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1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:48 am
by Lord Jim
I was going to start a thread on this theme, but then I did a search and realized I couldn't possibly improve on my own earlier words on the subject...:
Washington lost the vast majority of the fights in which he engaged his troops, as Commander Of The Continental Army...
He perfected...(as a result of necessity) the doctrine of "strategic retreat"....(He retreated from Boston, he retreated from New York...he even retreated from Philadelphia. (Even Mao Zedong once described how much he admired Washington's concept of "strategic retreat"... )
1776 (though now we celebrate it as The Year Of The Birth Of Our Nation) was an awful year for the cause of American Independence...1777 was even worse....
On more than one occasion, Washington saw his "army" almost completely disintegrate, and he kept it's remnants going through the sheer strength of his own personality...
He lost battle, after battle, always on the run...
Until the very end....
And then, at the end of the day, when he had finally turned the tide of battle, and could have seized power for himself, (like Oliver Cromwell)
He refused to do it....
That takes a man of singular quality...
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=720&p=8418&hilit=1776#p8418
Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 1:56 pm
by liberty
And then, at the end of the day, when he had finally turned the tide of battle, and could have seized power for himself, (like Oliver Cromwell)
He refused to do it....
He had two opportunities to seize power and turned them both down that is extraordinary; he was the Ronald Reagan of his generation. We owe him everything we have as a nation and as a people we despise him and don’t even recognize his birthday.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:58 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Happy Birthday USA.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:25 pm
by Lord Jim
Happy 236th US....
And Happy 13th Tati!

Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:48 pm
by Joe Guy
Tati's getting old! You better start stocking up on this stuff....

Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:15 pm
by Scooter
liberty wrote:he was the Ronald Reagan of his generation
I don't think even Jim would attempt to make THAT comparison.
A Happy 4th to y'all.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:29 pm
by Lord Jim
I don't think even Jim would attempt to make THAT comparison.
No....
(I have to say when I read that, I immediately thought, "boy, lib's gonna git it now"....

)
While Mr. Reagan was unquestionably one of the two greatest Presidents of the 20th Century, (FDR being the other) I would not call him the equivalent of the original George W.
No disrespect intended;there isn't
anyone I would bestow that accolade on....
Re: 1776....
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:14 pm
by loCAtek
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:08 am
by liberty
Lord Jim wrote:I don't think even Jim would attempt to make THAT comparison.
No....
(I have to say when I read that, I immediately thought, "boy, lib's gonna git it now"....

)
While Mr. Reagan was unquestionably one of the two greatest Presidents of the 20th Century, (FDR being the other) I would not call him the equivalent of the original George W.
No disrespect intended;there isn't
anyone I would bestow that accolade on....
Reagan and Washington were alike in that they both cared more about the future of the country that they did their own glory. That is unusual because most great men are more concerned about their ego and power than anything else.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:52 am
by oldr_n_wsr
Lord Jim wrote:
And Happy 13th Tati!
Your daughter is now a "teenager". You have now become the stupidist person in hte world, you have no idea how it is being a teenager, you were never young you don't know how she feels.
But look on the bright side, in about 10 years (give or take a few), you will once again be smart and actually know some things. She will even ask your advice.
ETA
Wish her a Happy Birthday from me.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:26 am
by Gob
O-n-W Nailed it!! Happy birthday young lady, now go out and get a high paying job ...while you still know everything!!
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:39 am
by oldr_n_wsr
Just spent 10 minutes outside watching hte fireworks by Grucci that they are shooting off at Bald Hill here in Farmingville. The roads and parking lots were getting jammed up at 8:30 when I was coming back from my meeting (AA). I was going to take a chance and drive down to horseblock road and see if I could find a spot, but when I saw the parking lots filling up an hour before I said forget it. When I heard the first boom I went outside and found a spot through the trees where I could see most of the fireworks.
I think I like fireworks are better when little kids are around.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:56 pm
by Sue U
We got to see three fireworks shows this week, oldr, all of them really nice. Saturday evening we went to the ball game in Camden (the Riversharks are in 2nd place behind your Long Island Ducks) and stayed in the stands to watch Philadelphia's fireworks over the Delaware River. Tuesday we went to the fireworks in neighboring Haddonfield, which was where the New Jersey General Assembly met during the Revolution and officially ratified the Declaration of Independence. Last night's fireworks were at my town's high school, conveniently located two blocks from my house -- although by that time I think the kids were more interested in the pleasures of the Mister Softee ice cream truck than the fireworks themselves.
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:20 pm
by Guinevere
I've been really spoiled by fireworks this year:
Last Sunday (the 24th) the sports teams boosters carnival had really terrific fireworks in town. We could sit on the seawall at my beach, and watch them across the bay. On Saturday the 30th, the neighboring town had their expensive display -- all watchable from across two bays. On the 3rd, my hood has tis own fireworks and bonfires on the beach and the breakwaters. It's my favorite night of the holiday (and one of the best of the summer) -- fireworks are going off everywhere, right overhead, people are wandering the street, everyone is happy -- its like a block party! Last night different neighborhoods on the big beach held fireworks. We went chasing them, driving up and down the beach, before we settled at a friend's house to sit on their porch, eat ice cream, and watch them from a block away. Nature decided to add its own show -- crazy lightning, super high, going vertical, just as the fireworks were getting going (but no rain, and only a little thunder). Boston required the esplanade evacuated because the lightning was so severe, delayed their fireworks about an hour -- so that when I got home I could see those from across the harbor, just over the trees and the city skyline.
It's been an awesome holiday, now I have to really buckle down and get ready for a 2-week trial, starting in 11 days!
Oh, and older, I still love fireworks, with or without kids!
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:32 pm
by Lord Jim
We checked out the Bay Area fireworks from Mt. Davidson, and it was actually clear enough to be able to see them...
I think I like fireworks are better when little kids are around.
A lot of things fall into that category oldr....
Christmas morning comes immediately to mind...
Re: 1776....
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:13 pm
by Gob
Rock climbing....
Re: 1776....
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:53 am
by Sue U
Re: 1776....
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:16 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Lord Jim wrote:We checked out the Bay Area fireworks from Mt. Davidson, and it was actually clear enough to be able to see them...
I think I like fireworks are better when little kids are around.
A lot of things fall into that category oldr....
Christmas morning comes immediately to mind...
Ain't that the truth. To bring some of that "magic" back, we tought our lab to go get and then open the present for us. Fun watching him tear the paper and boxes to shreds.
I read in hte paper that the Macy's fireworks in NY city this year they set of 50,000 pounds of explosives, at a rate of 1000 shells a minute for 45 minutes. Incredible

Re: 1776....
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:02 pm
by loCAtek
There were more street explosions, than sky explosions, this year. Been going on that way for weeks, in fact...
Thank you, 3:30am [sounds lke gunfire] wake up call!
The city is making a mint off of the illegal fireworks too; due to the extreme fire danger. There were rumors of the police using IR to trace the trajectories of the bottle rockets backwards to thier source, and handing out $1,000 fine tickets
