanted or hoped for. The Rethugs defended his "right" to be free of universal healthcare all the way to his death.

Over 18,000 Eric De La Cruz's are killed by our "healthcare" system every year because of its refusal to pay for needed care for all Americans who need care. The right to life is the most fundamental right without which all other rights are meaningless. Except in America, where it's just a myth that we tell ourselves while killing our fellow Americans via our actions or inactions. Yeah, July 4 is a time to consider "freedom" alright. Eric De La Cruz was freed from his body. But it wasn't the sort of freedom he hoped for, or wanted. So it goes in the United States of Delusion, where we pretend to be a kind and charitable people while doing the shittiest things to our fellow Americans...

- Badtux the Disgusted Penguin

Grandpa Eddie said...

Badtux - There's a lot of things that suck about this country...and that sad fucking excuse for healthcare sucks the most.
Hopefully we can beat down Big Pharma, and the AMA, and get this fixed this time....but I'm not holding my breath.