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18 Things Happening Outside of the U.S. That Give Insight Into How Good We Have It as Americans

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Photo Credit: IJ Review Thanks to the freedoms guaranteed in our founding documents, we enjoy the one of the highest standards of living in the world, we boast the number one economy, and few of us ever have to worry about where our next meal is coming from.

Clearly, we have it great as Americans. To further illustrate how good we really have it, here is a list of 20 things happening in the world that will give you perspective on why we should be especially grateful to live in the land of opportunity and freedom.

1. In Ethiopia: Many women have to walk four to five miles per day to get something as simple as water for their families.

2. In North Korea: Owning a Bible can get you executed or deported to a labor camp.

3. In Pakistan: Since January of 2014, there have been 232 reported terrorist attacks.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: IJ Review 9 of the Most Patriotic Things You Can Do To Show Your American Pride

By Caroline Schaeffer.

A Fox News poll measured what likely voters considered to be acts of patriotism. Respondents were asked about 9 activities, and while a majority of Americans said that every action is patriotic, some were considered much more “American” than others.

So… how many of these things have you done?

1. Flying an American flag: 94% of those polled said that proudly displaying the ‘Stars and Stripes’ is a true show of patriotism.

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Tahmooressi's Mother Makes Fourth of July Appeal to US Ambassador to Mexico

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Photo Credit: Fox News On the eve of Independence Day, the mother of a Marine jailed in Mexico for three months appealed to America’s top diplomat south of the border, asking for help winning the freedom of her 25-year-old son, Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.

Jill Tahmooressi, of Weston, Fla., sent a letter June 30 to E. Anthony Wayne, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, requesting his help in getting a Mexican federal judge to give an expedited review to her son’s case, after his representation had been botched by two previous attorneys who failed to submit any evidence for the court to review.

“If any consideration can be made to expedite the reviews before the federal judge so that he will be closer to probable freedom, those actions would be much appreciated,” Jill Tahmooressi wrote Wayne.

Her son has been held in Mexico since March 31, when he was arrested after accidentally crossing into Mexico with three legally-purchased guns in his pickup truck. Fox News has highlighted how poor signage, as well as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Tahmooressi got from serving two tours in Afghanistan, could have contributed to his mistake.

Tahmooressi hopes to have her son’s case fast-tracked, but according to attorney Fernando Benitez, the Mexican judicial system will have to run its course, regardless of efforts made by the Marine’s supporters.

Read more from this story HERE.

July 4 Barbecue Costs Climb to Record

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Photo Credit: Bloomberg Rising prices for beef, ice cream and lettuce mean Americans will spend the most ever for Fourth of July barbecues this year.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows an index tracking U.S. retail prices for seven foods commonly consumed while grilling climbed 5.1 percent in May from a year earlier to the highest ever for the month, the latest data from Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

Independence Day is the most popular time of the year for Americans to cook outdoors, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. The holiday falls on a Friday this year, increasing chances that revelers will keep celebrating into the weekend. Prices for ground beef are 16 percent higher than a year earlier, while ice cream climbed 1.7 percent and tomatoes soared 12 percent, government data show.

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EPA Rule Could Ruin Fourth Of July

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller While Americans get ready for the thousands of fireworks shows that will be occurring across the country this weekend, Republicans are warning that pending federal water regulations could ruin fireworks displays next year.

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to expand its authority under the Clean Water Act. Republicans warn that the agency’s proposal to expand the definition of “waters of the United States” could allow the EPA to regulate bodies of water on private property.

Republicans are now warning that EPA water rules could threaten fireworks by allowing environmental activists to sue and shut down shows across the country.

“If the proposed ‘waters of the United States’ rule becomes final and serves as the eventual basis for future citizen suits against those who organize fireworks shows, we fear fewer homeowners, communities, or local organizations will be able to conduct fireworks displays as they have for decades or longer,” wrote Republican Senators, including David Vitter of Louisiana and John Barrasso of Wyoming, in a letter to the EPA.

Environmentalists have already been using litigation to stop fireworks shows from happening near or over federally protected waters. In Lake Tahoe, California environmentalists sued the city, alleging their fireworks show violated the Clean Water Act.

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Video Appears to Show Activist Adam Koresh Loading a Shotgun in Washington, D.C.’s Freedom Plaza

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Photo Credit: YouTube An activist who planned, and then canceled, an armed march into the District on July Fourth posted online what appeared to be a video of himself loading a shotgun in Freedom Plaza.

Adam Kokesh can be seen in the 22-second YouTube video in a suit jacket and an open collar loading four shells into a shotgun and pumping a shell into the chamber.

The video is stamped with the date July 4, 2013.

As he loads the shotgun, Mr. Kokesh recites the closing lines of his Final American Revolution Pledge of Resistance, which was posted on his website Wednesday.

“We will not be silent. We will not obey. We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final American revolution,” he said, before closing with, “See you next Independence Day.”

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Civil Liberties and the Civil War

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Photo Credit: Tom GillOne hundred and fifty years ago, on July 4, 1863, twin Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg decisively turned the course of the Civil War. One consequence of that victory was the emancipation of slaves in America. Another consequence has been the invention of a dangerous myth: that the federal government is the best vehicle for protecting civil liberties.

This myth has been so potent that when the Supreme Court ruled this June that the “preclearance” provisions of the Voting Rights Act no longer applied to suspect jurisdiction, which included nearly all of the South, self-anointed “civil rights” leaders warned of great dangers. Even among many conservatives, there is the false understanding that the Bill of Rights was intended to protect our liberties from all government.

Actually, the Bill of Rights is intended to protect American citizens and American states from the federal government, which was understood to be the greatest threat to civil liberties. After the Civil War, the Supreme Court invented out of whole cloth the “Incorporation Doctrine” by which the Bill of Rights in the Constitution was deemed to apply to states as well as the federal government.

This was utterly unnecessary: every state has its own Bill of Rights, and the first thirteen states had these bills of rights in force before the federal Bill of Rights or even the Constitution. These state bills of rights typically provided more civil liberties than the federal Bill of Rights.

Why, then, have Americans been persuaded that we need the federal Bill of Rights, federal laws, and federal courts to protect our civil liberties? The legacy of the Civil War is the sole basis for this curious and flawed reasoning. Grasping the irrationality of this belief requires dipping into American history before the Civil War.

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Red, Divided and Blue Fly This Independence Day

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

It seems entirely revealing, if dispiriting, that the days before the July Fourth holiday showed Red America and Blue America pulling apart at an accelerating rate.

Of all of our national holidays, Independence Day is the one most intimately rooted in our common history and shared experience. Yet this year it arrives against a background of polarization, separation, and confrontation in the states and Washington alike. With municipal politics as the occasional exception, the pattern of solidifying agreement within the parties—and widening disagreement between them—is dominating our decisions at every level.

On almost all of our major policy choices, the common thread is that the election of 2012 did not “break the fever” of polarization, as President Obama once hoped it might. Last November, Obama became only the third Democrat in the party’s history to win a majority of the popular vote twice. But congressional Republicans, preponderantly representing the minority that voted against Obama, have conceded almost nothing to his majority—leaving the two sides at a stalemate. Meanwhile, beyond the Beltway, states that lean Democratic and those that lean Republican are separating at a frenetic pace.

Consider a few recent headlines. The Supreme Court decision upholding the lower-court invalidation of California’s Proposition 8 restored gay marriage in the nation’s largest state. It also capped a remarkable 2013 march for gay marriage through blue states, including Delaware, Minnesota, and Rhode Island (with Illinois and New Jersey possibly joining before long). The consensus is solidifying fast enough that 2014 could see several blue-state Republican gubernatorial candidates running on accepting gay-marriage statutes as settled law. Former California Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado, a likely 2014 GOP gubernatorial contender who this week reversed his earlier opposition to support gay marriage, may be an early straw in that breeze.

The story in red states, though, remains very different. Almost all of them have banned gay marriage.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawmakers Fail to Reach Student Loan Deal Before July 4 Break

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Photo Credit:: AP

Photo Credit:: AP

Interest rates on student loans are set to double on Monday after lawmakers failed to find a bipartisan solution to keep the federally subsidized borrowing costs down.

The Senate adjourned Thursday night for the July 4 recess without approving a student loan rate package.

With the current, 3.4 percent interest rate on Stafford loans — the most popular funding for college students – set to expire on July 1, a host of 11th-hour fixes all failed to generate support from both sides of the aisle. Without new legislation — either to extend the cap, set a new one or find another way to peg the loans – the cap rises to 6.8 percent. Congress could always forge a solution in the following days, even lowering rates retroactively.

The higher rates would add about $3,000 to the total interest on a $23,000 student loan repaid over 10 years.

“At one level it’s modest, but if you have an entry-level position or can’t find work, it starts to add up,” Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council of Education, told FoxNews.com.

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HGTV: Desecrating the American Flag as Table Cloth

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Photo Credit: HGTV

HGTV viewers are expressing outrage after the network suggested they use American flags as table cloths for Fourth of July celebrations. Many viewers called it offensive, un-American and an insult to the American military.

“Using an American flag as a table cloth dishonors all Americans who love Old Glory – especially those who gave their lives defending it,” one viewer wrote. “No one dies for a table cloth.”

The HGTV website featured a segment titled, “Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas.”The photographs show bowls of fruit and a jar of lemonade sitting atop Old Glory. They called the flag an “unconventional table” linen.

“Drape a large American flag over the table as a bright and festive table runner,” HGTV suggested. “Use a nylon flag so spills can be easily wiped off and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flag pole.”

On Wednesday HGTV removed a link to the page and issued an apology.

Read more from this story HERE.

Activist Cancels Plans for Armed March on Washington

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Photo Credit: Washington Times

An activist has canceled a planned armed march into the District on July Fourth that drew a confrontational response from the city’s police chief.

“Please don’t come to Washington, D.C.,” Adam Kokesh said during an interview on the online “Pete Santilli Show,” saying he could not be certain he would be present for an event in the District and instead urging supporters to march in the 50 state capitals in favor of dissolving the federal government.

News of the cancellation was first reported by the website Media Matters.

The idea of the armed march, which would start at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and proceed across the bridge into the District — where it is illegal to carry guns on the street — was proposed earlier this month and immediately met resistance from city officials.

“If you’re coming here to break the law, then we’re going to take action,” Chief Cathy L. Lanier said in an interview on News Channel 8. “There is a pretty good chance we’ll meet them on the D.C. side of the bridge.”

Read more from this story HERE.