AMMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA #ONE

If you have not read and studied the Constitution, as many in Washington have seemed to skipped, then read on.
Tonight I want to dwell for a bit on Amendment #1, which says: Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
There you have it, simple, to the point, easy to understand.  One would think that even a Mayor of South Bend would understand such words.  But, believe it or not, this guy (Butthead, or some such) does not understand these words, if he has ever read them, and is making actual threats to churches telling them they must do things to please Government not God and pastors must not tell congregations that they are sinning if they oppose abortion or they cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples just because the church teaches that doctrine.  The city that houses Notre Dame University with a long history of teaching and service now has a mayor telling it's people to forget about our founding fathers and this Republic they fought so hard to form with the freedoms that go with it and instead just let Washington handle it....God Help Us!...Medicineman!

JOSEPH HEWES-PATRIOT-1730-1779

Joseph's parents were natives of Connecticut and were members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers.  As soon as they married they moved to New Jeresy and bought a small farm at Kingston, near Princeton.  Joseph was born there in 1730 and educated at Princeton College.  When he finished there he apprenticed to a merchant in Philadelphia and learned the skills to be a merchant.
His father provided him a little cash to get a start in the mercantile trade and with his good reputation and solid learning in the trades he soon amassed a small fortune.
When he was thirty years old he moved to North Carolina and settled in Edenton where he lived the rest of his life.  He went into business there and earned such a good reputation and became well known among the people as an upright citizen.
In 1763 he was elected to the State Legislature where he performed so well that the people sent him back to the legislature for several years.
Hewes was one of the first in North Carolina to take up the cause of the Patriots of North Carolina and used his influence to bring about a convention of the people to call for a General Congress.  The convention met in the summer of  1774 and elected him to one of the delegates for the state.
He tok his seat on the fourteenth of September and was immediately placed on the commettiee to right the Declaration of Rights.  During that session he set about to draw up a non-importation agreement for the States to sign.  Of course this kind of declaration would put an end to his business and he knew it, but his act was out of patriotism and he made the sacrifice gladly.
Hewes was elected again in 1775 and although he did not enter into much of the debates or discussion his mind was adroit and he was placed on the naval committee and effectively became the first Secretary of the Navy (although we had very little Navy).
Hewes was in Philadelphia in 1776 to vote for and to sign the Declaration of Independence but he soon had to return home to straighten his affairs and save his fortune from being scattered to the four winds.  He stayed until 1779 when he returned to Congress but found himself too ill to remain so he resigned his seat.  He never left Philadelphia, he was too weak and Joseph Hewes was the first and only signer to die at his desk.....Medicineman!

WILLIAM HOOPER 1742-1790-PATRIOT

You who are reading these short bios of the signers of our Declaration of Independence are shaking your head, perhaps, because you are not familiar with a lot of these men that were so involved in our beginnings as a United States, and maybe you even feel a little "left out" or even "dumb".  But don't fret about it because you will find that MOST are in the same boat!
William Hooper's father emigrated to Boston from Scotland and in Boston he was married.  William was his first born and he took greaqt care to see that he got a good education.  William was prepared for clerical work and was a good student, graduating with honors.  However William decided to study the Law.
William left Boston because of an overabundance of lawyers and went to North Carolina where he had a number of Scottish relatives and set up practice.  There he rose quickly in the profession and gained a circle of friends in government gaining him a lot of influence.
Then in 1770-71 an insurrection arose involving the political party called "Regulators".  Many thought these were a rag-tag group of malcontents, they had taken up the cause of the Patriots and for awhile Hooper was on the side of the Governor.  Things changed when Patrick Henry ran Lord Governor Dunmore out of Virginia and the events in Boston and other citys.  William Hooper was a staunch supporter of the Patriot cause.
It was in 1773 when William was elected to a seat in the Provincial Assembly, then reelected to the County where he became so obnoxious to the State that he was judged an enemy of said State.  Then in the summer of 1774 a meeting was called and the decision was made to send William Hooper to the Continental Congress where he was returned the next year and wrote the address to the Island of Jamacia.  This address was a clear and able explanation of the rift between England and the Colonies.
William was again elected in 1776 and there voted for and placed his name on the document on Auguet 2, 1776.
In 1777 Hooper was busy moving his family from place to place, hiding himself from time to time and suffering the harassment of the British.  When it was over William went back and reclaimed his land and went back to work, not entering politics again. 
William Hooper died in 1790 at the age of 48 years.....Medicineman!

CARTER BRAXTON---PATRIOT--1736-1797

Another Virginian, Carter Braxton was born into a wealthy farmer, landowner in1736.  Both his parents died while Carter and his brother were quite young.
Carter was educated at the college of Wiliam and Mary, and leaving there was married to Miss Judith Robinson when he was nineteen.  She was the daughter of a rich planter thereby adding to his own fortune making him one of the richest in Virginia.
Judith died at the time of the birth of her second child.  She was not yet 21 years of age.
Braxton went to England in 1757 for self improvement and remained until 1760, when he then returned to America and married the daughter of Mr. Corbin (she bore him sixteen children) the royal receiver-general of the customs of Virginia.  With that kind of connection one would think that Braxton would hang closer to the King.  Not so, he was one of the first to raise his voice of patriotism in the House of Burgesses.
He was present when Patrick Henry raised the issue of the Stamp Act made his eloquent speech against the tyranny of the Act.  Braxton was one of those who then retired to a private room to sign a non-importation agreement.
The next year, 1770, Lord Botetourt died and betweee his death and the arrival of the replacement, Lord Dunmore, Braxton held the office of high sheriff but refused to hold it under the new governor.
Dunmore was inept at best and in-efective as an administrator and It was then Mr. Braxton was chosen as one of the delegates to the Continental Congress, where although he was not a dynamic speaker, he made his way to the center of the question.  When he placed his name on the Declaration of Independence he made his palce in history.
When Lord Dunmore made a move toward the public magazines, in 1777, to move the power and shot to the ship-of-war Fowey, off Williamsburg, Patrick Henry formed a company of men and marched on the harbor, gathering more men as he went, and confronted the governor.  Dunmore threatened to shell the city.  In the stand-off Dunmore abdicated. paid a sum for the power and left town.  Virginia was back in the hands of Virginians.
Carter Baxter served his country in various posts until four days before he died!Medicineman!

HISTORY REPEATED?

Much of the "news items" we get in today's world seem to remind many of us of what this United? States looked like some 250 years ago.
Boston was a key shipping port of goods in and out of the country.  British Troops were stationed there.  New York was a small, dirty, crowded town busy with commerce and trade (and corruption) with British troops there also.
Then in 1765 England issued the Stamp Act, a tax on every sheet of paper used and very unpopular in the Colonies.  Then, shortly after came the Boston Massacre.  Americans died and Americans were outraged.  Trouble ramped up.  More Red-Coats, more anger.  Then the order went out to Boston troops to collect the weapons of the people.  More anger.  The Militias then began to spirit away the stocks of powder and lead and hide them from the British.
The Boston "Tea Party" was one more step to rile the British while, at the same time, cheering the people on to more rebellion.  "And the dance goes on forever"!
Now do we see any similaritys today?   Are threats being made to the peoples rights? Do Americans today trust the Washington crowd who think the world revolves around them and who ignore the Constitution when they deny freedom of speech, and yell for more "Gun Control", which, by the way, just means that they do not want you to have one!
Final question; Are we seeing history repeated?    Medicineman!

CORREGIDOR, PHILIPPINES

The following is excerpted directly from original World War II Newsreels and Field Reports:
(March 11, 1942)
It is now official, General Douglas MacArthur has left the Philippines.  Prior to his departure, he declared, "I shall return."
MacArthur, his family and several advisors boarded four PT boats which raced 560 miles to the Philippine Island of Mindanao.  They completed the dangerous voyage in just 35 hours, eluding Japanese surface and air forces.
Reports are confirming that General MacArthur has reached his Australian army headquarters to formally take over the big job of  preparing a counter offensive to throw back the Japanese invaders.

Dateline, October 20, 1944, Allied Forces under General MacArthur's command, covered by aircraft from Admiral Halsey's carriers, have landed at Leyte Island, fulfilling the vow MacArthur made two and a half years ago to return to the Philippines.
After heavy fighting in Luzon and Manila, MacArthur has finally consolidated his hold on the archipelago.  So intense was the Allied offense that Japanese forces were hard-pressed to slow the advance, let alone turn it back. 

I spent some time there a few years after the war ended and saw Manila Bay still clogged with sunken hulks (Japan finally cleared the harbor in 1959) and the old City still in ruins in Manila.  It is certainly true that Filipinos had no use for Japanese in those years after the war......Medicineman!

FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE 1734-1797

This signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Patriot is the younger brother of Richard Henry Lee.
Born in Westmoreland County of Virginia Francis was too young when his father died to be educated in England as his brother was.  Instead he received a good and true education from the Reverent Doctor Craig, a Scotch Clergy of eminent learning.  He was just becoming a man when his brother Richard returned from England and Francis was much impressed by his older brother and listened to his opinions of what the King was doing to the Colonies. 
Richard Henry was soft spoken and of good manners but worked hard at trying to impress upon his fellow Americans of how serious the actions of the English were.
Francis was caught up in the spirit and when he was old enough to become involved in politics he was a full fledged patriot, and with pure heart and clean hands he backed the cause of freedom.
In 1765 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses for Loudon County.  He remained a member until 1772 when he married the daughter if Colonel John Richards of Richmond and moved there.  He was at once elected a member for Richmond and remained in that position until 1775 when he was elected to the Continental Congress.
Lee was not a good speaker so seldom took the floor but his sound judgement and unwavering principles plus his high energy made him a valuable member of the Congress. He continued in that position until 1779 and was on the committee to frame the Articles of Confederation.
Francis left public service, or tried to, but his fellow citizens made him a member of the Virginia Senate where he served briefly and retired to follow his agricultural pursuits and be with family.
In 1797 he was struck down by an attack of pleurisy which took his life at the age of 63.....Medicineman!