Honoring Heroes on Independence Day

Picture credit: http://fightingfourth.com
Today 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.

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 States	29,900,000		Sweden	1,230,000
Canada	8,150,000		Iran	1,280,000
UK	5,470,000		Egypt	1,220,000
Mexico	4,940,000		Vietnam	1,180,000
France	4,870,000		Indonesia	1,160,000
China	4,700,000		Norway	1,110,000
Australia	4,370,000		Thailand	1,070,000
Japan	3,800,000		Argentina	997,000
Germany	3,830,000		Taiwan	943,000
India	3,370,000		Denmark	938,000
Israel	2,810,000		North Korea	933,000
Russia	2,540,000		Cuba	885,000
Italy	2,520,000		Jordan	878,000
Spain	2,300,000		Saudi Arabia	860,000
New Zealand	1,720,000		Libya	812,000
Pakistan	1,470,000		Syria	790,000
South Africa	1,440,000		Yemen	772,000
Turkey	1,390,000		Sudan	767,000
Brazil	1,320,000		Kuwait	730,000
Poland	1,290,000		Iceland	720,000
Switzerland	1,280,000		Cambodia	686,000
Belgium	1,250,000		South Korea	658,000

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?



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?