HAPPY FOURTH

 This is actually from the Declaration of Independence. We did not make this up. 

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; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain 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.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

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.

…

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.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

…

   He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

…

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:                

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:                 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us… (Iike all if these, this really is in the Declaration of Independence. The more things change, the more a despotic president reverts to trying to be a king. ) 

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.Ω and payment of their salaries.            

We couldn’t make this up if we tried. Really. 

Happy Fourth Of July. 

Two dogs, mustard and k etchup, relish, a pickle and some fries please along with a cold one. And some fireworks. 

          

THOMAS JEFFERSON SURVIVES

 The John Admas -Thomas Jefferson feud is one of the most unusual historical occurrences of the Fourth of July. Both men were founding fathers of our country and compatriots at the time of the revolution.  When Jefferson defeated Adams for the presidency, Adans sent Jefferson a text   a note wishing him well. Jefferson did not respond and it started a feud where the men did not speak for over a dozen years. 

Eventually there was a rapprochement of sorts, but the men did not speak much, and their rivalry continued. Fast forward to July 4, 1826.  exactly fifty years after the declaration of Independence. Jefferson was 83 and Adams was 90. 

As Adams lay on his death bed, his last words as he knew his death was impending, were of his old friend and rival- "Thomas Jefferson Survives".  Adams then died. 

A few hours later, on July 4, 1826, Thomas Jefferson died. 

These two giants of men- their character and intellect and philosophical thought provided the foundation for a great nation, died hours apart fifty years to the momentous day when they brought forth upon the earth a society founded on principles of freedom and democracy. 

These principles, we argue, led to one nation amongst all others with the intellectual and industrial ability to land humans on the moon, to save Europe twice from oppression, and to  accept a statue of Liberty upon its shores welcoming those who want only a chance to use the abilities they have been endowed with by the creator. 

On this July 4, Jefferson and Adams survive- in thought, ideas and principles. 

Their nation hangs precariously on the precipice of losing the ideals they brought forth. But we are not scared. We have been here before and prevailed. 

We shall do so again. 

Happy Fourth of July. 

And now to the important  issue- what do you put on your hot dog? We are a brown mustard, with a dash of ketchup and relish type of guy. 

 

ENGLAND WINS! HAPPY FOURTH

Rumpole has quietly decamped to the Basil Street Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, where we have escaped the Miami heat, and rooted for the lads, who emerged victorious Tuesday, in a shootout over Colombia. The game was especially exciting, with the Colombian team tying the game in literally the last seconds on a corner kick and beautiful header. Two over-time periods later, the score was still 1-1 and England faced the dreaded shootout, in which the national team has suffered heartbreak in 1990, 1996, and 2006. But Tuesday was different and The Three Lions roared and England emerged victorious. We raised several glasses of stout and sang Rule Britannia and God Save The Queen, and reveled in the victory, even as our fellow revelers in the pub gave little thought to the upcoming anniversary of the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1776. 

Fifty years to the day after they signed the Declaration of Independence, Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the last surviving Founding Fathers, passed away on July 4, 1826. When Adams died, he was reported to have said about his old friend, and then rival for the presidency "And Jefferson Lives". Adams did not know that a few hours earlier Jefferson had passed away as well. 

While the pedestrian blogger would be tempted to quote "we hold these truths to be self evident..." we are far from pedestrian. 
Instead, as the times dictate, we publish the portion of text that talks about when it is the right and duty of citizens to rise up and abolish governments that "becomes destructive". (Hmmmmm, what governments  have recently become destructive by separating children from their families, and glorifying ignorance over science by denying global warming?)

Words from a time well gone that have special relevance today. 

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; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

From Free England, from whence the colonies once broke free, and where now the English once again, along with the French and Germans (but not America), light the darkness of oppression with the principles of freedom and humanity, fight the power!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

The Bluffs at Martha's Vineyard.

FROM THE WINDSWEPT BEACHES OF THE NORTH: THIS IS YOUR OFFICAL JULY 4TH UPDATE from the only legal blogster working through the holiday driven only by the altruistic desire to serve humanity.

1) A tropical storm is brewing south of Cuba, and no it's name is not Castro. 20% chance it forms into a hurricane. That noise you hear is the people at WSVN Channel 7 praying.

2) Don't be fooled. The World Cup is not what it seem, especially in Bogota.

WORLD CUP UPDATE: From a nice pub here at MV it is apparent that the Huns can't be stopped. Germany 4- Argentina 4-nil.

EVERGLADES UPDATE: Speaking of rivalries, our BBC reports that a 6 foot alligator and a 13 foot burmese python battled to a deadly draw in the Everglades. The story is here.

Here is the news you need as a responsible blog reading lawyer, heading into the Fourth of July Weekend. Check back often, as it raises the stats on our hit counter, and we will update the blog as events warrant.

Item one: February 1865 was the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

Item two: A pop quiz: name the only Supreme Court Justice to have his face on US Currency. And no it's not David's BFF Nino Scalia on the three dollar bill. Hint- he was a CJ to boot. Sounds a bit fishy, huh?

Item Three: The boys at the JAA Broward blog are at war with their chief Judge Tricky Vic Tobin. Here's a little post where they chase Tobin to the point where he requests a Deputy Sheriff to protect him.

Why does that never happen in Dade? Either: 1) We love What Can Brown Do for You Joel Brown, OR 2) He never shows up at the REGJB because they don't have a parking spot for him in the garage. You decide.

Item Four: Between the time we wrote our earlier post and the time you read this one, at least another 16 children have been killed by firearms.

Item Heat: It doesn't look good for our home town heaters to re-sign all world point Guard Dwayne Wade. ESPN is indicating that the Chi-town Bulls look to be in the lead in the Wade sweepstakes.

BUT.... Mr. Wade might want to think twice about relocating to a State that is broke. Yup, they got no flow in Illinois, and they ain't paying their bills right now as the NY Times reports here.

ITEM: Jefferson: Having written the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson sat motionless during those final hours on July 3rd and 4th, as his colleagues set to editing his masterpiece. According to author David McCollough, more than 80 changes were made to Jefferson's original draft. And according to Peggy Noonan, who was at one time Ronald Reagan's speech writer, nothing hurt Jefferson more than his paean to the English and American peoples: "We might have been a free and great people together."

The words are poignant, and they resonate across the generations, written by a man who 50 years after 1776 requested that on his tombstone, after his name, the word "Author" be inscribed. *

That's it for now.....except this 4th of July question that is really bugging us:

why do they sell hot dogs in packs of six, and hot dog buns in packs of eight? Someone really has a scam going.

* These are Peggy Noonan's ideas, contained in her remarkable 4th of July article, published here in the WSJ.

NEW DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds 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 to 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.

The history of the present BUSH 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.

He has led this nation into war based solely on a lie.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden the congress 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.

He has had his government spy on the people.

He has had his government stop, search, arrest, and detain people without cause or legal warrant.

He has formed secret prisons all over the world.

He has had his government agents torture people in violation of the law of these colonies, the law among nations, and common decency.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone; he has threatened judges, and he continually appoints judges who share his narrow view of freedom and rights.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent and running a deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for a war not supported by the people.

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury.

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the current tyrant Bush.

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Rumpole notes, what is amazing is the content of the original text that over 230 years later still applies to the current tyrant.