No other date on the calendar more potently symbolizes all that our nation stands for than the Fourth of July.

For more than two centuries since winning our own freedom, we the people of the United States have repeatedly answered the call to lead the quest for freedom around the globe.

The day before the anniversary of D-Day, we lost a man who was equaled by few and surpassed by none as a leader in the cause of freedom: Ronald Reagan.

We should start by allowing drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. It can provide billions of barrels of recoverable oil and trillions of cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.

I am particularly disturbed that our country is the largest financial supporter of an organization that not only wastes a lot of our money but also seems to be increasingly anti-American in its policies and conduct.

Now, forty years after his passing, Winston Churchill is still quoted, read, revered, and referred to as much, if not more, than when he was alive.

In sum, we took energy for granted, assuming when we flipped the switch, the lights would go on and assuming that there would always be plenty of cheap fuel for our vehicles.