Nothing proclaims "Freedom" more forcefully than four operational cannons firing in a leafy Wisconsin suburb on the Fourth of July.
Sadly, city authorities have turned deaf ears toward this cry. The tyrants of Greenfield, Wisc., have attempted to use the nefarious power of noise ordinances to silence Frank Markel, whose Independence Day celebrations this year included firing a quartet of Civil War-era cannons in his front lawn. The 66-year-old man has echoed Founding Father Patrick Henry: Give me cannonfire or give me death.
"I am trying to salute the holiday and veterans," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as July 4 approached. "I don't care, fine me. Whatever."
Markel refused to kowtow to Greenfield police, who had already issued him $1,000 in fines following a prior celebration. With the eyes of the world on his 19th century cannons, Markel did not back down.
The Washington Free Beacon can only conclude that Greenfield authorities have targeted Markel because his celebration puts the town's paltry fireworks display to shame. For honoring the spirit of Independence Day and the continued greatness of America, Frank Markel is a 2019 Man of the Year.
