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Happy Environmentally Safe/Clean 4th of July - David Spates
David Jenkins (David Spates) Asks that you have a environmentally safe and clean 4th of July. Check out some of his other videos like "The First Black Homosexual", "My Invisible Dog", "Game juice", and many others with more to come! Don't forget to add me as a friend and subscribe. :-)
Also if you have a Myspace, Facebook, or tagged account, please add me there too. Just search for my name. David Spates :-) David Jenkins (David Spates) Asks that you have a environmentally safe and clean 4th of July. Check out some of his other videos like ... more -
What's right with America? Plenty.
A few days before the Fourth of July, I read a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer that said America didn't deserve to celebrate its independence this year.
It claimed that all of our so-called atrocities have shamed the memory of our founding fathers and, as a result, we should cancel our parades, put away our fireworks and all sit quietly while we atone for our sins.
I guess that was one way to go.
Another way to go would be to fire up the grills, bring the kids to the beach,and gather the family on a blanket to watch as your tax dollars ignite into colorful bursts.
I'm guessing that most of us chose the second option.
But just because I had fun with friends and family doesn't mean that I believe America is perfect. It just means that, for one day, I chose to celebrate the fact that America is still closer to perfect than any other country in the history of the world.
For 364 days a year we talk about high gas prices, crooked politicians, and how much people from one political party allegedly hate everyone from the other. But for 24 hours we get to put it all aside and marvel at how a few brave men risked their lives to stand up for what they believed in. Of course, I would prefer we celebrate that every day, but for now, or at least until that Inquirer columnist gets elected president and bans it, I'll take the one.
As someone who works in the media in New York City, I'll admit that I am part of the chorus of people who talk about our problems. But there's nothing wrong with that, so long as you also occasionally take the time to talk about the other side. And that's what I want to do now by asking the question that never seems to be of interest to the mainstream media: What's right with America?
Let's start with our much maligned economy. I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, times are definitely tough for an awful lot of families right now. But you know what? We've made it through a depression; we've made it through wars, oil shocks, and major terrorist attacks and we're still standing. In fact, we're not just standing, we're towering over the rest of the world.
Our economy is almost as big as the next four largest economies on Earth (Japan, Germany, China and Great Britain) combined. The state of California alone has an economy as large as the entire country of France. Illinois has the same GDP as all of Mexico. New York matches the entire GDP of Brazil. Florida's economy is as large as South Korea's. Texas has a GDP roughly equal to Canada's. Michigan's economy is as large as the entire country of Argentina.
It takes a lot longer to turn around an aircraft carrier than it does a dinghy, but the problem we have is with our ship's captain - the pea-brains in Washington - not her crew.
What's right with America? How about the way we educate our children. Sure, I complain a lot about left-wing professors and how some wealthy private universities hoard their billions while charging obscene amounts for tuition, but the truth is that our universities are always ranked among the best in the world.
Students aren't fleeing America to go to college in Japan, India, or China -- it's the other way around. We open our colleges and universities to more than 80,000 foreign professors, scholars and educators a year and we have more students in college right now than those three countries combined.
What's right with America? Our world-class universities don't require you to have an elite family name or Rockefeller-type wealth to get in. We don't care about your race, gender or nationality. You just have to be smart enough and work hard for it. What a concept, huh?
How about the way we treat the less fortunate? With no help from our government, Americans gave a record $306 billion to charities last year alone. We give twice as much as the next closest country and, relative to the size of our economies, we give 1,000 percent more than the French. . .
What's right with America?
FOLLOW LINK FOR FULL ARTICLE A few days before the Fourth of July, I read a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer that said America didn't deserve to celebrate ... more -
Sonic Youth, July 4th Battery Park Pictures
If you can't score backstage passes for your friends to see a show with you, at least come back with great pictures. That is exactly what our pal Stefano did. You are off the hook this time sir but next time we want to go too. Sonic Youth, Battery Park, July 4th. If you can't score backstage passes for your friends to see a show with you, at least come back with great pictures. That is exac... more
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Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line thes...
Even professional optimists are finding it hard to get in the mood to celebrate America's 232nd birthday....
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Exploding Mannequins
Cable news is blowing stuff up...so that you stay safe this holiday weekend.
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Walking Down the Street: Great Windows on July 4th
Just taking a walk down the streets of New York City and Wow!! So many of the stores have decorated their windows with absolutely amazing decorations for the Fourth of July weekend holiday!!
Great photographs, as well as a wonderful video that shows photographs of many of these remarkable window decorations are included.
Have a look and enjoy yourself!! Just taking a walk down the streets of New York City and Wow!! So many of the stores have decorated their windows with absolutely ama... more -
The Declaration of Independence
Happy 4th of July America. Considering today's holiday, I thought it would be fitting to post the Declaration of Independence with the hopes of generating some discussion around it's contents.
Do you think the signers of the declaration would be celebrated if they were alive today, or would they be considered terrorists?
Should the people oust their government from time to time, when that government no longer represents the peoples' interest?
Does our country still represent the ideals present in this document?
Would the revolutionaries of 1776 be revolutionaries today, or would they be pleased with the outcome? Happy 4th of July America. Considering today's holiday, I thought it would be fitting to post the Declaration of Independence wi... more -
Happy Birthday George Steinbrenner... he also announced he's going to the All...
Yay for the boss...
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Guns & Teddy Bears
U.S. troops stationed far north of Baghdad get the opportunity to interact with some Iraqi civilians very early in the morning!
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Air Guitar God
According to the ideology of the Air Guitar Championships, wars would end and all bad things in the world would disappear if all the people in the world played air guitar. We cover the championships which are held to promote world peace. According to the ideology of the Air Guitar Championships, wars would end and all bad things in the world would disappear if all the p... more
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Back To The DeLorean
In 1981, the DeLorean (of Back to the Future fame) was launched, but only 9,200 were ever built, until now...
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Queen of Hawaii demands independence from U.S.
The United States is an illegal occupying force that should hand the 132 islands of Hawaii back to the monarchy overthrown more than a century ago, according to members of a Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
For almost two months, the self-proclaimed Hawaiian Kingdom Government has peacefully occupied the grounds of the Iolani Palace, residence of the islands' last two monarchs, operating a shadow government from a tent erected in its stately grounds.
Her Majesty Mahealani Kahau, a descendant of Hawaii's last king who was elected "head of state" by the group, and her ministers gather each day to debate how to achieve their goal of restoring Native Hawaiian rule.The group, which claims 1,000 followers, is demanding the dissolution of the State of Hawaii and the return of land and bank assets totalling billions of dollars.
Hawaii has about 200,000 Native Hawaiians, or kânaka maoli, out of a population of 1.3 million. The Hawaiian Kingdom Government is just one of a number of sovereignty groups, many with similar names, waging independence campaigns.
All aim to "right the wrong" inflicted on Native Hawaiians in 1893 when a small, mostly American group of sugar plantation owners and other businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy with the support of US troops sent ashore from a Navy warship. The United States is an illegal occupying force that should hand the 132 islands of Hawaii back to the monarchy overthrown more than a... more -
Death of a Mascot
Joe travels to the University of Illinois campus to get the reactions from both sides on the controversy of Chief Illiniwek.
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STACHE
Stache is one of the hottest parties in New York. Step into the Stache.
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Small Town Beats
A look at one of West Virginia's most motivated producers trying to build a place for hip-hop in the mountain state.
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Battle for America
Alrick Brown expresses his own America in this visual poem featuring a collection of passionate voices.
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Illy Philly Style
The bloggers from Faceadelphia (faceadelphia.blogspot.com,) bring us the styles on the streets in Philly in this installment of Street Styles. The bloggers from Faceadelphia (faceadelphia.blogspot.com,) bring us the styles on the streets in Philly in this installment of Street... more
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Air Guitar Golden God
Alex Forbes, aka, Ricky Forbes, won the San Francisco air guitar competition at The Independent in San Francisco and is being flown to NYC for the 5th Annual US Air Guitar Championships. Its here winners (can we really call them winners?) from 14 cities compete to be the best in US. The US winner then goes on to the international championships in Finland. Alex has been documenting the preparation and lead up to the main event. What will happen? Alex Forbes, aka, Ricky Forbes, won the San Francisco air guitar competition at The Independent in San Francisco and is being flown to... more
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Kickball: Can I Kick It?
Welcome to the world of hardcore amateur kickball. As intense as the games are, they're really just a warm up for the co-ed competitions at the bar. Welcome to the world of hardcore amateur kickball. As intense as the games are, they're really just a warm up for the co-ed compe... more
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Stylin' San Diego
The latest fashion trends emerging from the streets of San Diego brought to you in this installment of Street Styles.
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July 4th
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July 4th
