Posts from — July 2005

The Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security…

Independence wasn’t really achieved until September 3, 1783 when Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, and, to be factual, our current government only dates from March 4, 1789 when the first government under our Constitution was installed.

Liberty was not extended to all men until December 6, 1865 with ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, nor were women given the one of the most important rights of men until August 26, 1920 with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment recognizing their votes.

In truth, until July 2, 1964 when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill into law, there was no mechanism to force government to recognize the rights of all American citizens.

Given all of the Texas politicians who claim that this country is founded on Biblical principles, I wonder how they reconcile immigration policy with Leviticus 24:22 – “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your G-d.”

Actually, that chapter and verse seems to contradict a lot of laws seeking to treat others differently. Who knew the Levites were liberals?

He has been slowed by the connection problems of Jillian of the The Snarky Cat, who provides the occasional Friday kangaroo blogging.

If you’re sitting there bored, hit the link to skippy the bush kangaroo, and help him out.

1. Jeralyn of TalkLeft coined that term.

About the only things I haven’t changed slightly are the “Permanent Link” and the “Trackback”, as they have no real counterpart in the printing world.

I started the project with sarcastic intent, but continued when it occurred to me that new readers [if I get any new readers who aren’t related by blood or marriage] might be more comfortable with familiar terminology.

I would have channeled Terry Pratchett and featured Susan Death on Binky giving the Death of Rats a lift. [Squeak? SQUEAK!… snrf, snrf, snrf]

[Edit: Yes, my title is from Hamlet, which is not the same work used in the post. At least I didn’t use “the Scottish play”.]

It’s like listening to a Pole speak Russian: the sounds are there in the proper order, but the stress is on the wrong syllable. It’s almost easier to listen to someone who can’t quite master the sounds.

When added to the disconnected body language, it’s like watching a six-grader tryout for the role of King Lear.

Len at Dark Bilious Vapors tagged me, and I appreciate that, but it’s about childhood, and I had a good time as a child.

The ChildHood Meme: What 5 Things Do You Miss About Your Childhood?

1. The number one has to belong to Barry, a German Shepherd who was a companion and guardian for most of my childhood. Instead of sheep, Barry took care of my brothers and me.

2. Being a child in Hamilton, New York when your Dad was the projectionist at the local theater. Hamilton provided leaves in the Fall and snow in the Winter. Halloween was what people today would like to believe it always had been.

3. Being a child living on the shore of Cinco Bayou. You spent most of the Summer in the water with fish, dolphins, and a dog to occupy your time. There was a boat for water skiing, and adults who provided no end of entertainment.

4. Then there was the time in the woods with lizards and snakes, access to knives and hatchets, and no one looking over your shoulder.

5. Finally there was the ability to use your own imagination to create your own games. To build tree houses and forts, to create bows and arrows with some string, a sapling, and a palmetto for arrows.

Unfortunately, today everything is structured and scheduled for children; they don’t get to just goof off out of the sight of adults.

If anyone would like to pick up the meme and carry forward, do so with my blessing. I would also note that this was about what I miss, so I won’t go into the “White” and “Colored” signs or the fear of nuclear war and polio, that were also part of my childhood.

Joe Scarborough was my Congressman when he resigned from the House, and he was never charged of the death of the woman in his local office, he just wanted to spend more time with his family.

So, I’m sure that, since I have long since ceased being a constituent, Randy Cunningham needn’t be concerned about Federal agents conducting these searches.

FBI agents searched Cunningham’s $2.55 million mansion outside San Diego and a 42-foot yacht named Duke Stir, according to a bureau spokeswoman, who said agents from the Department of Defense and Internal Revenue Service assisted.

La fête du
Canada
Day

Thank you for not yet building a fence along your southern or western border, and for brewing great beer.

Schedule of Ottawa events and some background.

Folks, rich or poor, the best move you can make is to send your child to a community college for the first two years and get the basics out of the way. The first two years are to prepare you for the real work in your major that normally starts in the junior year. Taking the general courses and getting an associate in arts degree at an accredited community college will help your child succeed when you have to pay the big bucks for major university courses. Let the child learn to read and write at the college level without incurring a huge debt load.

Among the many things he touches on in this post , Michael Bérubé tells you that university English departments use teaching assistants and adjuncts to teach the lower level courses, not the full-time faculty. That’s the system used by all of the big universities.

You can transfer after the first two years, and the institution on the bachelor’s degree will still be a major university.

Give your child a chance to figure out if they want to go for a higher degree, if they have the skills needed, and if they can adapt to the college environment at a much lower cost. It will also give you another couple of years to find the money.

If you would like one of the reasons that the 82^nd Airborne and Special Forces are less than impressed with their civilian leaders look no further than these “air raid drills”.

Gone are the days when the President actually commanded troops in the field, but the military would like to think the President has the courage displayed by the late Queen Mum during World War Two.

Their children don’t serve in the military and they run into holes when sparrows fly over. It’s embarrassing.

By the way, NYT letter writer, it is not my job, nor any other commentator’s, to figure out how to win this war. Those of us who counseled against it in the first place were told that we were traitors. Bush got us into this mess, it is up to him and his minions to figure out how to get us out. The fact that he’s made a mess of it is a judgment on him, not on us.

Winning the war required doing a lot of things correctly from the first, not trying to “fake it” after you have boots on the ground.

You can’t undo all of the errors that were made. If the Busheviks had listened to the professionals who actually know how to do these things, they would have planned and manned for the worse case scenario, and hoped for the best.

[™ Kevin Drum]

Sox in Training

Hey, It’s hard to sleep with that flash going off!

[Edit: Sox is in training for the cat sleeping Olympics. He’s warming up with a 180° twist.]

Friday Ark

[Update: Sox is training for The Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics.]

[Update 2: He faces some stiff competition .]