Happy Birthday, USA!

[Sally Sensational]

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k136/vigilant_oblivion/100_0979.jpg

The finale to tonight's fireworks.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day, everyone.

[Sally Sensational]

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k136/vigilant_oblivion/100_0948.jpg

And a few more for good measure!

[Cam63]

Was the above taken before or after SK kissed you ?

Happy Birthday, Sepps. :biggrin:

*Lights sparkler and blows off both eyebrows*

[Sally Sensational]

Was the above taken before or after SK kissed you ?

Happy Birthday, Sepps. :biggrin:

*Lights sparkler and blows off both eyebrows*

Neither - I seem to recall being told that THOSE particular fireworks are only in my head. The ones in the pictures were really there.

Unless you're a hardcore existentialist, then they may not have been.

[Dark Galaxy]

Down with the tyrant King George!






What? I'm only 232 years late.

[Sally Sensational]

Down with the tyrant King George!

What? I'm only 232 years late.

No, you're not. We just leave the King part off these days.

(Rimshot)

[TheOceanic7th]

Neither - I seem to recall being told that THOSE particular fireworks are only in my head. The ones in the pictures were really there.

Unless you're a hardcore existentialist, then they may not have been.

Wait does your town celebrate on the fourth or the third?

[Sally Sensational]

Wait does your town celebrate on the fourth or the third?

We have the fireworks on the night of the 3rd so that people can go out of town for the 4th weekend and not miss them.

[Alan Lynch]

As long as you guys remember that you're celebrating kicking the English in the ass. English. Leave us Celts out of it.

[Cam63]

Aye tew that, laddie.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Happy Birthday, Land-Where-I-Can-Eat-My-Lunch-From-A-Single-Bowl-In-My-Parent's-Basement(Where-I'm-Livin')!

[K-DoG7p7]

Why are no one wishing this lovely lady a happy B-day?

http://www.stavanger2008.no/img/Nyheter/2007/hkh_sonja.jpg

[Cam63]

Happy Birthday, Queenie ?

[Alan Lynch]

That's not the Queen, is it? All pictures of her that young are black and white or etched in stone.

[K-DoG7p7]

That's not the Queen, is it? All pictures of her that young are black and white or etched in stone.

Depends on what Queen you are talking about :p

[rick]

Why are no one wishing this lovely lady a happy B-day?

http://www.stavanger2008.no/img/Nyheter/2007/hkh_sonja.jpg


Most likely because most Americans don't have the slightest idea that Norway even has a Queen.

Besides, Royality sucks and as the Independence Day holiday teaches us, Royals are best served with a little bit of tar and feathers.

[DubipR]

Why are no one wishing this lovely lady a happy B-day?

http://www.stavanger2008.no/img/Nyheter/2007/hkh_sonja.jpg

Wow....Marion Ross looks great. Happy Birthday, Mrs. C!
:tongue:

[Gilda Dent]

As long as you guys remember that you're celebrating kicking the English in the ass. English. Leave us Celts out of it.

Except it really isn't about that. The Declaration of Independence was written and signed early on in the war when the rebellion was still in a pretty precarious position.

It isn't about beating anyone. It's about the idea that we were no longer 13 separate colonies, but instead one country.

Hence the great national motto that got set aside for the asinine one we now have:

E pleribus unum: Out of many, one.

[Cam63]

Damn... You make education seem cool or somethin', Gilda.

[rick]

Except it really isn't about that. The Declaration of Independence was written and signed early on in the war when the rebellion was still in a pretty precarious position.

It isn't about beating anyone. It's about the idea that we were no longer 13 separate colonies, but instead one country.

Hence the great national motto that got set aside for the asinine one we now have:

E pleribus unum: Out of many, one.



Gilda, you have it about right, but you left out the most important word.


It's about the idea that we were no longer 13 separate colonies, but instead one independent country.

And hey, I like "Out of many, one".

[Gilda Dent]

Gilda, you have it about right, but you left out the most important word.


It's about the idea that we were no longer 13 separate colonies, but instead one independent country.

I'd call "one" and "independent" equally important, but good catch.


And hey, I like "Out of many, one".

I agree. I think it was a great motto, which is why I think it's a shame it was changed to one that is so much less representative of who we are as a country.

[Grazzt]

I'd call "one" and "independent" equally important, but good catch.

Yeah, I shudder to think what would have happened if you guys were 13 seperate countries (more, once the westward expansion begun).

[rick]

I agree. I think it was a great motto, which is why I think it's a shame it was changed to one that is so much less representative of who we are as a country.


Yeah, "In God We trust" is just so 1950's Cold Warish too.

[Gilda Dent]

Yeah, "In God We trust" is just so 1950's Cold Warish too.

Yep, and just too generic for my taste. The idea that God (or the gods) has blessed your country has almost been synonymous with the idea of a nation for most of human history. There's nothing uniquely American about it.

The idea of a group of disparate, competing states voluntarily joining together for the common good to oppose a foreign oppressor, while not unprecedented (Greece vs. Persia and later Rome), was certainly rare for its time. Empires are generally acquired through force, not formed voluntarily. Though we're far from perfect in this, having engaged in a good deal of traditional imperialism over the last couple of centuries, that we're drawn together to voluntarily pursue a common purpose is still a powerful idea worth pursuing.

[Sally Sensational]

I didn't think E Pluribus Unum had been replaced by "In God We Trust". Both are still present on our currency and such.

Although I agree that it is more representative of the spirit of our country. And - dare I say it in today's argumentative climate? - more representative of the spirit of the founding fathers, who were of a generation that believed very strongly that the Lord helps them who help themselves. The signers of the Declaration would have scoffed openly at those of today's "Christians" who claim that it's possible to make practical things like getting a job or making money happen sheerly through prayer. Especially when you consider the strong Deist streak in the religious thinking of the time.

[rick]

I didn't think E Pluribus Unum had been replaced by "In God We Trust".




"In God We Trust" replaced "E Pluribus Unum" as the national motto by act of Congress in 1956.

Sad, but true.

[Sally Sensational]

"In God We Trust" replaced "E Pluribus Unum" as the national motto by act of Congress in 1956.

Sad, but true.

And another fine example of why we need more education than just 9th grade civics on that sort of thing. I am neither stupid, nor ill-informed, and I didn't remember that.

[Sally Sensational]

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=37154460

Watch!

[Kyuubi]

Happy annoying neighbors setting off firecrackers in their backyards



. . .day.

[Infra-Man]

Happy belated birthday, America (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swcjg4WmoXk)

NSFW language

[cedardryad]

Happy belated birthday, America (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swcjg4WmoXk)

NSFW language

Argh, you beat me to it.

[the4thpip]

http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/images/comics/flag2.jpg