Thoughts on Independence Day

This was originally posted at my personal blog, The Daily Retard. Enjoy!
Am I the only one who finds it incredibly ironic that we are celebrating the 4th of July, Independence Day here in the great country of America, while Obamoron and his socialist congress are stripping away our freedoms daily with their ridiculous policies and constant bailouts, takeovers and interventions, and general disregard for our Constitution? And does it make you all sick to your stomach that we flat-out refuse to help advance the cause of democracy anywhere else in the world?
I haven't made too much of a secret of the fact that I think our president is completely unfit for office, and in all honesty most of the elected officials in Washington probably are too stupid to work at a McDonalds drive-thru (seriously, no offense to any of you idiots at McDonalds, most of the time you guys get my order right, and your batting average is still WAY higher than meteorologists but these are both subjects to be covered another day), but the fact is that the idiots in Washington were elected by the moron voters here in the US.
So what I want from everyone today, from the idiots in Washington to the moron voters in the US and the readers of The Daily Retard, is to take a minute to read the following email I got regarding the signers of the Declaration of Independence and REALLY think about what these men went through to give us the freedoms that our elected officials are stealing from us, slowly but surely, every day. I am not an overly sensitive guy, but I got choked up when I read this and I truly hope you will get some kind of impact from it as well. Were it not for these incredibly brave men, I would not have the right to write what I do, and you all would not have the right to read it AND THIS CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN. Otherwise, my friends, it will be repeated....

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.

Remember: freedom is never free!

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. I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. 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.