Revised Declaration Of Independence?

Interesting piece by Tom Purcell at FrontPage Magazine, reflecting on the Declaration of Independence and how far our government has strayed from its roots. Something like this . . .

  • In the course of human events it is necessary, now and again, to dissolve our political bands with the ninnies who keep abandoning our founding principles.
  • It used to be self-evident that our government’s role was primarily to protect certain unalienable rights, such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
  • It used to be that our government did the bidding of the people — that any power it derived was solely through the consent of the governed.
  • It used to be our country believed in limited government — that government at its best was a necessary evil and should be aggressively restrained.
  • But too many of the birds running things these days don’t see it that way.

The end result has divided the country into two coalitions of people. The Taking-Coalition and the Leave-Us-Alone Coalition. The politicians in Washington from both parties are guilty of building this mess, supporting it with spending bills, and complaining that they can’t seem to spend enough of our money, and want more.

Take on a gimmicky mortgage bigger than you could afford? Not to worry. Our esteemed Congress is pushing through a $300 billion bill to bail you out with taxpayer dough.

Struggling at the pump now that energy prices are at record highs? Not to worry. Some of our politicians promise to tax energy companies lots more so they can pay your energy bills for you.

You take one Obama administration, add one Supreme Court Justice, and the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution, for all practical purposes, will become a mere footnote in history.

link: A New Declaration of Independence

Nation's Best 'Black' Newspaper

Actually, the award is the ‘Best Newspaper,’ not the best Black newspaper. But I didn’t title it, E & P did. The relevance of the ‘Black’ aspect of it is the National Newspaper Publishers Association, known as The Black Press Of America. The NNPA is a 67-year-old federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States. From Editor & Publisher . . .

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), has bestowed 10 honors, including the John B. Russwurm Award for “Best Newspaper,” to the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest continuously running black newspaper. This is the seventh time in the last 12 years that the Philadelphia Tribune has won the “Best Newspaper” award.

Among the awards the Philly Tribune received is Best Editorial for this piece from Sunday editor Mike Bruton titled ‘End The Chaos: Start Snitching.’

With the city’s crime problem and explosive murder rate, Mr. Bruton hit the nail on the head with this one. We could benefit from his message right here in Pensacola. And everywhere for that matter.

related links: ‘Philadelphia Tribune’ Named Nation’s Best Black Newspaper | End the chaos: Start snitching

Happy Independence Day

We’ll be celebrating our independence with the family and thanking God that we were all born in the United States, where freedom is not a dirty word. Although that does depend on who you ask.

Others, like Mark Murray, Deputy Political Director at NBC, prefer to forget the purpose of the holiday. To him, it’s ‘Happy Fourth of July.’ It’s a day off from work.

At the time I read his post on First Read, there were no comments posted. So I commented to his post something to the effect of ‘Happy Fourth of July? Mark, it’s Happy Independence Day. But you knew that.’

I just checked in on the post and my comment is not among those listed. So I made another just for giggles.

This post probably won’t make it either, like the one I made yesterday. I guess because the author feels embarrassed at the thought of calling this holiday what it really is, Independence Day.

Not one, NOT ONE, post in this thread (so far) refers to it. It’s happy 4th of July to the left, and the media, who should know better. But won’t.

So, to all my conservative friends reading this, both of you, Happy Independence Day.

Not one of the ‘approved’ comments mention Independence Day. There can only be one of two reasons for this. Either Mr. Murray refuses to acknowledge the holiday and all that it represents, which would amount to malpractice for a ‘Political Director,’ OR like all the other commenters, he really doesn’t know what it is, which would amount to journalistic malpractice as well. Could there be another possible reason?

One thing is evident about the political climate today. The current batch of the majority party today would never have dreamed of splitting with the Crown. And if they did dream about it, they wouldn’t have the courage to do it.

related links: Happy Fourth Of July | History’s trash heap filled with dust of empire | Some Americans Are Saying We Shouldn’t Celebrate Independence Day | Independence Day: Happy Birthday, America! 232 Years Strong

aSide Order

This has nothing to do with politics, but it will make your web surfing more enjoyable than Internet Explorer. The new version 3 of Firefox is available for download. Free. They made a Guinness world record for most software downloads in a 24 hour period. There are over 28 million as of this writing.

Mozilla has officially made history with a new Guinness world record for the largest number of software downloads in a 24-hour period.

The final record breaking 8,002,530 downloads for Firefox 3.0 took place in June with parties in over 25 countries.

Monica Crowley examines this ‘let’s talk’ kind of foreign policy as regarding terrorists and rouge nations that support terrorists. She calls it Chit Chat diplomacy, and what it means for the 2008 election.

And yet more good news. Try this headline, ‘A strike by actors may be in the wings.’ One can only hope.

And this is encouraging. Disclaimer: it is from the New York Times which explains why it is buried in the Arts section instead of the front page above the fold. On Campus, Liberal Professors Retire

NYT Outs CIA Agent, Who Cares?

If we weren’t talking about war and warfare, this would be funny. You don’t have to look hard to see the bias of the media. Scott Shane, a reporter for the New York Times just outed the identity of the CIA agent that interrogated Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and nobody seems to care. And it was no accident either.

Fearing retribution, the agency asked the paper not to name the CIA analyst. The paper ran his name anyway, saying it generally withholds names only in the case of ‘victims of sexual assault or intelligence officers operating undercover.’ While the operative was not serving undercover, the fact that he interrogated the architect of the 9/11 plot was classified. Naming him added nothing to the Times story.

Remember too the record of New York Times when it comes to national security of the United States . . .

The New York Times previously disclosed the existence of the Bush administration’s secret National Security Agency program for intercepting calls of suspected terrorists when one leg of the call is in the U.S. It also disclosed the administration’s SWIFT program for tracking the worldwide financial transactions of terrorists.

Starting with the Valerie Plame debacle, who still insists that Dick Cheney outed her, when we all know, the media included, that it was Richard Armitage that outed her, and Scooter Libby is the only one who gets charged. No actions taken against Armitage.

Now, we have surrogates of Barack Obama and the far left attempting to diminish John McCain’s military experience to something equal to Obama’s, which is zip, zero, nada. They’re saying he’s not a hero, he’s a loser who got himself shot down and participated in a propaganda video.

Today, no one is asking any questions or jumping in front of TV cameras, and generally foaming at the mouth like Democrats were when the whole Plame/Wilson theater production took place. There is no effort afloat in Washington to put that reporter or the New York Times in front of a Senate Intelligence Committee (I know, its an oxymoron) with the aim of getting the Justice Department (another one) involved. Amazingly, there’s no curiosity whatsoever about it.

Who tortured Scott Shane to go so far as he did, to really jeopardize the welfare of that agent and his family when he published the agent’s name that interrogated KSM?

links: Inside a 9/11 Mastermind’s Interrogation | N.Y. Times Names Names, Jeopardizes Safety – Again

Guns In Parking Lot Law Takes Effect Today

Got a news flash that I’m only happy to pass along. It pertains to Florida residents only.

DATE: July 1, 2008
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past President

Today, House Bill 503 by Representative Greg Evers and Senator Durell Peaden takes effect.

Officially, HB 503 is known as the “Preservation & Protection of the Right to Keep & Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008,” even though elements of the business community continue to call it the “Guns at Work Law.”  Continue reading Guns In Parking Lot Law Takes Effect Today

Obama Fights Back?

Who is responsible for this, Obama or the media? I’m not sure. But the media’s story line is that Barack Obama is fighting back at supposed attacks on his patriotism. Have you heard anyone of significance on the R side of the aisle who has attacked Barack’s patriotism? Me neither. And apparently, Reuters hasn’t either, despite the article’s title.

If you read the story, there is not one quote from anyone attacking Obama’s patriotism. Wazzupwidat? It is the media’s story line, and the left’s way of deflecting attention to what his surrogates are doing and have done, to McCain.

Isn’t it odd that a presidential wannabe is out there spontaneously explaining that he is patriotic? I think that if you have to explain that, then you’re in trouble. Once again, the Obama campaign picked the wrong fight.

related link: Obama fights back against questions on patriotism

Schumer Wants Investigation, Again

Within hours, eager to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) wants an investigation into Iraq’s decision to run their own country by seeking bids from the best oil companies in the industry. Schumer is so vested in defeat that his arrogance knows no boundaries.

‘This is a head fake by the Iraqi government,’ Schumer said just hours after the Iraqis announced their plan. ‘The Iraqis have shown they will pursue these contracts at all costs, their nation’s political stability be damned.’

Investigating every move of the Bush administration is one thing. Now you want to investigate our ally, a sovereign state, into how they decide to run their country? What an embarrassment for a Senator.

related links: Schumer calls for probe of Iraqi oil deal | Another Corner Turned In Iraq

Belly up to the counter. Politics are on the menu and Ross is on the grill.