Some Initial Thoughts

 

November 27, 2018

 

Dear Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Mr. Franklin:

Gentlemen:

I am writing to all of you regarding one of the biggest issues in the news today, immigration. The world has changed considerably since your day and immigration is truly on a global scale where I would imagine that in your time it would have been more of a European migration. Also, there are many more factors that play into immigration today. Concerns  such as terrorism, illegal drugs and others all of which I am sure are foreign to you.  Today we hear about DACA, the wall, chain migration, security and separating families. A new issue of late are human caravans who travel thousands of miles in an attempt to claim asylum here in the U.S.  I will go into further details later when I write to you individually regarding these matters.

Since it is a very relevant issue, I thought I would remind you of your thoughts and feelings regarding immigration. What I see in all of your quotes is an openness by all of you to immigration but each of you have certain caveats. These caveats align pretty much with many of the issues that are affecting us today which are legality, productivity and merit. It is amazing to think that all these years later we still have not gotten this right, especially since we have gone through many stages and times of migration and how all of you set down some pretty good guidelines which are still relevant today.

Today, both parties are using the immigration debate as a campaign issue causing a further divide between the parties, which you warned us about President Washington, so we are caught in a vicious cycle and nothing gets done. Gentlemen your thoughts are still relevant today and maybe our legislators from both sides can take some guidance and learn from you.

President Jefferson in your letter to Mr. Hugh White you appeared to be focused on the legal aspects of immigration and how we and those coming into this country should follow the established rules:

“Born in other countries, yet believing you could be happy in this, our laws acknowledge, as they should do, your right to join us in society, conforming, as I doubt not you will do, to our established rules. That these rules shall be as equal as prudential considerations will admit, will certainly be the aim of our legislatures, general and particular.”

Thomas Jefferson, letter to Hugh White, May 2, 1801

Mr. Franklin, your focus appears to be based on the need for productivity of those who wish to come here along with our ability to manage and handle all who enter this great country.

“Strangers are welcome because there is room enough for them all, and therefore the old Inhabitants are not jealous of them; the Laws protect them sufficiently so that they have no need of the Patronage of great Men; and everyone will enjoy securely the Profits of his Industry. But if he does not bring a Fortune with him, he must work and be industrious to live.”

Benjamin Franklin, Those Who Would Remove to America, February 1784

 And finally, President Washington, you stress a need for propriety and merit to enjoy the privileges of being an American:

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respected Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions: whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.”

George Washington

So, gentlemen, expect to hear from me again regarding your thoughts on what today is a very sensitive topic. Hopefully, we can go into more detail and learn more from your thoughts when I write you individually.

 

Sincerely,

Andrew J. DeMarco

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts to Founders, Signers and Framers on a Veteran’s Day Parade

 

November 5, 2018

Dear Founders, Signers and Framers:

Gentlemen:

With Veteran’s Day approaching I was thinking of a way to honor our Veterans while at the same time provide a learning moment for all our Representatives in Washington. President Trump, after visiting France, wanted to have a military type parade like the Bastille Day Parade in Paris. This idea was nixed due to costs which I agree with. My idea would come at no cost and honor our Veterans and Military while teaching how our Representatives should all come together to get things done.

My parade will be made up of all volunteers which is something most veterans understand. Veterans will volunteer not to be marchers but rather spectators.  The parade route is simple as it is the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and all Veterans will line the route on both sides. There will be no bands, military hardware or floats for this parade and the marchers will consist of the members of Congress, the Supreme Court, Cabinet Members, Department Heads and the President. Attendance for the marchers would be mandatory and they will not be compensated. As a matter of fact, a portion of their salaries will be donated for security and to Veteran’s organizations. Now Gentlemen here comes the teaching moment for all.

The parade will begin at the Capital and they will begin by marching to the Washington Monument. Once there they will turn left face and look across the Tidal Basin to the Memorial to you President Jefferson, the man who with the Declaration of Independence brought together 13 disorganized and disparate colonies in what many thought was a hopeless cause. Those shots fired at Lexington and Concord created our first group of veterans. Here the marchers will be reminded that your words President Jefferson: “When in the course of human events…,” brought our first group of veterans together.

While at the monument to you President Washington, our representatives will be reminded that you were the man who lead our first veterans against impossible odds through the tough times of Valley Forge to an unthought of victory at Yorktown. President Washington, it was your leadership and their determination that brought them together and got the job done. Yet another reminder to the marchers.

With our Veterans still looking on the parade will then continue down the Mall to the WWII Memorial dedicated to Veterans who are referred to as the “Greatest Generation”. This group of veterans defeated Nazism, Fascism and Imperialism because they answered the call, came together and yet again got the job done. The marchers will then turn eyes left in the direction of the memorial to you President Roosevelt who brought them together after the defeat at Pearl Harbor and to victory four years later. Maybe the marchers at this point will begin to see a pattern.

The marchers will then continue down the Mall veering left around the reflecting pool as they march through the Korean War Memorial remembering once again the Veterans that came together to fight a “police action” and hot war.  Many questioned the purpose of this action and yet Veterans again came together to get a job done.

They will then march across the Mall to the Vietnam Memorial where most of the veteran spectators will have gathered, to remember a war which help to divide the country, which is something the marcher representatives are pretty good at.  It was the veterans of that war, who came together and worked to have this memorial built, healing and bringing us together and is now one of the most visited sites in Washington, D.C. They will take their time and look at over 50,000 names on that wall and remember once again that it was because of politicians like them that those names are there because Veterans came together and answered their call.

The parade will then reassemble and continue on the final leg of their march to the memorial dedicated to you President Lincoln, a man who truly knows what a divided country means. It was your leadership that brought those veterans together in keeping the Union together. But it isn’t over yet. While there, every marcher will be required to read what many consider to be the greatest speech ever written, the Gettysburg Address. My friend Dean Koclanes has an excellent idea that the marchers should then renew their oaths of office incorporating the words at the end of that address that a “Government of the People, by the People and for the People shall not perish from the earth”.  If anyone wants to know why, it is because of veterans!

Maybe these marchers can learn something by the veteran’s example and come together for the Government of the People. As I recall a veteran once telling me, no United States Military uniform says Democrat or Republican on it.

Happy Veteran’s Day a bit early.

Sincerely

Andrew DeMarco

 

P.S. I would like to ask you the Founders, Signers and Framers if this letter should be sent not only to you but to all the Marchers? Maybe our other readers can help answer this question. In the meantime feel free to send and share it with your Representatives and Senators, and any Veterans group you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draining the Swamp

 

October 22, 2018

President Thomas Jefferson

 

Dear President Jefferson;

With the upcoming mid-term elections two weeks away, the divisiveness and animosity between the two political parties today is just getting worse and no end to this nonsense seems to be in sight. I am sure, President Jefferson, that you have seen this brewing for some time. Some would say it all began with the Presidential Election in 2000 when many Democrats felt that the election was stolen from them based on hanging chads, Mr. President don’t even ask. It led to many looking at President George W. Bush, the younger, as illegitimate, incompetent and everything possible was done to impede his work. By the way, your friend President Adams and his son are no longer the only father and son presidential team.

It continued with the election of President Barak Obama, our first African American president when the Republicans were determined to make him a “one term president” which didn’t quite work out for them. It continues today with President Donald Trump and it is wreaking havoc on our system which has worked all this time. I think the fact that President Trump who is not a career politician, which shows at times, wants to clean out the hypocrisy of Washington. This upsets those who are lifers in Washington which led to President Trump’s slogan “Drain the Swamp,” which struck a chord with voters. But I found this far from a new idea, you expressed it in a much more eloquent way:

When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.

The corruption begins with big money which both sides are guilty of accepting. Billionaires like the Koch Brothers fund one side while George Soros funds the other. Big money is something President Jefferson that you are not aware of since you were broke after your service to our country when you returned home to Monticello.

The politicians themselves corrupt the system. Former Senate Majority leader Harry Reed changed the rules of the Senate when he basically did away with the filibuster and only required a simple majority on most issues. The system had been working fine for over 200 years. The filibuster in a way limited the power of the majority and allowed for debate and compromise. With no debate and compromise necessary, politicians have turned into mindless lemmings and now only know their own party line. Minds are made up and decisions are made with no one listening to the facts and they just follow the will of their leaders and not those of their constituents. This is just a small sampling of growing corruption and evil which is affecting the Republic. I believe it is time to restore our lost principles.

President Jefferson, I think what you are telling us is to take a good look and listen to our representatives. The best way to remove the corruption and restore the lost principles is not by politicians talking of impeachment and committee hearings on one scandal or another, but by exercising our most sacred right as citizens and that is to vote. I mean not just by voting along party lines but by casting an educated and informed vote. Listening to all sides of an issue and forming one’s own opinion and then voting accordingly. The bottom line is we need to better educate ourselves in making our own decisions and when necessary rid ourselves of the “growing evil.” Maybe this mid-term election is a good time to start to clean house and have “We the People” exercise term limits the way it was intended by you and the Founders to be, with our vote!

President Jefferson, this is where we presently stand, and I hope the electorate finally comes to realize it and moves forward. Once again, you and the other Founding Fathers have shown a foresight that cannot be matched today by any of our representatives in Washington, D.C.

Yours Truly,

Andrew J. DeMarco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Political Parties Revisited

 

October 8, 2018

Dear President Washington:

Back in April I wrote to you about your thoughts in your Farewell Address regarding political parties. (if you need a reminder you can find that letter further down on this site.) I thought I would write you a quick letter since recent events have brought this issue to the forefront once again. The confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court demonstrates how right you were all those years ago. Both sides, Republican and Democrat did nothing to distinguish themselves in what is supposed to be the civilized and polite body of the legislative branch. It has gotten to the point where both sides put the needs of the party ahead of doing what is right for the country and the people they serve.  From where I sit that is hard to argue with and the actions of that august body (and I use that term very loosely) were deplorable and an embarrassment for all those who serve in that beautiful building in the city named for you.

In your address Mr. President, you sought to warn us “in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.” You went further to say that, “the alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge is natural to party dissension…” Revenge is all either side has in mind.  You continued,” the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people (us) to discourage and restrain it.”  Most would agree with this statement but because of the division created by these parties, wisdom and common sense seem to have gone out the window. I think we must re-educate ourselves and start looking at issues as a whole and not red or blue and hopefully make up our own minds without the influence of party.

President Washington, maybe we can find a way to get a copy of your address into the hands of those who need to read it the most, our elected officials. Maybe then we can all hope that they will see how right you and all the other Founders, Signers and Framers were and still are. Which tells me and should tell others that since this grand experiment was based on all your hopes and visions for the future maybe just maybe we should be heeding your advice now more than ever.

All this dissension reminded me of a quote by Thomas Jefferson to whom I will be writing shortly to discuss his ideas on this.

Your Truly,

Andrew J, DeMarco

 

P.S. if anyone would like to read President Washington’s Farewell Address and maybe pass it along to their elected officials in Washington you can find it at:

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf

P.S.S. It is kind of ironic that it is a Senate URL and my guess is that not one of them has read it.

 

 

The Judiciary

October 1, 2018

 

Dear Mr. Hamilton:

You might be interested to know that you have made it to Broadway! That’s right, there is a play about you that is a huge hit and you would be shocked to see the price that people are paying for tickets. For me personally, I have no desire to see it since I feel it distorts history and if anyone wants to learn about you there are plenty of good books they can read, but once again I digress. I am writing to you today regarding a quote you had in the Federalist Papers No. 78 from 1788 in regard to the judiciary:

“And it proves, in the last place, that liberty can have nothing to fear from the judiciary alone, but would have everything to fear from its union with either of the other departments.”

Mr. Hamilton I see this as you are telling us that if the judiciary remains independent of the Executive and Legislative branches we have nothing to fear regarding our liberties. Unfortunately, it seems that both departments can’t seem to help themselves and must get involved and throw a wrench into the works. Both are so concerned as to which way the courts will lean either right or left, they try to influence who is appointed and how the judiciary should function.

Throughout our history the courts have swayed from liberal to conservative back to liberal and back again and it seems to have worked fine.

Now, however, both the Executive and Legislative branches are so concerned as to which way the courts will lean that they hold up nominations, bicker and create gridlock. The proof is in the Supreme Court nominations and stalling tactics with Judge Merrick Garland and now the last-minute accusations against Judge Kavanaugh. Interference from the other branches or departments as you refer to them is truly something we should fear. We should worry when both legislative parties have made the process of choosing the judiciary on all federal levels nothing but a political circus and theater and any politician who tells anyone otherwise is delusional. Although the judiciary continues to act independently of politics, the legislative and executive branches use the judiciary for their own political gains.

Once either department gets their hands into the judiciary, our liberties are no longer there. It becomes a contest between political parties with their own agendas as well as causing clashes among the various branches. Once again, we have been warned by you and the other Founders but again have ignored the warning.

So, Mr. Hamilton although I do not want to see your play, I have had a change of heart and will now see it and I will definitely write you about it another time.  In the meantime, maybe you can give us some ideas on how we can get your thoughts across to those who rule and help eliminate this gridlock and insure our future liberties.

Yours truly,

Andrew J. DeMarco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggestions to the incoming Senate by President Madison and Alexander Hamilton

 

September 10, 2018

President Madison and Mr. Hamilton

Gentlemen:

While doing some research on another project I came across this quote from your collaboration on the Federalist Papers No. 62 written on February 27, 1788. It was your advice to incoming Senators on creating laws and legislation.

“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?”

This reminded me of two monstrous pieces of legislation. One is the Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.) or Obama Care as most people know it and the second is the recently passed tax code. You might find this interesting Obama Care was named after our 44^th president Barack Obama who by the way was our first African American President.

Gentlemen, today many members of Congress are still not heeding your advice. It is estimated that the A.C.A. (Obama Care) is over 4,000 pages while no one can really agree on how large the Tax Code is. It has been estimated that the tax code is anywhere between 20,000 and 70,000 pages, regardless both are “voluminous.” Compare that to one of your works, President Madison, the United States Constitution which is a little over 4,100 words and is the basis for this great country. I would think that all the talk about repealing and replacing the A.C.A. and on more than one occasion revising the Tax Code leads us to “they be repealed and revised before they are promulgated,” which you warned us about.

Back in 2016 it appeared that some were heeding your advice. Representative Mia Love of Utah a Republican, Haitian American and the first black female member of Congress from Utah proposed legislation, the One Subject at a Time Act, H.R. 4335.  This Act would require single subject bills with the aim of curbing the passing of complicated, multifaceted bills or attaching unrelated items. By the way this proposed legislation is all of 4 pages long. Since it is two years since this resolution was proposed it appears to have little support, since it would limit the wheeling and dealing that goes into most legislation and usually raises the cost to us.

Gentlemen, just to keep you up to date Utah is our 45^th state and entered into our union in 1896.

I always find it amazing how your insights are so relevant years later. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Andrew DeMarco

 

P.S. Pictured above is the A.C.A. and a 3×6 inch, booklet that includes the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

 

 

The Press

“Prostituted Companion”

 

August 13, 2019

The Honorable Mr. Fisher Ames

Dear Mr. Ames:

You are by far one of the lesser known Founding Fathers so allow me to let others know a bit about you. You represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and are known for your Federalist, Anti-Jeffersonian leanings. Your support of the Bill of Rights helped gain support in Massachusetts for the New Constitution. You were also known for your oratorical skills which lead you to be called the “most eloquent Federalist.”

It is your quote regarding the press which today would be most relative and create quite a stir along with much debate. Here goes!

 “We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary. It follows the substance like its shade; but while a man walks erect, he may observe that his shadow is almost always in the dirt. It corrupts, it deceives, it inflames. It strips virtue of her honors, and lends to faction its wildfire and its poisoned arms, and in the end is its own enemy and the usurper’s ally, It would be easy to enlarge on its evils. They are in England, they are here, they are everywhere. It is a precious pest, and a necessary mischief, and there would be no liberty without it.”

Fisher Ames, Review of the Pamphlet on the State of the British Constitution, 1807

Wow! Where do I begin. First, the press is much more influential and prominent in our lives than it was in your day. We have 24-hour news cycles along with cable, network and internet news. I know this is all alien to you but we are bombarded with news and “the Press”.  I would like to think that we all still firmly believe in freedom of the press and it is this freedom which leads to the prostituted companion of liberty. Each side has their outlets to make their policies and feelings known and these outlets become the prostitutes for a cause rather than remaining neutral and offering unbiased opinions. From there it is easy for all sides to fall into deceit and corruption and incite outrageous actions where all members of the press can lose their honor and virtue in order to come out on top. It also leads to the further creation of factions which spread and create even more division in this country. I guess that would be called the wildfire.

A lot of this today is being called fake news a term that is being tossed around just a bit too much as far as I am concerned. However, we look at it and no matter which side of any policy or argument you may stand the press is that “necessary mischief” and a “precious pest” for it is certain as you state that without the press there would be no liberty.

There is just so much to truth and relevance in this quote that it will take more than one letter to really get into. Therefore, let this sink in with you and the readers and you can rest assured you will be hearing from me again on this matter.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. DeMarco

“Try working together”

July 30, 2018

President John Kennedy and President George Washington

Dear Presidents Kennedy & Washington:

Gentlemen, while reading a paper on an Alternative Congress by my Cousin Bill Lanzana he had a quote by you President Kennedy, which with the behavior of both parties lately is more pertinent than ever.  This must make you happy President Washington that someone over 60 years ago was paying heed to your warning about political parties.

What is happening in the city which bears your name President Washington in my opinion, which I try to avoid in these letters, is an absolute disgrace and all sides are responsible. Neither side takes responsibility for their actions and each blames the other and previous administrations even going back over 20 years. They talk about remedying immigration laws, nothing gets done, they talk about fixing health care nothing gets done, instead of creating a budget for the fiscal year which is required they argue constantly about Continuing Resolutions which are needed to fund the government. Add to that, the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, you can expect even more disagreement and stalemates and more bitterness emanating from both sides with each refusing to give an inch. Here is where your quote President Kennedy which fits .

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

John F. Kennedy

 I think most people out there today would agree with this statement because our legislators today only seem to have the interests of their respective parties in mind and nothing that benefits “We the People”. I do remember a time not so long ago when this was very different. I am sure you both know President Ronald Regan who is considered a “Lion of Conservatism” who sat down with Democratic House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neil  and got things done which ushered in a fairly prosperous time. Then there was President Bill Clinton, who many consider a darling of those who are left of center, he sat down with his opposition Republican Speaker Newton “Newt “Gingrich and again came together for “We the People” and got things done, again leading to a somewhat prosperous time.

These people may or may not have know about your quote President Kennedy took your advice and took the bull by the horns, accepted their responsibility to the people and not the party and came up with what they felt was at that time the right answers.

 Hopefully, the 535 people in that beautiful building they call The Capital as well as all the other bureaucrats can get their act together and heed the advice of two men who were far wiser than all of them. Once again, the wisdom of the past outshines that of our politicians today. Thank you for listening Presidents Washington and Kennedy

Sincerely.

Andrew J. DeMarco

 

 

P.S. Presidents Washington and Kennedy, I am sorry that this letter was more a tirade than a history lesson but it is important that you know what is going on and perhaps your thoughts can get through to some.

“What’s a Lifetime?”

July 16, 2018

Mr. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson

Dear  Shoeless:

With the MLB All-Star game tomorrow and for some crazy reason you came to mind and I thought I would pop you a line. The game as you knew it has changed quite a bit since the Black Sox scandal and your “lifetime ban” went into effect. Today we have the designated hitter in the American League, which means that the pitcher doesn’t bat. Today we have analytics which include a thing called a pitch count, so God forbid should a pitcher throw more than 100 pitches a game! If he should pitch a complete game it is considered a huge accomplishment. Batters now come to home plate looking more like Medieval Knights with helmets, elbow pads, shin guards and batting gloves. All you had was a bat in your hands.  And here is something you would probably like, with instant replay umpires are becoming less relevant to the game.

Back to the point of this letter. In May of this year the Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is unconstitutional which opened the door for betting on team sports and more states to pursue legalization. New Jersey quickly passed a law allowing sports betting and others are expected to soon follow. So, the very thing that you received your lifetime ban for is now in a way moot and maybe the powers that be should reconsider this ban. As my friend Joe Ruggiero might say “Not for nothin’ but whose lifetime are we talking about,” and he is right. Your lifetime ended in 1951 and it has been more than my lifetime since then. Maybe it should be called an eternal or forever ban.

When you consider the fact that in the 1919 World Series your 12 base hits set a Series record that was not broken until 1964. You led both teams with a .375 batting average, committed no errors and threw out a runner at the plate. With those stats how can anyone think that you were throwing a World Series?  Your .356 career batting average would have you in the Hall of Fame no matter what era you played in.

In November 1999, the U.S House of Representatives passed a resolution praising your baseball achievements and encouraged MLB to rescind your ineligibility. If the Supreme Court can change the laws of our land and now allow gambling with all the changes that MLB has made to their game, it is certainly about time that they take a serious look at your ban and maybe even that of Pete Rose. After all, things do change many times in a lifetime.

Let’s see what the fans out there have to say, so let Joe know what you think.  I hope you make it Joe.

Sincerely,

Andrew DeMarco

P.S. Joe, I know you are aware of the All-Star Game since they were playing it in your lifetime, so to many this game has become meaningless other than giving those who don’t make the team a break and just another game for people to bet on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 242 Years

July 2, 2018

Dear Founders, Signers and Framers

Gentlemen:

Today July 2^nd is the 242^nd Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being passed with no opposing votes. Two days later on July 4, 1776 the Declaration was ratified by some of you and actually signed by the remaining 56 Signers on August 2, 1776 who pledged, “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Most of you were what would have been considered the aristocracy, landed gentry, gentlemen farmers, lawyers and doctors, what some would call today the 1%, the A-listers. What I find interesting is that all of you had the most to lose and unlike the elites of today you were willing to lay it all on the line. Had you not succeeded who knows where you and we would be today.

You Gentlemen with a simple phrase “All men are created equal,” a phrase that probably had never been put to paper before got this great experiment the American Revolution going. After a hard-fought battle, some years later you kept that Revolution going with another simple phrase, “We the People.” With the nature of the Constitution some would say that the American Revolution became the American Evolution, which continues to this day. Gentlemen, you created an environment where all can attain whatever they strive for and achieve that third simple phrase which makes us all equal the “unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I would like to ask you if we have lived up to the ideals which you worked and sacrificed for and had hoped we would attain? Are you surprised that your experiment has lasted this long?   What are your thoughts upon seeing how this country which you started 242 years ago has progressed and how we might take some advice from all of you and improve on it?

Maybe some who read this letter and previous ones can lend their thoughts on this Anniversary. In the meantime, I want to thank you the Founders, Signers and Framers for taking that bold step and risking it all to build a country which no matter what others may think is still the envy of all.

Thanks again and to all have a Happy Fourth of July!

Sincerely,

Andrew J. DeMarco

 

P.S. I guess “Born on the 2^nd of August” would not have worked as well as “Born on the 4^th of July.”