Cousin Mike sent the .wmv version of this, and if it doesn’t make you stand up and cheer, nothing will! It’s our National Anthem sung by five young girls — Andi, Baylee, Blaire, Madeline and Tatum — ages 8-13 at the time and known as “The Cactus Cuties” after the Cactus Theater in Lubbock, Texas. This performance was at the Texas Tech vs Texas basketball game, January 20, 2008, before a crowd of more than 11,000 spectators.

Having become something of a YouTube phenomenon, their studio recording of the National Anthem is available on iTunes. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see and hear something like this, my chest swells, my throat tightens and my faith in our future is renewed. And yes, sometimes I get a little teary-eyed.

This is a Patriot’s Journey post. You may also enjoy visiting the other journeyers: Drumwaster, Larry at The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…

Got this from Michael. No longer that far fetched, is it…

In 1810, English poet William Wordsworth described a “sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy”. Painter George Catlin, in his travels though the American West, wrote in 1832 that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved “by some great protecting policy of government … in a magnificent park … A nation’s park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature’s beauty!”

Years later, in 1864, the first steps toward creating what would later become our national park system were set in motion by Congress and President Abraham Lincoln. Yosemite Valley, seen as an important national treasure, was set aside by the federal government and ceded to the state of California. In doing so, it was agreed that the state would preserve these lands for public use, resort and recreation, and that no corporate development would be allowed in the protected lands. Eight years later, Yosemite Valley, along with Yellowstone, became the world’s first National Parks.

Dawn and I are fortunate to live close enough to Yosemite for regular treks. With each visit, we marvel at its splendor, its magnificence, its massive beauty. Its sheer enormity provides a cornucopia of hiking and photographic opportunities, far more than we could hope to experience in a single lifetime.

It’s been said that one cannot visit Yosemite and not feel closer to his creator. For us, it’s true.

This is a Patriot’s Journey post. Remember to check out the other Patriotic Journeyers: Drumwaster, The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…

Friends Noah and Jamie will be hiking Yosemite’s famous Half Dome in a few days and I want to wish them a successful trip. Jamie’s posted a good deal of information about their planned 17-mile trek on her blog and it looks as though they’re well prepared for a memorable adventure!

I’ve been teasing Jamie to watch out for Yosemite bears, so this ‘toon won’t be lost on her. Good luck, guys! We can’t wait to hear all about your trip! And Noah: Maybe a few pics I can post?

Senator Barack Obama has claimed the Democratic presidential nomination having secured enough delegates and pledged super-delegates to claim victory. Of course, technically, this assumes that the supers all vote as they say they will, and they are free to change their minds. So, no doubt we’ll continue to hear debate on this subject until either the convention or Hillary steps down.

Meanwhile, I’m assuming it’s pretty much a done deal. I’ve said before that I could never vote for Hillary. And I can’t vote for Obama because I see him as a racist, a Marxist and an empty suit. So despite some serious misgivings about McCain, I guess he’s my choice. Here’s my bumper sticker…

I know we sometimes take for granted our right to free and open elections in this country. But stop and think about it. We grumble openly about the candidates but hold their feet to the fire in order to make an informed decision about who will guide our country. It’s an infinitely important process and an invaluable right. I’m grateful that I live in a country where we are all free to help chart our own destiny.

This is a Patriot’s Journey post. Remember to check out the other Patriotic Journeyers: Drumwaster, The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…

Armstrong and Getty were talking about this news story during their morning drive radio broadcast this morning and I had to shake my head. It’s wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to know what needs fixing first.

According to Alisha Dean’s MySpace page, she’s a 19-year-old divorced woman who describes herself as “S-E-X-Y”. Her posted photos, some showing her in various states of undress, present an enticing picture. And she apparently gets a good deal of attention from the page, proving the old adage: advertising pays.

Enter Morris Williams, 22, a young man who was attracted to Dean by her MySpace page. After a few telephone conversations, the two met (she picked him up on the street) and eventually they had sex. Dean confided that she wasn’t really 19, that she had actually just turned 18. Doesn’t sound like an uncommon scenario in today’s world, does it?

But Williams later discovered that Dean had lied, that she was actually a very mature looking 13-year-old! Horrified, he went to her father whom he believed would want to know about his daughter’s “shenanigans”. But instead of dealing with his daughter, who clearly needs some control and guidance in her life, Dean’s father reported Williams to police. He was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail, five years subsequent probation (during which he’ll wear an ankle bracelet) and required registration as a sexual predator.

But here’s the kicker. Dean had done the same thing before! Ask 24-year-old Darwin Mills who was sentenced to five years in prison after being enticed by Dean’s MySpace page!

So where do I start? Dean is clearly a sexual predator despite her young age,  guilty of fraud if nothing else. But…

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Anybody?

Debbi forwarded this moving rendition of a classic hymn. It’s purportedly a performance by four combined High School choirs and a group of grade school children, with the recording and presentation made by the father of one of the students. The song, of course, is Battle Hymn of the Republic. I grew up singing this hymn and hearing it always makes me proud to be an American.

The hymn was born during the American Civil War when Julia Ward Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote the words the next day:

“I awoke in the grey of the morning, and as I lay waiting for dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to entwine themselves in my mind, and I said to myself, ‘I must get up and write these verses, lest I fall asleep and forget them!’ So I sprang out of bed and in the dimness found an old stump of a pen, which I remembered using the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper.”

First appearing in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862, the hymn was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, American senator Robert Kennedy, and American presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. (Requires Flash Player)

This is a Patriot’s Journey post. Remember to check out the other Patriotic Journeyers: Drumwaster, The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…