I have not been able to blog recently due to all the work finding host families. I think I am close to being done though-- I need 2 more families for the entire program-- 3 weeks-- and 5 more families for half the program. That may sound like a lot to many of you, but I feel like I can see the end in sight. If you would still consider hosting I have pictures of these cute kids and would love for you have a look at who will be coming.
After everyone is placed and life slows down a little I plan on posting a tidbit about the new cap and trade bill daily. The bill is an atrocity that has already passed Congress and is headed for the Senate. The Heritage Foundation estimates that by 2020 the bill will cost the average American family of 4 $2000 more a year in taxes. And by 2036 an additional $6500 a year in taxes. It is not just, however, what it will cost us, but about the freedoms we will lose from this bill. If you want to educate yourself a little on it check out this Wall Street Journal article about the bill...
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/06/26/round-up-waxman-markey-cap-and-trade-bill-up-for-vote/ or this opinion piece...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124597505076157449.htmlI wish you a Happy 4th with one of my favorite bits about our Founding Fathers.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men whosigned 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 twosons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships ofthe 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 McKean 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 fought 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!
