ATTENTION ON DECK! (That mean get your butts out of those chairs civilians, stand up straight & sans coffee mug!)
RENDER HONORS TO PORT! PRESENT ARMS! (Civilians and you ground pounders should turn to the left. You ground pounders know what render honors means, the rest of you civilians place your right hand over your hearts)
SARGENT AT WING DRAGON! SOUND 8 BELLS & RAISE THE COLORS!
PARADE REST! AS YOU WERE! CARRY ON! (You civilians can park your butts and resume greedily slurping your coffee we’re done with the ceremony now)
SARGENT AT WING DRAGON! Let’s move this issue out!
Yes its my cup- my real cup. Yes, that the legendary coffee blend known as ‘Brown Gold’ in it.
No Impish, you can’t have it- the cup OR the Brown Gold in it. No, I’m very sorry but I don’t know where to order more, it was a gift.
If the rest of you need a new coffee mug I suggest the DragonLaffs store!
Independence Day
Independence Day is annually celebrated on July 4 and is often known as “the Fourth of July”. It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays and family events are organized throughout the United States. Many people display the American flag on their homes. The celebrations have deep roots in the American tradition of political freedom.
Background
In 1775, people in New England began fighting the British for their independence. On July 2, 1776, the Congress secretly voted for independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was first published two days later on July 4, 1776. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was on July 8, 1776. Delegates began to sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. In 1870, Independence Day was made an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1941, it became a paid holiday for them.
The first description of how Independence Day would be celebrated was in a letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776. He described “pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations” throughout the United States. However, the term “Independence Day” was not used until 1791.
Interestingly, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both signers of the Declaration of Independence and presidents of the United States, died on July 4, 1826 – exactly 50 years after the adoption of the declaration. It is also important to note that Native Americans lived in the country and each tribe had its own nation and government prior to the European settlers.
Symbols
The most common Independence Day symbol is the American flag. Its design is displayed in all possible ways on July 4 and can be seen in front of homes and buildings. Other symbols associated with Independence Day are the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island in New York and the fireworks viewed all over the United States. Sometimes large civic works such as the Erie Canal and the Washington Monument are started on July 4, emphasizing their contribution to the economy and culture of the United States.
What do people do?
Very few people have to work on Independence Day. It is a day of family celebrations with picnics and barbecues, showing a great deal of emphasis on the American tradition of political freedom. Activities associated with the day include watermelon or hotdog eating competitions [I understand Impish is trying out for the Nathan’s 97th annual July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, 2012 at the Nathan’s Famous flagship in Coney Island, NY. With all that pie he’s been gorging on lately I’m dubious of his chances of making the cut frankfurterly-LL] and sporting events, such as baseball games, three-legged races, swimming activities and tug-of-war games.
Many people display the American flag outside their homes or buildings. Many communities arrange fireworks that are often accompanied by patriotic music. The most impressive fireworks are shown on television. Some employees use one or more of their vacation days to create a long weekend so that they can escape the heat at their favorite beach or vacation spot.
Some chose to demonstrate their patriotism and American pride in other ways:
or like this: 
Independence Day is a patriotic holiday for celebrating the positive aspects of the United States. Many politicians appear at public events to show their support for the history, heritage and people of their country. Above all, people in the United States express and give thanks for the freedom and liberties fought by the first generation of many of today’s Americans.
This is generally not seen as as much of a”honor the military” holiday as Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day despite the heavy presence of the military at many of the day’s events. They too are taking the opportunity to honor our Country. her history and the things she is SUPPOSED to stand for.
While Memorial Day IS arguably thought of as the first day of Summer, its summer in low gear just coming out of the hole. On the other hand the 4th of July heralds in the beginning of a much more important season-
Let the surreptitious ogling of scantily clad beach babes behind mirrored shades commence!
Geeze Impish! You’ll do ANYTHING to get in the spot light won’t you?
The American’s Creed
I BELIEVE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE; WHOSE JUST POWERS ARE DERIVED FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED; A DEMOCRACY IN A REPUBLIC, A SOVEREIGN NATION OF MANY SOVEREIGN STATES; A PERFECT UNION, ONE AND INSEPARABLE; ESTABLISHED UPON THOSE PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, AND HUMANITY FOR WHICH AMERICAN PATRIOTS SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES AND FORTUNES.
I THEREFORE BELIEVE IT IS MY DUTY TO MY COUNTRY TO LOVE IT, TO SUPPORT ITS CONSTITUTION; TO OBEY ITS LAWS; TO RESPECT ITS FLAG; AND TO DEFEND IT AGAINST ALL ENEMIES.
The Creed was written in 1918 by William Tyler Page of Friendship Heights, Maryland in the course of a nationwide contest on the subject. Page was a descendent of President Tyler, and Representative John Page, who served in the Congress from 1789-97.
William Tyler Page began his government career as a Congressional page in December of 1881. In 1919, he was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives, and held that position until December of 1931. a new post, Emeritus Minority Clerk, was then created for him which he occupied until his death on October 20, 1942.
“The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment not of sentiment, but of history.” – President Woodrow Wilson
“Freedom is the deepest and noblest aspiration of the human spirit.” – President Ronald Reagan
Ahh yes, the traditional family 4th of July BBQ! A time for Dad’s to treat their families and loved ones like Gods- by serving them burnt offerings!
Well what? Did your REALLY believe that I would expect you to subsist on coffee and thoughts of fireworks?
Oven Glazed Chicken Wings
Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 45 minutes Makes: 24 pieces
1 cup V8® 100% Vegetable Juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
12 chicken wings (about 2 pounds)
- Stir the vegetable juice, honey, soy sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
- Cut the tips off the wings and discard or save for another use. Cut the wings in half at the joints to make 24 pieces. Add the wings to the juice mixture and toss to coat. Place the chicken mixture in a foil-lined shallow baking pan.
- Bake at 400°F. for 45 minutes or until glazed and the chicken is cooked through, turning and brushing with the sauce during the last 15 minutes of baking time.
RECIPE TIPS
- Want a little zing? Add Tabasco or Cayenne Pepper sauce to suit your taste or use the Spicy variation of V-8. Fresh ground ginger will also kick up your heat level more than the spice jar stuff will.
- Make ahead! Start these the day before and cook 3/4 done then refrigerate. Finish the next day on the grill being sure to save back some of the glazing liquid for grilling time.
Wild West Picante Burgers
Prep: 10 minutes Grill: 10 minutes Makes: 4 servings
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce or Pace® Chunky Salsa
4 Pepperidge Farm® Hamburger Rolls, split
- Mix the beef and picante sauce thoroughly in a medium bowl. Shape the beef mixture firmly into 4 (1/2-inch thick) burgers.
- Lightly oil the grill rack and heat the grill to medium. Grill the burgers for 10 minutes or until desired doneness, turning them over once halfway through grilling and brushing often with additional picante sauce.
- Serve the burgers on the buns with additional picante sauce.
RECIPE TIPS
- Serving Suggestion: Serve with coleslaw or fresh vegetables and ranch dressing for dipping and corn-on-the-cob. For dessert serve sliced watermelon or fresh fruit salad.
Take my advice, right off double this recipe, you start cooking these and 4 will not be enough. Besides the buns come in 8 packs!
Second toss in 1/2 a package of Beefy Onion Soup mix (I mix it with the Salsa in a separate bowl before adding to insure it all dissolves and gets distributed evenly. Lastly you can top them with Picante but a thick salsa will make a better easier to handle burger when it comes to adding to the ground beef as their is less liquid to it. BTW with this recipe given the liquid from the salsa in the burgers, you can get away with a better leaner grade of ground beef and still get moist juicy burgers
Pepperjack or Horseradish-Onion cheese make great toppers to these burgers. Also take your Picante and mix it with a mashed avocado for an great healthy Tex-Mex replacement for mayo on these.
Grilled Loaded Baby Bakers
I know we have a recipe similar to this for Memorial day but these are even better!
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Number of Servings: 4
A fun play on the classic loaded baked potato that can be easily prepared alongside other items on the grill.
Ingredients
1.5# par Boiled Baby Bakers
1/4 cup butter, cut into 1/4″ pieces
6 slices Fully Cooked Bacon Slices
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps
1. Combine baby bakers, butter and bacon in foil pouch and seal.
2. Grill over medium-high indirect heat for 15-20 minutes.
3. Add green onions and shredded cheese to cooked potatoes.
4. Serve with a scoop of sour cream.
Apricot Upside-Down Cake
The Apricot Upside-Down Cake is a great dessert for any summertime get-together!
Serves: 8 Total Time: 1 hr Prep Time: 25 min Cook Time: 35 min
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar
- 8 ripe apricots, each cut in half and pitted
- 1 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup(s) cornmeal
- 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
- 3/4 cup(s) low-fat buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon(s) margarine or butter, melted
- 2 tablespoon(s) canola oil
- 1 teaspoon(s) freshly grated lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10-inch cast iron or ovenproof skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bottom of skillet. Arrange apricot halves, cut side down, over brown sugar.
- In large bowl, whisk flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until blended. In small bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, margarine, oil, lemon peel, and vanilla extract until blended. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until just blended. Pour batter over apricots and spread to cover evenly.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool in skillet on wire rack 10 minutes. Run knife around side of skillet. Place platter on top of skillet and carefully invert cake onto platter. Remove skillet. Cool cake slightly to serve warm, about 30 minutes.
If you want to make this cake really pop jazz it up with some cherries…but not jarred Maraschino cherries REAL cherries ( I used frozen black cherries which happen to be my favorite variety) Also When Molly ( I’m the cook, she’s the baker) made this we used entirely frozen fruit as we usually have a wife variety on had for several different purposes without any discernable difference.
Chocolate Orange Cappuccino Shakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup Orange Marmalade
- 1/2 cup Sundae Syrup Chocolate Flavored Syrup
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
- 4 cups vanilla ice cream
- mint leaves
Directions:
The possibilities for “adulting up” this beverage are endless and boggle the mind. ‘Nuff said right there!
And if some liberal butt breathed politically correct whiney weenie says he has a problem with calling our troops heroes, dust your knuckles off with his nose!
This Interactive Constitution is based on The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution by Linda R. Monk
http://ratify.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/index_no_flash.php
The Federalist Papers were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.
In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed “PUBLIUS” and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.
The copy of the Federalist Papers that is pictured above is a first edition in the collection of the Library of Congress. It was originally owned by Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth, who gave it to her sister, Angelica Church, from whom her friend, Thomas Jefferson, acquired it. Apparently relying on information supplied by Madison, Jefferson assigned the pseudonymous “Publius” essays to Hamilton, Madison, and Jay in a list on the flyleaf of this volume
http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/
Other important documents of the period:
- The Bill of Rights
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Declaration of Independence
- The Anti-Federalist Papers
Uniquely American. Truly a must watch, listen and learn.
I’M NOT POSTING THIS AS AN ANTI ANYBODY MESSAGE!
Rather I’m posting this as appropriate for this particular day and holiday of all days and holidays we celebrate. I’m posting it because if more people do not listen to, understand and take heed of what is being said by this man regarding the root cause of ALL our current problems, political, social and economic both at home and internationally, then I find the prospect that we will last as a nation to celebrate our 250th birthday extremely unlikely and the possibility of our celebrating a National Tri-Centennial an absolute absurdity!
WORST OF ALL THIS WILL BE THE FAULT OF EVERY DAMNED LAST US CITIZEN, EACH AND EVERYONE OF US, IRREGARDLESS OF OUR PERSONAL POLITICS, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU CARE TO POINT OUT AS SEPERATING ONE OF US FROM ANOTHER.
ALL OF US WILL HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE!
Very important and Interesting perspective:
Recently Impish had the opportunity while at a conference to spend an afternoon exploring some of Gettysburg. You may remember my posting some photos and comments from him while he was away. This is a much more in depth piece on that experience featuring his thoughts as well as his own photos. While not Revolutionary War we felt that the Civil War had as much to do with shaping your modern America as the Revolutionary did in starting it and as though this was a good issue to feature this material.
As you walk out on to the bluff, overlooking the valley where so many had fought and died, there is a palpable feeling, a pressure…a presence if you will. You can feel it pressing in on the nerve endings of your body.
People were here. You almost expect to see men in blue or gray step out from behind boulders and trees, hurrying to load cannons.
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1st to July 3rd 1863. It hadn’t even been a hundred years since we declared our independence from the king who ruled in England. (Or, as my British friends would say, “since the ungrateful upstarts decided to move out on their own.”) And here we were again, engaged in a bloody war on our own soil.
This time it’s brother against brother, father against son, families split along political and geographical lines and at this place and this time, it’s the bloodiest battle of the bloodiest war in our history.
A quick history of the Battle of Gettysburg from Wikipedia:
After his success at Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863, Lee led his army through the 
Shenandoah Valley to begin his second invasion of the North—the Gettysburg Campaign. With his army in high spirits, Lee intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged northern Virginia and hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war by penetrating as far as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia. Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln, Maj. Gen. 
Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit, but was relieved just three days before the battle and replaced by Meade.
Elements of the two armies initially collided at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there, his objective being to engage the Union army and destroy it. Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division under Brig. Gen. John Buford, and soon reinforced with two corps of Union infantry. However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south.
On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook. In the late afternoon of July 2, Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left 
flank, and fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Devil’s Den, and the Peach Orchard. On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. All across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines.
On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culp’s Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by
12,500Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, known as Pickett’s Charge. The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle.
The battle field is littered with memorials, markers, headstones and statues memorializing the battle and the men and women who took part. Walking through the fields is like walking through a giant graveyard.
You feel puny besides these giant markers of giant people. Right or wrong, they fought and they died for what they believed in, for what, in their hearts, they knew was right.
Can we be that different ourselves? Is it not truly obvious, when we look in our own hearts, what’s right and what’s wrong? On this day, we celebrate the decision our forefathers made 236 years ago to do the right thing.
That time is once again upon us my friends. Look inside your own hearts and I know you will see what the right thing to do is. In November we will have the chance at our own revolution. At our own, Civil War. The power is in our hands, all we must do is the right thing to do. All we must do is the best we can do.
Until next time my friends.
ATTENTION ON DECK! (That mean get your butts out of those chairs civilians, stand up straight & sans coffee mug!)
RENDER HONORS TO PORT! PRESENT ARMS! (Civilians and you ground pounders should turn to the left. You ground pounders know what render honors means, the rest of you civilians place your right hand over your hearts)
SARGENT AT WING DRAGON! Take over!
Color Guard To Post!
PARADE REST! AS YOU WERE! CARRY ON! DISMISSED! (You civilians can park your butts and resume greedily slurping your coffee or head out to your picnics and such now- were done with the issue. )
What? I forgot about the fireworks? Did not! I was just waiting for dark!
See this years “A Capitol Fourth” on your local PBS station starting at 8 PM Eastern
Well I think that about covers just about all the bases save for one last thing. Then its time to go do some celebrating of my own!
Lethal,
The photo is awesome, wherever it’s from. I just had a tinge of hope that you’d snagged one from one of those poor-Scots cousins. 😉
femme
The Kitchen photo is actually from an Irish National Heritage site where everything is done ‘in period” (think Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia, or Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts and other living history sites.
Happy Independence Day guys 🙂
The Gaelic kitchen photo was taken in Scotland right? (Wink) The wings and orange-choco smoothies are now on my “I have to try this” list.
Loved the Gettysburg inclusion as well. Their story grows old, but never stale.
femmeflashpoint