This is a DU assignment. Today we celebrate the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from tyranny. The declaration could use an update that reflects why we declare independence from a tyrannical government that has usurped the very foundations of who we are. I suggest a re-write to not release ourselves from a foreign tyrant, but one who has assumed tyrannical leadership in our own land.

Let me begin with what should remain little-changed...

"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.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies the People of this Nation; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Representatives (?) of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain President (and Vice President) of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Here is the original list of grievances. Your mission, if you choose to take it, is to update these grievances with those against our (s)elected President and VP, showing why we have the right and obligation to declare our independence from their tyrannical rule, and just cause to remove them from their trusted offices of government. Most of what the King of Englad was guilty of is true of our administration, and what isn't can be replaced by acts equally eggregious that this administration IS guilty of .. let's frame it for this year, this Independence Day and list the specifics. Have at it DU!!

1-He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
2-He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
3-He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
4-He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
5-He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
6-He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
7-He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
8-He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
9-He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
10-He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
11-He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
12-He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
13-He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
14-For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
15-For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
16-For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
17-For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
18-For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
19-For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
20-For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
21-For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
22-He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
23-He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
24-He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
25-He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
26-He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

yesterday, a bunch of asses shit on a bird.



It was very sad, really. This poor bird got itself mired in an elephant shit-hole, and after many years was up to its neck in elephant feces. The donkeys were very upset by this and were determined to pull the great bird out of the shit-hole, but by the time they finally got around to it, the head ass and many others found the job was far too messy and smelled really, really bad. They didn't want to get themselves dirty, because there was a big party coming up and they wanted to smell really sweet for it. Some of the donkeys still wanted to help the bird, but they were outnumbered by the rest of the asses. The elephants, of course, had no intention of helping the bird. It was their shit-hole, dammit, and the donkeys had no authority there, and besides, better to shit way over there than in their own streets. Most of the asses seemed to agree.

But the head ass said, "Oh, we are kind and caring and much more compassionate than the elephants. We're going to help make the bird's stay a little more comfortable while it's stuck there. Some nice sturdy hats to protect its vulnerable parts from the heat. Oooo, maybe some engraved sucking straws, so it can still breathe, kinda, while the shit keeps piling up. And we'll be back in September when maybe the big, nasty elephants will let us help out a little more."

The people of the donkey clan were very upset. They love this bird, and want the donkeys to help. Most of the elephant clan stood firmly with their chief - Dumbya the decider. But some are not happy with the shit-hole. Even though they are truly grateful that Dumbya is keeping the shit over there so it isn't here, the smell has started to waft over and it's starting to foul up the air at cocktail parties and bringing down property values. Still, what's a few more months..besides, it's not THAT bad, really, and, well, why bother our beautiful minds with this dirty business. It can wait until September and we'll just vacation somewhere nice and insulated from the foul smell.

So the donkey clan is upset and divided on what to do. Some vow to stay loyal to the Head ass and fellow 'suck-this-til-September' asses. But many will not stand for this horrible injustice to the magnificent bird, and are demanding the true donkeys to stand for who they are and do what's right.

How will this end? Will the magnificent bird survive?

If there are any real donkeys out there, you bet your ass it will. If not, you can kiss it goodbye.


As a post-script, the author would like to say to Reid, et al... Great Memorial Day tribute to the troops, guys! But then, this wouldn't be the first time they've be shit on by asses like you!!



SUPPORT THE TROOPS!!!!!!!!! BRING THEM HOME!!!!!!!!!

Ok, we're getting down to the wire and it's time to get serious and keep our eyes on what's important.

On November 7th, we decide whether unchallenged, one-party abuse of power continues to erode the very foundations of our democracy, or if the checks and balances fundamental to our national identity are restored.

The Declaration of Independence states that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". In 6 days, we either continue to acquiesce to tyranical rule or insist on a return to the checks and balances vital to a just government as set forth by our founding fathers.

This election goes beyond mere partisan politics. It goes far beyond disasterous policies, corrupt politicians, and the wholesale moral and financial bankruptcy of our nation. It goes straight to the heart of our national identity.

To proudly proclaim yourself a patriot, you cannot shirk your most vital repsponsibility while insisting on your most fundamental rights. And your most fundamental rights can never be assured while absolute one-pary rule destroys the very documents that ensure them.

Governments derive just powers by concent of the governed, or unjust powers by consent of the governed. On November 7th, you decide what kind of government you insist upon.

Talk about the truth. Talk about what's important to everyone and anyone who will listen. Then vote, if you haven't already, and make sure you remind everyone you know just what's at stake in this election and fire them up to vote too.

Diebold and smear jobs notwithstanding .. this IS in our hands!

In Our Own Hands

also read "Protecting Your Vote and Representative Government in the November General Election" at OpEdNews

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but the Foley scandal is clearly overriding everything else.

I wrote this to someone who authored a petition to oust everyone in the Republican Party responsible for covering up the Foley affair:

I very happily signed your petition. The people involved most certainly need to go, but quite frankly, they are just a drop in the bucket, and this is just another in a looooong line of sleeze, deceit and hypocrisy that has defined this administration. The White House and most of the Congress (on both sides) needs to be cleaned out and thoroughly disinfected. The textbook Republican Party does, indeed, not exist anymore. The Democratic Party can't seem to remember who they are most of the time either.

Foley's behavior was repulsive. Covering it up is an outrage, but par for the course, as far as I'm concerned, with this administration. Absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely.

My outrage began a long time ago. It started with the invasion of Iraq, and has been continuously fueled by nearly every single thing this government has done, aided and abetted by the media, and a sleep-walking country...with every death of our troops and innocent Iraqis caused by the deceit of a war sold as retribution for 9/11 and its criminally disastrous occupation that grinds on and on while the president urges 'stay the course' as it takes us further down the toilet. My outrage peaked a few days before this scandal, when, in effect, this congress legalized torture, and turned whatever morality either side ever professed into a joke. Apparently sex sells better than totally destroying the soul and professed ideals of this nation.

Yes, Foley's behavior was reprehensible. Anyone that endangered our children by turning a blind eye deserves the harshest condemnation. But in the final analysis, there have been and will be more children harmed by the war in Iraq that should have never been fought. The immorality of acceptable torture, as defined solely by the president, outtrumps sexual predation by a long shot.

For bankrupting this nation, morally and financially, a lot more people in government need to go. For failure to protect our children from the increased hatred and terrorism caused by their greed and incompetence, a lot more need to go. For saddling our children and grandchildren with debts their corruption and lies have caused, while giving them fewer jobs, less income, worse education, and a more polluted planet, a lot more need to go. By trampling, in six short years, every principle this country has claimed to stand for, a lot more need to go.

I'll settle for this bunch for now. I want a lot more on November 7th and nothing short of total overhaul in '08. To give our children any less would be the REAL outrage.

I read this by Dave Lindorff this morning.. Outrage as Misdirection - The Real Scandal Isn't Foley

I couldn't agree more!!

Also,read this:
The March to War: Naval build-up in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean



I don't doubt that people who have known full well what damage this administration has done is able to keep it all in focus .. but the larger population sleepwalking through outrage after outrage pretty much hasn't got a clue. And while everyone is salivating at the thought of this Foley thing bringing about a real shot at regaining some control in the houses next month, precious little has been done, or is being done to ensure anyone's vote will actually be counted.