Home of the Brave

Happy 4th of July, America!

Fireworks – Schoolhouse Rock (video)

(If you can't see this video, click here.)

September 11th (ten years later)

God bless America.

Last Shuttle Launch

(Flickr picture via Robert Scoble)

10 Things to Love or Hate about Tax Day

Tax day.

Hearing those two words can send chills up some people’s spines.

And there are just a whole lot of things to hate about Tax day (of course).

But I was thinking, “There are some good things about Tax day, too.”

So I came up with 10 things to love or hate about April 15th/Tax day.

See if you agree (and send me some of your own love/hate's if you think of any)…

10 Things to Love or Hate about Tax day:

#10: It gives us another chance to pull our hair out. (hate)

#9: It offers us a wonderful opportunity to review our math skills. (love)

#8: Some people have to pay. (hate)

#7: Some people get money back. (love)

#6: Some politicians will be padding their wallets. (hate)

#5: Many improvements in our way of life are funded. (love)

#4: There is just a short year until we get to do this all over again. (hate)

#3: There is a long, 52-week span until the next April 15th. (love)

#2: It comes. (hate)

#1: It goes. (love)

We Will Never Forget (9 years later)

Tribute to America (4th of July video)

The Pledge of Allegiance (Red Skelton)

(If you can't see this video, click here.)

On the Shoulders of Giants

With mounting unemployment and job losses, with soaring State and Federal budget deficits, with North Korea firing off multiple rockets and freedom protestors being put to death on the streets of Iran - and adding to these, whatever challenges each of us might have at a personal level that no one else knows about - with all of these things going on, and in the midst of them, there's still much to celebrate this Independence Day weekend. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. There has never been a better place to live, raise your kids, pursue your dreams and hope for the future. Right? And so to get you started this holiday weekend in the spirit of things, I've got a Tribute to America video for you to watch below set to a guitar instrumental. It offers a panorama of American history from the founding fathers to today. We are truly standing on the shoulders of giants in the great ol' US of A. I hope you enjoy the video and have a happy Fourth of July, everybody!

10 things to Love or Hate about Tax Day (with slideshow)

(Downloadable slideshow below)

Tax day.

To hear those two words can send chills up some people’s spines.

And there are just a whole lot of things to hate about Tax day (of course).

But I was thinking, “There are some good things about Tax day, too.”

So I came up with 10 things to love or hate about April 15th/Tax day.

See if you agree (and send me some of your own love/hate's if you think of any)…

#10: It gives us another chance to pull our hair out. (hate)

#9: It offers us a wonderful opportunity to review our math skills. (love)

#8: Some people have to pay. (hate)

#7: Some people get money back. (love)

#6: Some politicians will be padding their wallets. (hate)

#5: Many improvements in our way of life are funded. (love)

#4: There is just a short year until we get to do this all over again. (hate)

#3: There is a long, 52-week span until the next April 15th. (love)

#2: It comes. (hate)

#1: It goes. (love)

10 Things to Love or Hate about Tax Day from Emmett Brennan

Best, Most Affordable and Priciest Places to Live

CNN Money Magazine has just released their "Top 100 Best Places to Live in America" list. Of course, if they would have considered the Sonora, Twain Harte, Mother Lode area, there wouldn't be any competition, right? Can any place on earth beat living in "God's country?" As it stands, the only places in California on the "Top 100 Best Places to Live" list are: Irvine (in Southern California) at #4, Roseville (near Sacramento) at #90 and Sunnyvale (in the Bay Area) at #94. (To see the entire list, CLICK HERE.) There are a number of other lists that are kind of fun to look at on CNN Money's website. I thought you might be interested in checking out the "Top 25 Affordable Homes" list by town: CLICK HERE. None are in California. I'm not surprised. And then there's the "Top 25 Priciest Homes" list by city: CLICK HERE. 18 of 25 are in California. 6 are in the Bay Area. Can you guess which city is #1?

Still Much to Celebrate

With the soaring fuel and food prices, with the hundreds of fires in California, with the tensions in the Middle East as high as they've ever been and, adding to these, whatever challenges each of us might have at a personal level that no one else knows about, with all of these things going on, and in the midst of them, there's still much to celebrate this Independence Day weekend starting tomorrow. Right? America has never been a better place to live, raise your kids, pursue your dreams and hope for the future. And so to get you started this holiday weekend in the spirit of things, I've got a slideshow for you to watch below set to the song, "God, Bless America," that will inspire and uplift you. Enjoy and have a happy Fourth of July, everybody!