Labels: 4th of July, Afghanistan, Afghanistan casualties, freedom
Submit To Propeller
posted by profmarcus at
7/07/2012
The Declaration of Independence
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.
Labels: 4th of July, Declaration of Independence
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/04/2012
Labels: 4th of July, Bill Moyers, Declaration of Independence, Independence Day, Moyers and Company, Raw Story, The Founders, Thomas Jefferson
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/01/2012
Labels: 4th of July, loons, Minnesota, Montana, photoblogging
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/09/2011
Labels: 4th of July, Dennis Kucinich, Impeachment
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/04/2008
Spoken before the US invaded Iraq
"We can call ouselves Americans. We can fly the American flag, but unless we stand up and defend the values that define us as Americans, we will cease being Americans."
Scott Ritter gave this talk before the US invaded Iraq. As a former US Marine Corps officer, UN weapons inspector and expert on the armaments of Iraq, he very publicly disputed the Bush adminstration's claim that Iraq was a threat to the US.
Now the US is on the same path with regards to war against Iran.
Labels: 4th of July, Abu Ghraib, black sites, extraordinary rendition, Geneva Convention, Guantánamo, Military Commissions Act, Patriot Act, Scott Ritter, signing statements, torture, unitary executive
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/04/2008
Labels: 4th of July, Civil liberties, constitutional crisis, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/03/2008
In celebration of the Fourth of July there will be many speeches about the young people who "died for their country." But those who gave their lives did not, as they were led to believe, die for their country; they died for their government. The distinction between country and government is at the heart of the Declaration of Independence, which will be referred to again and again on July 4, but without attention to its meaning.
The Declaration of Independence is the fundamental document of democracy. It says governments are artificial creations, established by the people, "deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," and charged by the people to ensure the equal right of all to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Furthermore, as the Declaration says, "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it." It is the country that is primary--the people, the ideals of the sanctity of human life and the promotion of liberty.
[...]
Should we not begin to redefine patriotism? We need to expand it beyond that narrow nationalism that has caused so much death and suffering. If national boundaries should not be obstacles to trade-- some call it "globalization"--should they also not be obstacles to compassion and generosity? Should we not begin to consider all children, everywhere, as our own? In that case, war, which in our time is always an assault on children, would be unacceptable as a solution to the problems of the world. Human ingenuity would have to search for other ways.Howard Zinn is a veteran of World War II and author of the bestselling book, A People's History of the United States. The following essay is an excerpt from Zinn's forthcoming book, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress.
How Would a Patriot Act? is one man’s story of being galvanized into action to defend America’s founding principles, and a reasoned argument for what must be done. Greenwald’s penetrating words should inspire a nation to defend the Constitution from a president who secretly bestowed upon himself the powers of a monarch. If we are to remain a constitutional republic, Greenwald writes, we cannot abide radical theories of executive power, which are transforming the very core of our national character, and moving us from democracy toward despotism. This is not hyperbole. This is the crisis all Americans—liberals and conservatives--now face.
Labels: 4th of July, constitutional crisis, Declaration of Independence, Glenn Greenwald, Howard Zinn, U.S. Constitution
Submit To Propellerposted by profmarcus at
7/04/2007
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