Howdy Wildclickers!
Interesting articles ehBeth and Dan, thanks.
NASA has developed a computerized air traffic control system that will allow millions of people to fly. The only feasible solution for keeping wildlife safe from squishing.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/15/60minutes/main688454.shtml
... On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger issued his order proclaiming America's remaining slaves free. On that day, General Granger and a group of Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas and announced that the Civil War had ended and that the slaves were now free. While more than two years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth is a day most often associated with true emancipation.
Though initially celebrated only locally in Galveston, Juneteenth enjoys growing popularity and is now observed nationwide by Americans from all backgrounds. And while this day holds a special meaning for descendants of slaves, Juneteenth provides an important opportunity for us all to commemorate a central tenet of our nation that is best stated in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
While Juneteenth celebrations vary widely in content, one of the most common elements is the choral singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," written by James Weldon Johnson. I am happy to provide the lyrics of this essential American song.
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
by James Weldon Johnson
Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our God,
True to our native land.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Thanks Merry.