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Subj:     Fourth Of July Articles and Jokes
                 (Includes 12 jokes and articles, 26685n,7)
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Good Clean Fun!
Includes the following:  Pledge Of Allegiance - Audio File (S283b, S671)
.........................Twins Born On The Fourth Of July (S614c)
.........................Dog With Firework - Movie (S552c)
.........................Letter To Thomas Jefferson
.........................Homemade Firework - Movie (S631b)
.........................The Price They Paid (S74)
.........................Marco Polo Discovers Fireworks (S127)
.........................Short Fourth Of July Jokes
..............................The Flying McCoys Cartoon (S652b)
..............................4th of July Idiot Of The Year (S551)
..............................Lady Liberty Fireworks

Also see ACCIDENTS1   - 'Launched On The Fourth Of July ...'
         JOBS3 file   - 'Pack It In! Happy New Year!'
         SCHOOL3 file - 'Nursery Students Learn Of Freedom'
         STORIES      - 'Soldier's True Friendship'
......................- 'True Story Of Taps'
         TEAR-JERKER1 - 'Reflections Of The Vietnam Wall'
         TEAR-JERKER2 - 'A Moment In A Concentration Camp'
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Subj:     Pledge Of Allegiance (S283b, S671)
          From: Good Clean Fun! on 7/5/2002
      and From: tom on 11/18/2009
Skelton sketch
from Tralfas-Archives
 Source: http://www.patriotfilesannex.org/Pledge.htm

 Commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance by Red Skelton

 As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton's teachers explained
 the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his
 class.  Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded,
 his recollection of this lecture.  It is followed by an
 observation of his own.

 You can listen to Red Skelton explain our pledge of allegiance
 at the source above, or on my web site by clicking 'HERE'.
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Click 'HERE' to see a video of Red Skelton's
"Pledge of Allegiance."
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Subj:     Twins Born On The Fourth Of July (S614c)
          From: LABLaughsClean on 10/16/2008

 A fellow and his wife living in Houston, Texas, where
 the people are all patriots, were blessed with the birth
 of twins, two identical girls.  These twins were born on
 the 4th of July, and the father, being patriotic, said to
 his wife, "We will name them Liberty and Justice, after
 the pledge of allegiance".

 His wife said, "Are you nuts?  You can't have girls going
 through life with names like Liberty and Justice.  We are
 going to name them regular girl's names like Mary or
 Jane".

 Well, the argument went on for about a month, when a
 compromise was reached.  They would each name one of the
 girls.  The man chose Liberty and the wife picked
 Elizabeth.

 As the girls grew, they were so identical, they kept
 pulling tricks on people who couldn't tell them apart.
 Finally, when they were about 18, a young man took
 interest in them.  He would take one out on a date but
 he was never sure which one he was with.

 He decided he would marry at least one of them, but he
 was not sure which one he would marry.

 He went to the girls father and explained his quandary.

 "I love your daughters and want to marry one of them, but
 I can't tell them apart, so I will leave it up to you...

 Give me Liberty or give me Beth."

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Subj:     Dog With Firework (S552c)
          From: ginafm on 8/13/2007
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESGenNOuORY
 You can watch this cute, 1,500 KB, home movie at the source
 above, or on my web site by clicking 'HERE'.
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Subj:     Letter To Thomas Jefferson
          From: smiles on 98-07-07

 RevTony sends 'a bit of history with this little known letter'
 

 Letter to Thomas Jefferson

 The Court of King George III
 London, England

 July 10, 1776

 Mr. Thomas Jefferson
 c/o The Continental Congress
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 Dear Mr. Jefferson:

 We have read your "Declaration of Independence" with great
 interest.  Certainly, it represents a considerable under-
 taking, and many of your statements do merit serious
 consideration.  Unfortunately, the Declaration as a whole
 fails to meet recently adopted specifications for proposals
 to the Crown, so we must return the document to you for
 further refinement. The questions which follow might assist
 you in your process of revision:

 1.  In your opening paragraph you use the phrase "the Laws
     of Nature and Nature's God."  What are these laws?  In
     what way are they the criteria on which you base your
     central arguments?  Please document with citations from
     the recent literature.

 2.  In the same paragraph you refer to the "opinions of
     mankind."  Whose polling data are you using?  Without
     specific evidence, it seems to  us the "opinions of
     mankind" are a matter of opinion.

 3.  You hold certain truths to be "self-evident."  Could
     you please elaborate.  If they are as evident as you
     claim then it should not be difficult for you to locate
     the appropriate supporting statistics.

 4.  "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" seem to
     be the goals of  your proposal.  These are not measur-
     able goals.  If you were to say that "among these is
     the ability to sustain an average life expectancy in
     six of the 13 colonies of at least 55 years, and to
     enable newspapers in the colonies to print news without
     outside interference, and to raise the average income
     of the colonists by 10 percent in the next 10 years,"
     these could be measurable goals.  Please clarify.

 5.  You state that "Whenever any Form of Government becomes
     destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
     People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a
     new Government...."  Have you weighed this assertion
     against all the alternatives?  What are the trade-off
     considerations?

 6.  Your description of the existing situation is quite
     extensive.  Such a long list of grievances should
     precede the statement of goals, not follow it.  Your
     problem statement needs improvement.

 7.  Your strategy for achieving your goal is not developed
     at all.  You state that the colonies "ought to be Free
     and Independent States," and that they are "Absolved
     from All Allegiance to the British  Crown."  Who or
     what must change to achieve this objective?  In what
     way must they change?  What specific steps will you
     take to overcome the  resistance?  How long will it
     take?  We have found that a little foresight in these
     areas helps to prevent careless errors later on.  How
     cost-effective are your strategies?

 8.  Who among the list of signatories will be responsible
     for implementing  your strategy?  Who conceived it?
     Who provided the theoretical research?  Who will
     constitute the advisory committee?  Please submit an
     organization chart and vitas of the principal
     investigators.

 9.  You must include an evaluation design.  We have been
     requiring this since Queen Anne's War.

 10. What impact will your problem have?  Your failure to
     include any assessment of this inspires little
     confidence in the long-range prospects of your
     undertaking.

 11. Please submit a PERT diagram, an activity chart,
     itemized budget, and manpower utilization matrix.

 We hope that these comments prove useful in revising
 your "Declaration of Independence."  We welcome the
 submission of your revised proposal.  Our due date for
 unsolicited proposals is July 31, 1776.  Ten copies
 with original signatures will be required.
 

 Sincerely,

 Management Analyst to the British Crown

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Subj:     Homemade Firework (S631b)
          From: tom on 2/10/2009

 This movie on how to make fireworks is cute and
 educational.  Click 'HERE' to see it.

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Subj:     The Price They Paid (S74)
          Written by Dr. Bob Wells,
          Published in the Vallejo Times-Herald on Friday, July 3,1998,
          From the Marion Devin column, Typed by AJSwitzer

 Have you ever wondered what happened to those men who signed
 the Declaration of Independence?  Five signers were captured
 by the British as traitors, and were tortured before they
 died.  Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.  Two lost
 their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons
 captured.  Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from their
 wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

 What kind of men were they?  Twenty-four were lawyers and
 jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large
 plantation owners, men of means, well educated, but they
 signed the Declaration of Independence knowing fully well
 that the penalty would be death, if captured.  They signed,
 and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their
 sacred honor.

 Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader,
 saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.  He
 sold his home and property to pay his debts, and died in rags.

 Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was
 forced to move his family almost constantly.  He served in
 Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.  His
 possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward.
 Vandals or soldiers, or both, looted the properties of Ellery,
 Clymer, Hall Walton, Gwinnett, Hayward, Rutledge and Middleton.

 At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the
 British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for
 his headquarters.  The owner quietly urged General George
 Washington to open fire, which was done.  The home was
 destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

 Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.  The
 enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

 John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was
 dying.  Their thirteen children fled for their lives.  His
 fields and grist mill were laid waste.  For more than a year
 he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war
 to find his wife dead, his children vanished.  A few weeks
 later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.  Norris
 and Livingston suffered similar fates.

 Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American
 Revolution.  These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing
 ruffians.  They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
 They had security but valued liberty more.  Standing tall,
 straight and unwavering they pledged: "For the support of
 this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of
 the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our
 lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."  They gave us an
 independent America.  Can we keep it?

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Subj:     Marco Polo Discovers Fireworks (S127)
          From: smiles on 7/5/99

 As everyone knows, when Marco Polo first opened the trade
 routes to China, he was quite impressed with their rockets.

 Now, these weren't quite the fireworks we now know, but
 they did shoot into the air, explode and make some pretty
 patterns.

 Strangely, no matter where he went, there were people who
 made fireworks, but he had trouble finding someone to
 demonstrate them for him.

 "Not here!" they said. ...very confusing.

 Until finally, Marco Polo came upon an ancient military
 fortification in Chu' Lai.  Here, fireworks were launched
 every night, and he was very impressed!  But still he
 wondered, "Why here?"  At the end of every week, people
 came from great distances, bringing their own fireworks
 to launch.  So Marco Polo asked his guide why everyone
 came here to launch their fireworks.

 Marco Polo's guide replied: "Why honored Sir, we ~always~
 set off our fireworks over the Forts of Chu' Lai"

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Subj:     Short Fourth Of July Jokes

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Subj:     The Flying McCoys Cartoon (S652b)
          by Glenn and Gary McCoy
          From: WashingtonPost.com on 7/3/2009
 Source: http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/fmc/
 Click 'HERE' to read this cartoon about dogs writing our
 Declaration of Independence.
 

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Subj:     4th of July Idiot Of The Year (S551)
          From: rfslick
          on 8/8/2007
 Another reason why alcohol ? fireworks don't mix.  You can
 view this set of four pictures on my site by clicking 'HERE'.
 

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Subj:      Lady Liberty Fireworks
           From: dmswitzer1325 on 7/3/2004
           Writtem by Bill Hysmith
 Source: http://www.njagyouth.org/liberty.htm.
 You can see this cute web page at the source above
 or on my web site by clicking 'HERE'.
 

 Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on
 July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson.  Most of the
 rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't
 added until 5 years later.

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Patriotic smiley from
Smiley_Central
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