Happy Fourth of July!
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCEToday we mark the 231st anniversary of the signing of the greatest document ever written on Earth. It was so important and the men who signed it believed in it so much they mutually pledged "to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
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.
Read the full text of the Declaration of Independence.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 7/04/2007 12:01:00 PM
13 Comments:
Happy 4th.
And, let's figure out why Deliotte and it's lobbyist (Mr. S) can't get the LAUD's payroll system to work.
Are you listening Monica G.? Tell Mr. A.S Solutions that the clock is up. If you don't, others will.
Happy Fourth to you too!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all employees should be paid for their work!
Today I woke up to find that I had received over 7k for pay. About double my normal salary. My wife however, received only 2k. About 1/2 of normal.
This must end!
On the Declaration.....
This is the seminal document of the American experience. It defines who we are and what we stand for.
Pity that our society has forgotten the precepts contained in the Declaration.
We are supposed to be a free society. Over the past few decades we have given up so much of our freedom. Whether in the name of terrorism, the cold war, or the fight against facism, our government has eroded our freedoms.
Last month, while teaching the Civil War, we got into a discussion of how the second half of the war was all about punishing the South so that no state would ever try to rebel again. Effective, as no state has ever tried since.
But in our pursuit to stop this, we have defied Jefferson's warning that a little revolution from time to time, is a good thing. Our rights have been consistently curbed and the populace has done NOTHING to prevent it.
Yes, the civil rights movement tried to roll back discrimination, but in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved v Seattle, even that has been rolled back.
There is no terrorist, anywhere capable of taking us down. The only people capable of erasing who and what we are, is us. Our lack of commitment to our rights is the sole danger to our nation as we know it.
Until and unless we are willing to stand up to our government and demand our rights be restored, we will continue to go down the path that Franklin warned us of. Those who are willing to trade a little freedom for temporary security, deserve neither freedom nor security.
Happy 4th of July folks.
Mayor Sam you were looking for the great David Z while he appeared with a great story about Villaraigosa in last night's LA Weekly. Seems he hasn't moved yet to LA Times. You should put it up as a new thread and get the huge hits like yesterday.
Duke Helfland must care about what Floridians think. The Florida Sun Sentinel published a Villar damage control puff piece.
DID YOU SEE THE PIC? LEAN LIKE A CHOLO
During the course of a television interview on June 19, 2006, Villaraigosa walks with Salinas outside the state Capitol.
http://www.southflorida.com/news/la_me_mayor_jul03_pg,0,4162229.photogallery?coll=sfe-news-headlines
Antonio why didn't you let your family mourn the loss of husband and father without humiliating them publicly? As for you Miss Sallinas when you get a few wrinkles and your body starts to sag you better look over your shoulder..
Happy "INDEPENDENCE DAY" to Corina Raigosa. she now free to seek true happiness.
Smiley, at risk of soiling the spirit of the day, I'd like to know if being compelled by the government to install a certain type of light bulb in our homes also falls under your definition of losing our freedoms?
Good point - include
Or making you mutilate your pet's private parts
Forcing you to use a certain type of shopping bag
Keeping you from shopping at the stores you want or eating where you want
Not allowing you to build the home you want or open the business you want
Preventing you from ingesting substances into your body you may wish to fuck your own body up with
You guys may think I'm crazy to oppose folks like Joe B. or Lloyd Levine or Antonio Villaraigosa or whomever.
Cause you see you may want to ban trans-fat or beer or Home Depot or pet sex and you may think that totally makes sense.
Once you do, trust me, you will open up the door to allow someone else ban what is important to you.
Just watch.
It's exactly the same reason folks like Tom Paine or Sam Adams or Benjamin Franklin printed up tracts taking the government to task for limiting our freedoms.
I guess they were the first bloggers.
Happy Fourth!
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen (finishes reading Los Angeles Times article about You Know Who):
And all this time, I thought you Yanks got all excited over declaring yourself free from the King, savvy? Tell me, what will you do when you are free of His Nibbs? Now THAT will be a day worth celebrating!
You guys are talking penny-ante stuff. Lightbulbs? Lopping off fluffy's......
How about a complete disregard for our 4th Ammendment rights? Carnivore (or whatever the FBI calls it now) reading every email sent and recived. People's phone calls intercepted without warrant or cause. Assembly itself regulated by permits? (Alright that was from the 1st Ammendment but you get the idea.)
But the worst of it comes not from teh government, but from the retail sector of our economy. Every purchase you make at a supermarket, or with a debit card recorded. Every phone number you dial recorded. Every monetary transaction memorized. Then, when the government gets an itch, they co-opt the retail sector into giving them access. (See cell phone companies and domestic wire-tapping)
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...
...it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government
Hey, I could even get a visit for posting this message. Probably not, but I write this secure in the knowledge that somewhere these words, attributed to me are being stored for later use.
Happy 4th of July everyone. Let's try at least to remember what this holiday represents.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home