A Legacy of Freedom

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." - Preamble to the Constitution

221 years ago today, after five months of arduous debate, negotiation, argument, compromise, dreaming and planning, a group of inspired men completed their work and signed the document that they had worked so hard to create. It then left Independence Hall in Philadelphia for its journey to New York, where Congress reviewed its contents and sent it to the states for ratification.

The framing and ratification of our Constitution was nothing less than a miracle. Men from twelve very different states with a variety of prejudices and attitudes towards government came together to form a strong central government that still preserved the rights of individual citizens and their respective states. Each state then elected delegates to their own conventions and debated these same principles again. When they decided to ratify the Constitution (in some states by a mere handful of votes) each state willingly gave up a portion of its authority to become a part of a larger nation. It was a tremendous gamble on their part, but their actions went on to create the freest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the men who framed our Constitution and fought for its ratification in each state. For over two hundred years their efforts have secured the blessings of liberty to us - their posterity. Over the years, these blessings have been preserved from generation to generation through both armed struggle and the careful vigilance of informed citizens. They too are deserving of our gratitude for keeping our inheritance intact, and passing it on to us.

Preserving and defending the Constitution becomes the great mission of each generation of Americans, and now it is our turn to rise to the challenge like our forefathers before us.

For some of the best among us, defending our Constitution means putting on the nation's uniform and defending it against enemies abroad. For others it means to create, enforce, or interpret laws in a way that is in harmony with the Constitution. For all of us, whether we are soldiers, statesmen or citizens, it means to know our Constitution from end to end and then to do our part to ensure that the government is strictly following its principles and staying within its bounds.

If the next generation of Americans is to continue this tradition, we need to pass a love for and knowledge of the Constitution down to them with the added example of our own generation of leaders. Leaving them a larger legacy of freedom than the one left to us will ensure that our Republic continues to be a blessing to millions of Americans yet to come.

For those of you who are interested - Heritage Academy in Mesa is hosting a Constitutional Seminar this Saturday, September 20th from 8:30-4:30. Reserve your spot by calling 480-969-5641

Cost is $7.50 for the required workbook.

Clean Elections Debates Start Tonight!!!

The Clean Elections Commission is holding debates for several races beginining tonight.

Click here for information about the debates.

An Iraqi Veteran for John McCain

Enough said!

Convention - Day 2

We have a ton of events planned for pretty much every moment of the day, so making these posts is fairly difficult. My appologies for not keeping everybody as up-to-date as possibe.

Last night's session was the kind of rip roarin', crowd pleasin', foot stompin' type of event you would expect a convention to be. We paid tribute to Republican presidents of the past (Lincoln, Roosevelt, Ford, George H.W. Bush) and the men and women of our armed services. Perhaps the most moving moment of the night was when we watched a video on the sacrifices of one of our country's finest, U.S. Navy Seal Michael Monsoor - the fourth recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor from our current war in Iraq. Michael's sister was with us as well as five other MoH recipients and they were honored with a thunderous standing ovation.

First Lady Laura Bush spoke, highlighting the accomplishments of President Bush's administration over his 8 years in office, and then introducing him. President Bush spoke to us from the Whitehouse - emphasizing McCain's leadership abilities and his stand against legislation and policies that he does not agree with. He emphasized that McCain is the only candidate with the experience necessary to keep us safe during these difficult times, and that he is ready to be the President of the United States of America.

Service was the theme for the night, and the speeches all centered around ordinary Americans doing their best to serve their country, putting country first. Correlations between their actions and John McCain's lifetime of service to the country were drawn, culminating with our key speakers of the evening - Senator Fred Thompson and Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Senator Thompson's speech reviewed Sen. McCain's years as a prisoner of war and emphasized that being a POW does not qualify you for office, but it definitely reveals a lot about your character. He touched on the economic issues that are affecting our country right now and how the best way to help our country flourish is to get government out of the way. His speech was magnificent!

Sen Lieberman closed the evening explaining why he supports John McCain and making an appeal to his fellow Democrats and Independents to consider carefully their choice this election, and to choose someone with the experience and the character we need in the Whitehouse - John McCain.

More later - we have another meeting to run to.

Vindication!

A strong majority of the Republican voters in LD 18 repudiated the attacks on Rep. (soon to be Sen.) Russell Pearce and gave Kevin Gibbons a sound trouncing in the Republican Primary yesterday. (Click here for official results)

In other election related news, it looks like our district will be represented in the House by Cecil Ash and Steve Court. A razor thin margin of 72 votes put Steve Court over Ron Middlebrook, and Kanani Henderson was far behind the pack with about half the numer of votes received by Court and Middlebrook. (Click here for official results)

This was a difficult race for Rep. Pearce and his family due to the despicable attacks on his character. The attacks were unwarranted, unfair, and undeserved by such a fine public servant. In spite of these attacks, Rep. Pearce stayed firm and is standing up for all of us in LD 18. On behalf of me and my family - Thank you Rep. Pearce. You are one of our heroes.

Off to a (not so roaring) Start

With Hurricane Gustav making landfall yesterday, the convention began on a much more muted tone than normal. We were gaveled to order a little after 2:30pm and began taking care of the statutory business of the convention - adopting the rules, selecting officers for the convention, appointing committees, and receiving/accepting reports. The most important matter of business was the adoption of the official Platform, which was done by a voice vote with no opposition (or at least none that I could detect - it all happened rather fast).

Throughout the meeting appeals were made to donate to several hurricane relief fund efforts and, in true Republican fashion, over $1.3million was donated within the first hour.

By far the most rousing and celebrated moments of the convention were the appearance of our First Lady, Laura Bush, and our future First Lady, Cindy McCain. Both ladies added "a touch of glamour" to the event and received thunderous applause and standing ovations. During their appearance additional appeals for funds were made, and video presentations were made from 4 of the five Gulf-State governors. A motion was made to adjourn and we left for our hotels after a very abbreviated first session.

The Arizona delegation along with delegations from California, Tennessee and other areas were treated to a great party by Medtronics at their world headquarters. An ice bar and several fantastic entertainers filled the evening. Along with several Medtronics officials, Gov. Pawlenty and Sen. Coleman both spoke to us about the challenges and opportunities we have as Republicans.

The real party will begin tonight as we get into full swing with high profile speakers and a much more celebratory atmosphere at the convention for session 2.
The response to the hurricane by the McCain Campaign has been admirable, focusing our attention on being Americans first and showing concern for the welfare of our fellow citizens above and beyond our politics. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin have been touring the area, lending support and raising funds for relief.

Barrack Obama's response? He'll go when things have calmed down and he is offering his campaing email list to fundraisers.

Typical.

Meeting a TRUE American Hero

This post is a small deviation from the political news of the RNC, but it involved an American Hero, and was such an inspiring event that I want to include it here.


As my wife and I were getting off the elevator a few minutes ago I spotted an elderly gentleman and his wife seated right next to the elevator banks with this around his neck:

I discreetly pointed him out to my wife, not wanting to interrupt him, but then I couldn't resist and had to go pay my respects. His name is Cpl. Hiroshi H. Miyamura, a Medal of Honor Recipient and WWII/Korean War Veteran. I told him what an honor it was to meet him and his wife and how grateful we are for his service and others like him. He was very gracious and allowed my wife to take this picture of the two of us:

Mr. Miyamura is from New Mexico and is also a first time attendee at the Republican National Convention. He told us that he wanted to make an appearance at the convention to tell people who he was voting for and why. He said we needed real American men to lead our country and that he was there to honor Sen. McCain's service in the military and encourage us to vote for him.After chatting for a few minutes I walked away, with goosebumps running up and down my arms. It was such an honor to meet this man and personally thank him for his service to our country. After running our errands I had to run back up to the hotel room to look up Cpl. Miyamura's Citation. After reading it aloud to my wife I once again got chills. I would rather meet and visit with one of these authentic American heroes than a President of the United States. I couldn't wait for tonight to get this post put up on my blog. It is too exciting for me!Here is Cpl. Miyamura's Medal of Honor Citation:



MIYAMURA, HIROSHI H.

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Taejon-ni, Korea, 24 and 25 April 1951. Entered service at: Gallup, N. Mex. Birth: Gallup, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 85, 4 November 1953. Citation: Cpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. On the night of 24 April, Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machine gun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machine gun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura's indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service.