As an honorably retired veteran and proud American citizen, I respect Memorial Day as being one of our most meaningful and important holidays because it’s the dedicated day for remembering those who died while serving our nation. Today, many Americans have either none or limited connection/knowledge regarding the service of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

On this Memorial Day I encourage you to take a few moments to think about and honor all of those service members who have gone before us. These are the people who are truly responsible for our freedom.

I recently overheard a conversation about freedom while sitting on the patio of a coffee shop. The group discussing the topic was comprised of an equal number of male/female adults, and from the way things were going there was a significant diversity regarding their mindsets. Several of them offered their political leaning, and that certainly played into the mix rather interestingly.

I would like to know what freedom means to you, and should you choose to respond please offer some specifics. There won’t be a judgmental response from me, although I can’t guarantee what some other bloggers may post in agreement/disagreement. I’m merely interested in learning what your feelings are on this subject.

For a mere $40,000 you can have dinner tonight at George Clooney’s house along with the president and a roomful of ultra-rich and famous Hollywood types. Of course, this kind of gathering for mega-rich folks is OK, it’s just a somewhat normal social gathering for the “in crowd.” But if Romney was involved in a similar event it would be labeled a despicable display of wealth by a bunch of one-percenter elites. So much for unbiased reporting.

In the meantime, the mainstream media didn’t bother to report the continued selling out of our country to the Chinese. China’s largest bank, the Industrial and Commerce Bank of China LTD, has been given the green light by the Federal Reserve to purchase the Bank of East Asia U.S.A., located in New York City. They also approved an application by the Bank of China LTD, to open a branch in (what a surprise!) Chicago, and also approved a concurrent application by the Agricultural Bank of China LTD, to establish a branch in New York City.

The deal cut by the Fed gave the Industrial and Commerce Bank along with its two partners approval to acquire up to 80 percent of The Bank of East Asia U.S.A. This bank has 13 branches in New York and California and deposits of approximately $621 million.

My grandfather must be laughing in his grave. He was financially burned during the Great Depression when the U.S. banks had their meltdown and depositors lost it all. From that point forward he never trusted a bank again and literally buried his money in Folgers coffee cans in his yard. He kept a detailed map of the exact locations of his numbered cans and never lost another cent for decades. He wasn’t alone as most of his friends and other business owners opted out of doing business with banks for years, and even then it was with guarded reluctance and constant vigilance. Is your bank secretly cutting a deal with the Chinese?