Happy 4th of July

This will be my last post for the next week as it is family time all next week in Denver to celebrate the 4th of July.  Wanted to leave you with this song by Aaron Tippin, Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Flies, which is one of my favorites.

Have a wonderful 4th of July and remember what a great country we live in that you are able to go out and make dumb statements as part of freedom of speech and people like me can call the statements dumb, stupid, inappropriate, biased, etc.  No one Party has all the answers and in the end it is more important to understand we are all Americans who come from different backgrounds and origins with different ideas.  


In our family we have ancestors who were here before the Revolutionary War in Virginia, ones who came here in the early 1800's from Great Britain, then in the late 1800's/early 1900's through Ellis Island from Italy and France and have a grandson whose great grandparents came Mexico on his Mom's side.  People all over this great Country can trace their roots all over the world.  We truly are the melting pot of the World and need to realize that we all contribute to making this a great County and no one group has all the answers.    


The ability to work together is what makes us great and why it is so important that office holders at all levels start realizing that we become stronger when we work as one instead of being the party of the 'my way or no way crowd' which we see more and more.  No one Party has all the good or bad ideas or are going to win on every issue.  I would say both sides when they lose in Congress or at the Supreme Court are the worst examples of sportsmanship I have ever seen.  What happened to the days when they fought like cats and dogs and went out to dinner together.  That was the Party of Reagan on our side and the Tip O'Neill's, David Boren's, and Sam Nunn's on the Democrat side.  Now we have the Party of 'my way or no way' on both sides.  


The oaths of office talk about America and our Constitution not a political party.  Both sides need to start putting America and all its people first ahead of Party or ideology -- we as citizens need to make sure they represent all of us or defeat them in the next election.  


Presidential Oath:

US Constitution, Article II, Section 1

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Congressional Oath:


The current oath was enacted in 1884:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

Supreme Court:

According to Title 28, Chapter I, Part 453 of the United States Code, each Supreme Court Justice takes the following oath:

"I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as [TITLE] under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God."

This 4th of July is a great time to celebrate our heritage that allows us to live in the greatest Country in the World -- The United States of America!  God Bless and have a fantastic 4th of July as we celebrate the birthday of our great Nation.