America is in a crisis that affects the future of every citizen in our land. There is no THEY poised and ready to swoop in to protect our liberties and restore what has been taken. There is YOU and there is ME. We alone have to shoulder the burden of advancing the cause of freedom in our nation. Each of us has a role and a duty to perform because its OUR America. The time is now. The price of our liberty will only get higher the longer we delay. Mission Statement: OUR America Initiative seeks to broaden the parameters of the public policy debate of current topics in the national arena. We look to enlighten the population about civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. It is our aim to increase the amount of discussion and involvement regarding all-important issues. The OUR America Initiative is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy committee and may receive unlimited donations from both individual and corporate donors. Gary Johnson is not a current candidate for any federal political office. Gary Johnson serves as the Honorary Chairman of the Our America Initiative: OurAmericaInitiative.com He has been an outspoken advocate for efficient government, lower taxes, winning the war on drug abuse, protection of civil liberties, revitalization of the economy and promoting entrepreneurship and privatization.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

townhall.com

Jamestown 400th Anniversary May 13 2007 1607 Voice Choir
Video Rating: 4 / 5

The Peace Hat and President Chester Arthur, 1829 – 1886


Image by Tony Fischer Photography
Tony asked me to comment on Chester Arthur. He was President of the United States from 1881 – 1885.

First, someone has to tell Tony that sitting on a dead person’s final resting place is a bit strange.

Beyond that, this is a guy with three first names, Chester Alan Arthur. Could have been Arthur Chester Alan……..or any other combination. Odd.

Third Tony seems to think people are interested in obscure Presidents. He even has some "Junior Misfit" guy – or is it a familiar looking dog – involved!

Arthur – or Chester – was a better-than-average President who was a fairly honest man, despite coming out of the New York State political machine.

I think he had great whiskers, although they might look strange with me on his head!

From wiki:

Dignified, tall, and handsome, with clean-shaven chin and side-whiskers, Chester A. Arthur "looked like a President."

The son of a Baptist preacher who had emigrated from northern Ireland, Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, in 1829. He was graduated from Union College in 1848, taught school, was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in New York City. Early in the Civil War he served as Quartermaster General of the State of New York.

President Grant in 1871 appointed him Collector of the Port of New York. Arthur effectively marshalled the thousand Customs House employees under his supervision on behalf of Roscoe Conkling’s Stalwart Republican machine.

Honorable in his personal life and his public career, Arthur nevertheless was a firm believer in the spoils system when it was coming under vehement attack from reformers. He insisted upon honest administration of the Customs House, but staffed it with more employees than it needed, retaining them for their merit as party workers rather than as Government officials.

In 1878 President Hayes, attempting to reform the Customs House, ousted Arthur. Conkling and his followers tried to win redress by fighting for the renomination of Grant at the 1880 Republican Convention. Failing, they reluctantly accepted the nomination of Arthur for the Vice Presidency.

During his brief tenure as Vice President, Arthur stood firmly beside Conkling in his patronage struggle against President Garfield. But when Arthur succeeded to the Presidency, he was eager to prove himself above machine politics.

Avoiding old political friends, he became a man of fashion in his garb and associates, and often was seen with the elite of Washington, New York, and Newport. To the indignation of the Stalwart Republicans, the onetime Collector of the Port of New York became, as President, a champion of civil service reform. Public pressure, heightened by the assassination of Garfield, forced an unwieldy Congress to heed the President.

In 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Act, which established a bipartisan Civil Service Commission, forbade levying political assessments against officeholders, and provided for a "classified system" that made certain Government positions obtainable only through competitive written examinations. The system protected employees against removal for political reasons.

Acting independently of party dogma, Arthur also tried to lower tariff rates so the Government would not be embarrassed by annual surpluses of revenue. Congress raised about as many rates as it trimmed, but Arthur signed the Tariff Act of 1883. Aggrieved Westerners and Southerners looked to the Democratic Party for redress, and the tariff began to emerge as a major political issue between the two parties.

The Arthur Administration enacted the first general Federal immigration law. Arthur approved a measure in 1882 excluding paupers, criminals, and lunatics. Congress suspended Chinese immigration for ten years, later making the restriction permanent.

Arthur demonstrated as President that he was above factions within the Republican Party, if indeed not above the party itself. Perhaps in part his reason was the well-kept secret he had known since a year after he succeeded to the Presidency, that he was suffering from a fatal kidney disease. He kept himself in the running for the Presidential nomination in 1884 in order not to appear that he feared defeat, but was not renominated, and died in 1886. Publisher Alexander K. McClure recalled, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired … more generally respected."

source: www.flickr.com/photo_edit.gne?id=3435827496

Alan Chester Arthur (just kidding) now resides at Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York.

American Patriots!


Image by cobalt123
The final image of 376 photos I shot this afternoon at the protest march and rally in support of immigration reform, Phoenix, Arizona! The photo can say more in the visual impact than I can in words, just what it means to be American and a patriot. This is the first of many images to follow in a set I am building over a few days. Thanks for visiting this photo stream today. BTW, let there be no doubt that I believe that dissent IS the highest form of patriotism.

My new BubbleShare slide show is online:
Some images of this set are seen in my BubbleShare slideshow here.

Helga Rome’s Passport


Image by JWA Commons
"After Kristallnacht, my grandmother went to Brazil and then we sponsored her to come here. It was difficult at the beginning for me. School was difficult, language was hard. But we graduated at 16. My father had problems with the language. My grandmother was more educated then any of us. She went to boarding school – fluent in English and French."

Collection of The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford

We’re happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions of the original physical version of apply though; if you’re unsure please visit the Jewish Women’s Archive website.

For obtaining reproductions of images from The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford, please visit the JHSGH website.

www.4immigration.com – Top US Immigration LawyerBrad Bernstein gives free advice to callers at the Immigration Link Show on Linkup Radio 93.5 FM. Can a mother, who is a green card holder (permanent resident), file a family visa for a daughter, who is married? Watch this video to the end to hear the answer of our immigration expert, Brad Bernstein. The Immigration Link Radio Show is aired Monday through Friday, 12:00pm-12:30pm EST, on 93.5 FM in New York City and parts of New Jersey. You too can ask a free immigration question from Spar & Bernstein’s attorneys by calling 1-718-324-5465 during the hours of the show. To schedule a consultation with The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein, please call 1-800-LAW-LINK or 1-800-529-5465 (within USA) or 1-212-227-3636 (outside of USA). For more information or to listen to and watch our shows online, please visit Spar & Bernstein’s website at www.4immigration.com Disclaimer This media presentation is an attorney advertisement brought to you by The Law Offices of Spar and Bernstein and Linkup Media. Any information provided in this presentation should not be considered legal advice and does not take the place of consulting with an attorney. The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein expressly denies that an attorney-client relationship is formed between The Law Offices of Spar & Bernstein and any and/or particular listeners/viewers of this show, unless and until the parties have come to a paid agreement regarding legal representation. The Law …

Luật Sư Darren Nguyễn Ngọc Chương là một Luật Sư người Mỹ gốc Việt đầu tiên và duy nhất tại Orange County, California đã được Luật Sư Đoàn Tiểu Bang California chuẩn thuận và công nhận là luật sư chuyên môn về ngành Luật Di Trú Hoa Kỳ tức là Certified Legal Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law. Luật Sư Darren Nguyễn Ngọc Chương trình bầy và giải thích về ảnh hưởng của sự thụt lùi thời gian đáo hạn đối với các hồ sơ bảo lãnh đã hoặc vừa được hiệu lực. Đặc biệt là hậu quả của sự việc này đối với các trường hợp của những người con trên 21 tuổi cùng đạo luật bảo vệ tình trạng tuổi con trẻ.

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com Follow us on Twitter. http Check Out TYT Interviews www.youtube.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Christopher Hitchens discusses UN’s Anti-Blasphemy Resolution with Lou Dobbs yesterday on CNN. The Resolution, sponsored by the Arab members, aims to forbid all forms of criticism of religion. This is the crucial next step towards imposing Sharia law in the Western world. #97 – Most Discussed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism #30 – Most Responded (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism #54 -Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Australia #91 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Canada #14 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Ireland #87 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – New Zealand #26 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Israel #99 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism #82 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Netherlands #70 – Most Viewed (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism – Sweden #76 – Top Favorited (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism #30 – Top Rated (Today) – Nonprofits & Activism #44 – Most Responded (This Week) – Nonprofits & Activism #29 – Most Viewed (This Week) – Nonprofits & Activism – Ireland #93 – Top Rated (This Week) – Nonprofits & Activism
Video Rating: 4 / 5

(animated stereo) Immigrant Exam, 1911


Image by Thiophene_Guy
To see the animated image scroll down to the first comment (below) or view original size (1000 x 1000; look above in the "actions" menu).

Details and History
The Library of Congress website offers a multitude of historical images, many with no known restrictions on use. This image is derived from the 1911 stereograph depicting Physical examination of female immigrants at Ellis Island, New York City. Related images are shown below (in the first comment).

Copyright Advisory
The purpose here is not to duplicate the original image, from the Library of Congress website, but to generate a downloadable animated gif to assist viewing and presentation. This is believed to be fair use. The original image is copyright 1911 and may be in the public domain. According to Wikipedia works copyrighted before 1978 have a maximum copyright duration of 95 years.
LOC image page: www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95506353/ .

Technical trivia
The source image received aggressive noise reduction (NoisewarwPro) then a darker duplicate (darkened by adjusting the gamma) was generated and blended with the original (Hard Light filter, PictureWindow Pro). Subsequent image manipulations and gif generation done with StereoPhotoMaker, a freeware program by Masuji Suto & David Sykes.

NYC – Tasting the Immigrant Experience


Image by Context Travel
images taken by docent Michelle Cianfaglione, during an October 2009 Tasting the Immigrant Experience walk in NYC

NYC – Tasting the Immigrant Experience


Image by Context Travel
images taken by docent Michelle Cianfaglione, during an October 2009 Tasting the Immigrant Experience walk in NYC

Olbermann takes Bush on for the “Military Commissions Act” and the death of Habeas Corpus. “And if you somehow think Habeas Corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an “unlawful enemy combatant” — exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this Attorney General is going to help you? This President now has his blank check. He lied to get it. He lied as he received it. Is there any reason to even hope, he has not lied about how he intends to use it, nor who he intends to use it against?”
Video Rating: 4 / 5

This video is describing serious problems in my country. – demographics – abusive government policies – massive immigration we never asked for and do not want – destruction of our once cohesive and moral society.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Video Rating: 4 / 5

lady calls in to talk to Michael Savage about open borders, or how we shouldn’t have any. Then things just go bad….
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Rage Against the Machine performing the song “Wake Up” live. Venue: Hollywood Palladium. Location: Los Angeles, CA Date: July 23, 2010 This was a benefit concert to support organizations that are opposing Arizona’s new immigration law SB 1070.