Monday, July 04, 2005

Honoring Heroes on Independence Day


Picture credit: http://fightingfourth.com
Fallen HeroesToday is the day that we celebrate our independence. With all of its foibles and with all its backbiting, caterwauling critics, there is no question but that the United States of America is the greatest force for good that the planet Earth has ever seen.

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Remembering Fallen Heroes

How can I prove that contention?

Here's an easy test: what country struggles to control its immigration -- legal and illegal -- more than any other? I think you can guess the answer. Yes, it's the U.S. Here's a Google search for "USA immigration." It yields about five and a half million results and numerous advertisements, which are all designed to address a question that interests people the world over: how do I immigrate to the United States? 

In fact, I decided to do a quick test using Google. I searched for "country name  immigration" and tallied the number of results for each country. The results are in the accompanying table. Certain countries have search terms qualified to omit irrelevant results (e.g., Jordan to remove references to "Barbara Jordan"; all such special cases are noted below with the specific hyperlinks):

United States29,900,000   Sweden1,230,000
Canada8,150,000   Iran1,280,000
UK5,470,000   Egypt1,220,000
Mexico4,940,000   Vietnam1,180,000
France4,870,000   Indonesia1,160,000
China4,700,000   Norway1,110,000
Australia4,370,000   Thailand1,070,000
Japan3,800,000   Argentina997,000
Germany3,830,000   Taiwan943,000
India3,370,000   Denmark938,000
Israel2,810,000   North Korea933,000
Russia2,540,000   Cuba885,000
Italy2,520,000   Jordan878,000
Spain2,300,000   Saudi Arabia860,000
New Zealand1,720,000   Libya812,000
Pakistan1,470,000   Syria790,000
South Africa1,440,000   Yemen772,000
Turkey1,390,000   Sudan767,000
Brazil1,320,000   Kuwait730,000
Poland1,290,000   Iceland720,000
Switzerland1,280,000   Cambodia686,000
Belgium1,250,000   South Korea658,000


This, I think, is indicative of how many people are trying to get into the United States. And I think it's safe to say which country -- by a huge margin -- is most desirable.

In remembrance of Independence Day and the heroes who are fighting and dying to preserve our freedom, I ask you to consider a donation to the Fallen Heroes Last Wish Foundation:

The objective of this foundation is to grant the last wish of the U.S. servicemembers who have been lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom: to provide for their children.


Donations are tax-deductible and can be made via PayPal. Dan O'Dowd of Green Hills Software is matching every dollar with two of his own (up to $200,000). So each dollar you donate is multiplied by three automatically.

Other worthy causes include FreedomCalls, which provides technology supporting communications between soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families, and Soldiers' Angels, a support group for American service members stationed around the world. No matter the specific organization, a donation to any of these worthy causes benefit the soldiers and families who have sacrificed so much for us. What have we done to deserve such heroes?

Make a donation

More Noteworthy July 4 posts:

Captain's Quarters: A Fourth for Remembrance
Clarity and Resolve: Now More than Ever
Froggy Ruminations: Words of Wisdom
Michelle Malkin: Rove-ing Reports
Outside the Beltway: Critics Call Radio Hosts’ Trip Propaganda Mission
Wizbang: What if We hadn't Invaded Iraq?

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