As we celebrate this Fourth of July, we must take up our swords and defend what the signers of the Declaration of Independence dared to dream.  Many have forgotten that the signers of our Declaration of Independence dared to believe that they could begin something so daring as to sustain freedom forever.  That freedom is eroding each and every year as our liberties begin to shrink.  We must take a stand.  Over the past three decades, reform initiatives have come and gone.  Some genuine improvements have been made.  But the record on the whole has been a disappointing one. That must change.  We must demand that government provide evidence that their programs work as a prerequisite to continued funding.  Under-performing government agencies are sometimes given incentives to improve, but rarely face consequences for persistent failure.  This all-carrot-no-stick approach is unlikely to elicit improvement from troubled organizations.  Instead, we should identify mismanaged, wasteful or duplicative government programs, with an eye to cutting their funding, redesigning them, or eliminating them altogether.  As a sixteen year volunteer in local, regional, state, and national government I believe that it is time that we the people of this great Nation take control back from an out of control National Government.  This Fourth of July please join me in praying for our military and our Nation.  God Bless,