Let's keep in mind today the role fences have played in the military history and how they've affected the lives, deaths, victories and defeat of US Veterans. Let's look at a couple of famous fences in military history.
The march across the open field was only stopped by
the rail fence at
the Emmitsburg Road and because of its height and
construction, it
prevented the troops from scaling it and getting
across the road fast
enough. The death toll on this field was
phenomenal. photo: gettysburgbeat.com
This letter by Henry Moore of the 38th North Carolina may shed a little light on the subject of the fence. He writes, " As we emerged from the woods we were nearly three fourths of a mile from the Federal lines. We could see about a mile of the enemy's works. We suffered very little from the enemy fire until about half way across the field. We climbed a diagonal fence running across the field and (when we had) climbed it. We were now greeted by heavy doses of canister. Our men were falling in every direction but we managed to struggle on. About 200 yards from the enemy we reached another fence which confused us considerably.
The fire from enemy artillery and infantry were terrible and we were reduced to a mere skirmish line."
WWI
The Dutch-Belgian Wire of Death. Down by the Swiss border, an experimental electric fence, strong enough to kill any person or animal that touched it, had been constructed in early 1915 to isolate thirteen Alsatian villages from Switzerland. It was decided to use a similar fence on a much larger scale to seal off the Belgian-Dutch border. Work began in April 1915 and, using hired local workers, Landsturm troops (third-class infantry) and Russian POWs, the fence was completed in August 1915.
It stretched almost 200 miles from Vaals, near the German border, to the Schelde River, north of Antwerp (see map), more or less following the border, completely on Belgian soil. The main fence was six to ten feet high with five to ten copper wires carrying 2,000 to 6,000 volts, more than enough to kill anyone touching one of the live wires. A series of huts housed the generators and the current could be cut off in sections for maintenance or to retrieve dead bodies. Usually, two outer barbed wire fences, one on either side, would stop stray animals or humans from coming in contact with the electrified fence, though there were sections with only the live fence and nothing to keep people from brushing against it. At regular intervals, guard posts were built and the perimeter was regularly patrolled. The German soldiers were given orders to shoot to kill and some escapees were shot even though they had made it to Dutch territory.
We at Academy Fence Company are fortunate to operate in a time and place where fences are peaceful installations, most of which have safety, beauty and security as their function. Here's to the veterans who have sacrificed their lives and to those who dedicate their lives to help keep it that way.
Peace and Justice.
Americans who paid even the least bit of attention in history, civics and government classes know the historical reasons they should vote. Today’s reasons are just as urgent. For anyone who may be sitting on the fence. Here is a collection of reasons on both sides, from all over the country:
1. Independent thinkers: To tell New York City millionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg to let Idaho fight its own battles. A court-ordered disclosure this week unmasked Bloomberg as the second-largest contributor at $200,000 to a group called “Education Voters of Idaho. It’s backing the controversial Luna Laws (Propositions 1, 2 and 3) with heavy advertising. The largest donor at $250,000 is Joe Scott, grocery heir and chair of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation. He’s also a large investor in K12 Inc., an online education company that may benefit if the measures pass.
2. Blaine County and District 26 moderates: To give Idaho’s radical-right Republican-dominated Legislature some loyal opposition by continuing to elect Democrats to represent them in Boise.
3. Young women and men: To protect access to effective birth control and abortion. Anyone in their reproductive years who doesn’t take these issues seriously should ask a Baby Boomer or someone older what it was like when abortion was illegal and birth control pills didn’t exist.
4. People whose livelihoods depend on the weather (ask New Jersey who they are): To vote for candidates willing to take action on global warming, which is melting polar ice and, scientists believe, may contribute to fierce storms and environmental damage.
5: Anyone who likes snowsports or needs water: See No. 4.
6. People who like the scales of justice in balance: To determine whether the right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court will lean ever more right or become more balanced when new justices are appointed by the next president.
7. People with local jobs: To protect jobs by voting “yes” for a local-option tax increase to be paid mostly by visitors to support more widespread air service. Having a job or a business in the area may depend on the outcome of this issue.
8. People who want to know what laws will do before they approve them: To send the constitutional amendment to make hunting, fishing and trapping a right enshrined in the state Constitution back to the Legislature by voting “no” as a demand for more information.
9. People who wish to exercise their right under Idaho law not to produce a photo I.D. in order to vote: To show up at the polls and simply ask to sign a statement declaring that you are the person you say you are.
10. Fashionistas: To be able to wear the cool red, white and blue “I voted” sticker all day long.
Top 10 Reasons NOT To Vote For Barack Obama
10. He loves coffee flavored yogurt.
9. His best friend is a cat burglar.
8. He wants to sew your grandma’s mouth shut.
7. He runs the bath for terrorists so it will be ready when they get home.
6. He wants to eat everyone’s pets.
5. His face actually belongs to someone else and he used Face/Off technology to steal it.
4. Michelle Obama hates the American smell of fresh laundry.
3. His favorite song is “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Wiser.
2. He wants to give our money to one of those “homeless” crusty punks who doesn’t seem like he/she is actually homeless.
1. America!
So that’s 20 reasons now.
Marc Anthony’s Three Reasons to Vote Obama
Top 10 reasons to vote Obama out of office
Bring this list to the attention of undecided voters to help them make up their mind that it is, indeed, time for a change.
1. Jobs not being created
Don’t let the official 7.8 percent unemployment rate for September fool you; work-force participation is at a record low and 23 million American are looking for work. Ten times as many people have dropped out of the work force during Obama’s term than have found a job. His last attempt at helping the unemployed—the 2009 stimulus package—cost nearly a trillion dollars with minimal impact on creating actual jobs.
2. Debt crisis spiraling
Under Obama, the nation has accumulated nearly $6 trillion in debt over four years and a second term would likely add more. The cost of financing the national debt will quickly skyrocket as interest rates rise. Obama’s only plan to staunch the bleeding is to tax the rich. But even if he succeeds in letting the Bush tax cuts expire for families with incomes over $250,000, the annual deficit of $1.2 trillion would only fall to $1.12 trillion.
3. Obamacare outrages
Obama’s signature achievement—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—is more unpopular today than it was when he signed it into law. Obamacare adds to the deficit, while raising taxes on Americans of all stripes, even while harming job creation. Many families will lose their current health care coverage and surveys of doctors show many will flee the profession.
4. Foreign policy unraveling
The attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi—and the administration’s incompetence after—is a dramatic example of the unraveling of Obama’s entire approach to foreign policy. Now Muslim mobs are protesting the United States around the world, apparently unswayed by Obama’s Cairo outreach. Add his ill-fated Russia “reset,” and his snub of world leaders at the United Nations and the result is a foreign policy with not a single positive achievement.
5. Economic anemia
We didn’t expect a rapid recovery after the recession, but we’re past a point where the economy should have begun to show steady growth as businesses become more confident, hire workers and consumer spending increases. But growth this year is under 2 percent. With crushing burdens and uncertainties heaped onto businesses—from Dodd-Frank and Obamacare to EPA regulations and tax hikes—Obama has managed to defy the business cycle.
6. Class warfare rhetoric
Obama has taken class warfare to a new level, attacking the successful as being greedy and heartless for not paying their fare share. He demonizes bankers, Wall Street and demands that the “millionaires and billionaires” be taxed at higher rates. The irony of it all is that his policies will do the most harm to the middle class, with his job killing programs, and small businesses, by hiking their taxes.
7. Partisan politics
Unlike Presidents Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush who all reached across the aisle to secure legislation with bipartisan support, Obama has tried to ram through his agenda without any help, as many of his major initiatives failed to attract a single GOP vote. For a president who promised change, he has only increased its harshness by constantly attacking the opposition.
8. No more Biden
After his debate with Paul Ryan, Vice President Joe Biden’s “regular-guy” schtick is wearing thin. His smirking and laughing, when the nation wanted to hear a serious debate on the issues, was demeaning to the office, and makes the idea of “Crazy Joe” being a heartbeat away from the presidency a sobering thought. We can only hope that with a Romney-Ryan victory, Biden will go ahead and get a one-way Amtrak ticket back to Delaware, or better yet, Scranton, Pa.
9. Clean house of incompetents
It’s not only the anticipation of Biden’s departure from office that gives cheer, but finally the nation can get rid of the whole gang that couldn’t shoot straight. From White House spokesman Jay Carney and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s cloudy account of the Libya attack to Attorney General Eric Holder’s outrageous obfuscation on Fast and Furious, we’ve seen quite enough of Chicago-style politics.
10. No plan for future
Just as Obama has found it hard to run on his record, his constant attacks on Romney mask the fact that he doesn’t have much of a plan to turn things around. A president’s normal route for pushing an agenda is often contained in his annual budget request to Congress. Obama’s spending blueprint is such a joke that every year it is the Republicans that introduce it as a bill and then both sides of the aisle unanimously vote against it. His only plan is to tax and spend the U.S. into oblivion, with future generations crushed by a mountain of debt.
Here are the top 10 reasons why you should not vote for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election:
10) Romney isn’t too clear about the environment.
Romney does believe in global warming, but he is not too sure how much humans are responsible. He advocates for renewable resources and wants to to wean America off foreign oil, but he also supports drilling supports drilling in the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge.
9) Gun Control: to have or not to have?
Romney has been quite wishy-washy on his views on gun control. In 2004, he passed one of the tightest bans on assault weapons in Massachusetts. But, later on, Romney bought a lifetime membership to the NRA and hopes to endorse the National Rifle Association. Though gun control is not one of the main issues for this campaign, it has been brought to recent light since the Aurora, CO shootings.
8) Poor people should NOT go to college.
Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan has proposed a budget that would eliminate $170 billion from Pell grants. Pell grants allow low-income students to receive funding for college without repayment. This budget cut would possibly effect 1 million students if passed.
7) Let’s take some federal funding away from schools.
Romney’s plan involving disabled students could possibly eliminate programs like Title I in public schools. Funding for these types of programs is already dwindling. If this law were enacted, it may leave public schools without the resources to provide for the students who did not qualify for their school of choice.
6) Obamacare flip-flop.
Romney recently stated in an interview with NBC’S “Meet the Press” that he “is not getting rid of all health reform [that the Affordable Care Act enacts].” The Affordable Care Act has a ban on discriminating against people with pre-existing insurance. He condoned that ban in the interview, yet in an update later that night, an aide states he does not support that part of the law. One of Romney’s main platforms is to get rid of Obamacare, but he flip-flops on this issue as he does on his opinions on gun control.
5) Discusses things at inappropriate times.
Romney’s harsh criticisms of Obama’s response came only hours after the deaths of four Americans in Libya. Romney stated that Obama was sympathizing with the attackers. Many people believe that this statement was not very tactful.
4) Gay people are not allowed to marry.
Mitt Romney states in the National Review Online, “I believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman and I have been rock solid in my support of traditional marriage.” But the sanctity of marriage is no longer sacred, with the divorce rates being 50% for first marriages.
3) Women have no choice over their own bodies.
Romney opposes abortion except in case of rape, incest, or harm to the child or mother. He wants to limit women’s rights on the choice to abortion. Abortion has always been a hotly contested issue between Republicans and Democrats, but women should have the choice. It does not matter what one’s religious beliefs are, it’s the fact that the establishment may govern that choice.
2) He’s rich, white, old, and a male.
He’s like the stereotypical president that America had tried to stray away from when electing President Obama.
1) He has to have his wife talk him up.
Ann Romney’s speech was mostly about women, but she also had to make her husband seem more approachable. What Mitt Romney lacks is the personality that Obama certainly has with the general public.
With a stagnant economy Obama will try everything to remind you that Romney is a bully, a jerk and a greedy, self absorbed rich guy who is out of touch. All that really matters is what will Romney do as President and what will Obama do with another 4 years as President. I would encourage you to vote for the candidate you agree with and believe in, not because the other guy is wealthy, because the other guy had a crazy reverend, and not because one guy was a bully or the other guy is black. Those reasons are silly ones to vote for or against anyone. Just as it would be racist to not vote for Obama simply because he is black, it is equally racist to vote for Obama simply because he is black. That’s the same as not voting for Romney because he is white, a clearly racist idea.
So don’t vote for the one you disagree with or don’t trust. Or better yet, as it is in politics, vote for the one you disagree with less or don’t distrust quite as much.
