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July 4, 2013 Capitol 4th Neil Diamond dress rehearsal; "Freedom Song", "Sweet Caroline" – Video

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July 4, 2013 Capitol 4th Neil Diamond dress rehearsal; "Freedom Song", "Sweet Caroline"
Rank amateur video on Olympus #39; Documents setting taken during dress rehearsal of 33rd Capitol Fourth in Washington, DC on 3 July 2013. Unable to locate title...

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July 4, 2013 Capitol 4th Neil Diamond dress rehearsal; "Freedom Song", "Sweet Caroline" - Video

Freedom Festival memories

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Memories of America's Freedom Festival at Provo and Stadium of Fire run deep in our community -- ranging from the energy of the performances to the emotions of the patriotic messages. Here are a few great memories from The Ticket's Facebook fans:

"We were at the first Stadium of Fire where they tried to light a record number of firecrackers. You could feel the wall of heat everywhere in the stadium and they had to turn the fire hoses on the people in the first few rows to cool them down."

-- Liz Ramsey Petersen

"One year, my parents and siblings were invited to sing with the Hope of America kids at the Stadium of Fire. Being able to sign all those patriotic songs really got us in the right spirit for the 4th of July."

-- Larisa Elder

"One year Glenn Beck hosted the show and they had a huge oven in the middle of the stage and burned a huge flag to retire it. It was amazing!"

-- Annie Humphrey Hallam

"Sitting with my whole family listening to the girls behind us screaming for the Jonas Brothers. We were laughing and they were crying. It was great."

-- Kimie Chournos Snapp

"Being there with my dad and watching the jets fly over and him always standing up when they asked who was a veteran in the audience. I miss those days and memories."

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Freedom Festival memories

Freedom Drop Rubber Match to CornBelters 4-2

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July 4, 2013 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Normal,IL-The Florence Freedom were in need of a quality start by a starter and they got that from Dan Jensen(4-2). Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Normal CornBelters defeated the Freedom 4-2 Thursday night at The Corn Crib. The loss snapped the Freedom's streak of five consecutive series wins.

Normal took a 1-0 lead in the second after three straight singles from Ryan Lashley, Tyler Shover and Mike Mobbs. It was Mobbs' RBI single that scored Lashley to give the CornBelters the early lead.

The Freedom tied it in the sixth on an RBI single by left fielder David Harris. Then in the sixth, with the bases loaded and with David Carillo at the plate, Normal starter Michael Schweiss(1-0) plunked him forcing home J.C. Figueroa as the Freedom took a 2-1 lead.

The CornBelters tied it in the seventh on a T.J. Gavlik sacrifice fly. Then in the eighth, Mike Schwartz led off with a single against Jensen. Keoni Manago then got down a sacrifice bunt advancing Schwartz to second. Kit Carter then came in out of the Freedom bullpen. Pat McKenna came through with a ground rule double scoring the go ahead run to give the CornBelters a 3-2 lead. The very next batter saw Oscar Garcia single home McKenna to give them a 4-2 lead.

Jensen suffered the tough loss as he pitched 7.1 innings allowing eight hits on three runs with a strikeout.

Schweiss earned the win throwing eight innings holding the Freedom to six hits on two earned runs. Alan Oaks recorded his second save for Normal. Junior Arrojo led the Freedom with a 2-3 performance.

The Freedom will return to Florence to start a nine game homestand Friday night. The Freedom will begin a three game series with the Frontier Greys. The Freedom will have RHP Chuck Weaver(0-0 2.55) on the mound. The Greys will feature LHP Matt Costello(1-3, 3.49). The game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki and Jake Meyer starting at 6:20 pm on radio station 1320 AM and gospel1320.com.

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Freedom Drop Rubber Match to CornBelters 4-2

Imam Sohaib Sultan: HuffPost Jummah: Freedom and Fasting

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From Tahrir Square in Cairo to Times Square in New York City, the human cry for and celebration of freedom has come to define modern man's highest aspirations for himself and the one ideal that modern societies hold in highest esteem. After centuries of human history in which slavery and human bondage were accepted as norm, the struggle for individual and collective freedom ought to be commemorated as real progress in realizing the awesomeness of God-given human dignity.

"Truly, We have instilled dignity into the Children of Adam," God reminds us in the Quran (17:70). And, for this reason, perhaps, the Muslim sage and second caliph of Islam, Umar bin al-Khattab, reportedly warned one of his governors against taking slaves, saying, "O 'Amr! When did you begin to enslave and subjugate people after their mothers have given birth to them as free people?"

When we speak of freedom, we speak of those physical and institutional barriers that restrict a person or peoples from exercising the right to follow their conscience. Beyond this, however, there are important philosophical and practical questions on the meaning and scope of freedom, for no human value can be limitless or left completely unchecked by other greater values. Every society will have to answer for itself these rather difficult and complex questions.

In this sermon I want to focus our attention on, arguably, the least considered aspect of freedom -- an aspect without which the human being and societies will never be able to realize the highest promise embedded within the genome of freedom. I speak of that most precious independence known as inner freedom.

This freedom is a freedom that allows us to unshackle ourselves from the bondage of our own egos, false desires, delusions, addictions, and evil inclinations. God alludes to this inner human trap that one must escape when God asks rhetorically in the Quran, "Have you ever considered [the kind of person] who makes his own desires his deity?" (25:43).

It is in many ways the most difficult freedom to attain, and the one that requires the greatest struggle. In a saying that is attributed to Muhammad, the Prophet turned to his companions after a long and difficult battle, saying, "You have arrived with an excellent arrival. You have come from the lesser jihad [struggle] to the greater jihad [struggle]: the striving against your false desires." While the chain of transmission back to the Prophet is questionable, scholars throughout the centuries of Islam have taken it as true at least in its wisdom and have written entire works on the meaning of greater jihad. The Quran itself speaks of this greater struggle when it says, "As for those who strive in Our path, We shall most certainly guide them onto paths that lead unto Us: for, behold, God is indeed with the doers of good" (29:69).

Inner freedom is not vague or idealistic. It is real and has very real manifestations. It is what allowed a young Abraham, upon him be peace, to oppose the false beliefs of his people, freeing himself from idolatry. It is what allowed Hagar, upon her be peace, to run between the mountains in the middle of a desert, searching for sustenance, freeing herself from despair. It is what allowed Moses, upon him be peace, to speak the truth in front of a tyrant, freeing himself from a fear that would have left him speechless. It is what allowed Mary, upon her be peace, to bear the false accusations against her reputation with patience and forbearance, freeing herself from resentment and anger. It is what allowed Jesus, upon him be peace, to pray to God for his people's forgiveness even when they abused and abandoned him, freeing himself from hatred and malice.

The Prophet Muhammad, too, was a constant exemplar of what it means to be a person and community of inner freedom. When, upon hearing that she was sick, the Prophet visited the rude woman who would throw filth on him, he showed us what it means to be truly free. When the Prophet smiled at the harsh Arab who pulled on the neck of his cloak, making demands, he showed us what true freedom really looks like. When the Prophet chose compromise and a peace treaty over continuous war with the belligerent Meccans at Hudabiyyah, he showed us how truly free people act wisely rather than foolishly. When, toward the end of his life, the Prophet entered Mecca victorious and granted amnesty to his former enemies, he showed us that truly free people choose forgiveness over revenge.

The attainment of this inner freedom does not come easily, nor does it happen overnight. Rather, it requires struggle over the course of a lifetime. It requires an inner revolution that overcomes the dictators within us. The aspiration for inner freedom requires a spiritual practice that disciplines the ego and moves the soul toward higher purposes. And this is where the spiritual discipline of fasting is related, intimately, to freedom.

The month of Ramadan, in which Muslims are prescribed to fast from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse, at its most basic level, every day during the daylight hours from dawn to dusk, is nearly upon us. Fasting is the one prescribed discipline or practice that is actually about restraint rather than action. And in this there is a profound wisdom. It teaches us that there are times when restraint is just as powerful, if not even more powerful, than action. Fasting is like pulling back a wild, galloping horse from the brink of a cliff.

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Imam Sohaib Sultan: HuffPost Jummah: Freedom and Fasting

Freedom Homer Their Way Past CornBelters

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July 3, 2013 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Normal,IL-The Florence Freedom improved to 25-15 and moved into a first place tie in the Frontier League East with Traverse City after a 6-4 win over the Normal CornBelters Tuesday night at The Corn Crib.

Jacob Tanis launched his sixth homerun of the season in the fourth which gave the Freedom a 2-1 lead. It was a two run shot for Tanis over the left field wall. Jeremy Hamilton hit a two run homer of his own in the fifth which gave the Freedom a 5-1 lead. It was Hamilton's third of the year.

David Carrillo who made his first professional start also contributed an RBI as did Pablo Bermudez.

Freedom starter Michael Oros(4-0) remained perfect on the season. He pitched 5.1 innings giving up six hits on two earned runs while striking out four.

Daniel DeSimone pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning for the Freedom. Jorge Marban then nailed down a 1-2-3 save in the ninth. It was his twelfth save of the year, which leads the Frontier League.

The Freedom will continue their series Wednesday night with Normal. The Freedom will have RHP Justice French(0-2 4.77) on the mound. The CornBelterrs will feature RHP Tyler Lavine(2-3, 3.13). The game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 7:45 pm on radio station 1320 AM and gospel1320.com.

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Freedom Homer Their Way Past CornBelters


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