Flare Sci-Fi Forums: A friend sent me this...

This is topic A friend sent me this... in forum Officers' Lounge at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://flare.solareclipse.net/ultimatebb.php/topic/10/1320.html

Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

Since its pretty close to Independence Day, I'd like to share an email I got:

REMEMBERING INDEPENDENCE DAY

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured
before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had
two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and
their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine
were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated.
But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that
the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties
to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to
move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without
pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from
him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British
General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was
destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy
jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their
13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were
laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves,
returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks
later
he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These
were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men
of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty
more.

Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support
of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine
providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books
never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We
didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time
and we fougnt our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they
paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

I hope you will show your support by please sending this to as many
people as you can. It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT
a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and
baseball games.

------------------
"The lies I told are not falsehoods according to my definition of truth." Bill Clinton
"All stupid people are liberals, because they don't know any better." Rob Rodehorst
"Don't underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups" - Dilbert, Scott Adams

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

http://www.snopes.com/spoons/glurge/declare.htm

------------------
June is National Accordion Awareness Month.
"People are buried however they choose to be, apparently. Unless you've never written your will, in which case your body is shipped to Meltakron V and reanimated to serve as a robot in their yttrium mines." - Simon Sizer

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Besides, the Continental Congress adopted the declaration of independence on July 2, not July 4, anyway...

------------------
"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Sheesh, what a bunch of Cynical Guses! I was going to mention that many of them were slaveowners, including Patrick "Liberty or death" Henry, but I can see there's no danger of anything resembling pride breaking out.

At any rate, have a happy, safe, and emotionally satisfying Fourth, whatever that entails.

------------------
But the dead only quickly decay. They don't go about being born and reborn and rising and falling like souffle. The dead only quickly decay.
--
Gothic Archies
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! For the love of God, Montressor!

Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :

I'll bring the sparklers!

------------------
Oh, goody, the Sea Monkeys I ordered have arrived. Heh heh heh, look at them cavort and caper.
~C. Montgomery Burns

And be sure to visit The Field Marshal project http://fieldmarshal.virtualave.net/

Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

Fine Frank...burst my bubble. :P

I won't be here for the next few days. What was once going to be a camping trip by myself and my brother, ballooned into a family trip. Haven't been camping in about 3 years cuz my grandmother had heart surgery...But this year she's much stronger.

I will definitely have sparklers, and our local baseball team is sponsoring a huge fireworks display. Good luck to all, and enjoy your independence.

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Sounds like fun, Jeff.

Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :

Playing with fireworks is like burning money.

------------------
"One more day before the storm
At the barricades of freedom!
When our ranks begin to form
Will you take your place with me?"
--Enjolras, "One Day More," Les Miserables

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Money that goes pop, wizz, and ka-blooie, perhaps.

Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

Damn, I can't play with fireworks this year! I have to go and watch the fireworks show in Long Beach because Los Angeles County is worried that I , like many people, will set myself and a nearby field on fire. Where did they get that kind of idea...

------------------
Cigar Girl- "Would you like to check my figures?"

James Bond- "I'm sure that they are very well rounded..."

The World is Not Enough

Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :

Is there some weird rule about the US and fireworks? Are they illegal in certain states, or what?

------------------
"I can't believe we're actually gonna meet Guru Lou. Everyone says he's the wisest man in the universe. He's sensitive, creative, has a great sense of humour, and he's a really smooth dancer. *giggles*"
"You're confused Polly. We're not meeting Paul Newman."
- Polly & Speedy; Samurai Pizza Cats

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Yes, because they are dangerous, can set fires, and lots of cities have fireworks displays for events like Independence Day anyway.

Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :

And certain Americans have a propensity to try to eliminate themselves from the gene pool. Or at least certain portions of there anatomy, i.e. hands or eyeballs.

Los Angeles does not allow the sale of fireworks in the city, but one can drive to any number of surrounding cities, as Ziyal can attest to, and purchase the "Safe and Sane" version of the works de fire.

------------------
Oh, goody, the Sea Monkeys I ordered have arrived. Heh heh heh, look at them cavort and caper.
~C. Montgomery Burns

And be sure to visit The Field Marshal project http://fieldmarshal.virtualave.net/

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

"Safe and sane"? What's that, a sparkler encased in a Plexiglas bubble? Fireworks aren't supposed to be safe and sane. They're supposed to blow up! *LOL*

------------------
"I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups: all you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you..."
-Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady"

Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

For a long time, New York State had a law that forbade you to buy fireworks. Of course, the loophole was that you could sell them, just not purchase them.

But that loophole was fixed before I was old enough to utilize it.

I'm also back from my trip. If it wasn't for the rain, it would have been great.

Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :

Okay, you can have sex at 16, you can get guns at 18, but you can't drink until you're 21, and in certain states you can't even buy fireworks?

What, did someone take all the laws in one bag, a list of ages running from "since birth" to "pre-teens with parents permission" all the way up to "completly illegal" in another, and then just hold a raffle?

Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

Ah, that's "you can legally have sex at 16 in all but 12 states." Of the remaining 12, 8 mandate age of consent at 18 & the other 4 allow it at 14 (Mississppi, Arkansas, Kentucky, & Hawaii). That's the last time I checked, though. My info may be a year or 2 out of date.

------------------
"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel

Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :

14? 14!> Four-fucking-teen? (well, yes. Literally too).

No-one else think that being able to produce children, butnot being allowed to operate a little rocket - that goes "weee" - ever, is possibly a little bit strange?

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

"Okay, you can have sex at 16,"

Not dangerous.

"you can get guns at 18,"

Dangerous but useful.

"but you can't drink until you're 21,"

Dangerous and useless.

"and in certain states you can't even buy fireworks?"

Very dangerous and useless.

At least, that's the reasoning.

------------------
Frank's Home Page
"Canadian bacon is called that because it's made from Canadians. And while I'm on the subject, could you people cut back on the fish and rodents and eat more fruits and berries? It would vastly improve your flavor, in my opinion." - Simon Sizer

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Frank: Ah. At first, I was afraid you were stating your own opinions on the matter, in which case I was going to fall out of my chair. *L*

I'd say sex is dangerous, guns and alcohol are both dangerous and useless, and fireworks are dangerous but just too cool to ban. *LOL*

------------------
"I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups: all you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you..."
-Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady"

Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

Fireworks are great only for certain events and for blowing up a broken AMT Star Trek model to make battle damage...

------------------
Personal Ad # 74913

-I'm an 18 year old Filipino student in the Los Angeles area looking for a steady boyfriend to compensate for very healthy sexual appetite. Must be white, blond, and have blue eyes.

Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :

So you're allowed to do dangerous things as long as it either
a/ Protects your house from dirty nasty robbers.
b/ Produces more Yanks. Cause we do need that.

But if it's only fun, then it's banned. Good to see the government continuing to tell you how to have fun. Besides, the argument "they might hurt themselves" doesn't really wash, does it? I'd hardly say that fireworks are more difficult to operate, or less dangerous than cars.

When can you drive anyway? Or smoke? (I'm sure I ask this every year. But it keeps dropping out.)

Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

16 on driving (except in some midwestern farm states, where it's 14 with parental supervision) & 18 on smoking.

------------------
"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

This is the first year fireworks of any kind, were legal in West Virginia, and the first year that I didn't bother. And for the record:
Sex-16
beer-18
Drivers-14 with parent. learners, but can drive alone-16. real drivers-18

------------------
Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

In Missouri, driving age is 16 (15.5 for a learner's permit), alcohol is 21, tobacco is 18. I think the legal age of consent is 18, too. Firearms might be 21; I'm not sure.

------------------
"I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups: all you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you..."
-Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady"

Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :

quote:
and in certain states you can't even buy fireworks?

See, it turns out Liam that Los Angeles is in a desert...you know a dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.

We're not talking about professional firework displays, we're talking about Jed and his 9 kids shooting bottle-rockets into tinder dry brush and burning half of the drought-ridden state of Florida or California into a burned over mess.

Los Angeles also has tons of wood shingle roofs...which is being changed as new houses get built, but the wood shingle roofs burn baby burn. So L.A. prohibits the sale of fireworks. Monterey Park, 10 minutes away does not.

------------------
Oh, goody, the Sea Monkeys I ordered have arrived. Heh heh heh, look at them cavort and caper.
~C. Montgomery Burns

And be sure to visit The Field Marshal project http://fieldmarshal.virtualave.net/

Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :

It's funny, but today I just saw on TV about a fire in North Hills (it's in Los Angeles County) that was caused by a firecraker. It burned up grass near the 405 Freeway and nearly took out an appartment garage.

------------------
Personal Ad # 74913

-I'm an 18 year old Filipino student in the Los Angeles area looking for a steady boyfriend to compensate for very healthy sexual appetite. Must be white, blond, and have blue eyes.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

And that, people, is why you don't set off firecrackers near dry grass. :-)

------------------
"I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups: all you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you..."
-Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady"