In Congress, July 4, 1776

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

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; 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 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.

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.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

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.

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

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

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:

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:

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

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

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 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:

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

For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

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 and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

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.

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.

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.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

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 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 British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

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.

---

John Hancock

Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
Geo. Walton

Wm. Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
Edward Rutledge
Thos. Heyward, Junr.
Thomas Lynch, Junr.
Arthur Middleton

Samuel Chase
Wm. Paca
Thos. Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Th. Jefferson
Benja. Harrison
Thos. Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Robt. Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benja. Franklin
John Morton
Geo. Clymer
Jas. Smith
Geo. Taylor
James Wilson
Geo. Ross
Caesar Rodney
Geo. Read
Tho. Mckean

Wm. Floyd
Phil. Livingston
Frans. Lewis
Lewis Morris
Richd. Stockton
Jno. Witherspoon
Fras. Hopkinson
John Hart
Abra. Clark

Josiah Bartlett
Wm. Whipple
Saml. Adams
John Adams
Robt. Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Step. Hopkins
William Ellery
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
Wm. Williams
Oliver Wolcott
Matthew Thornton

Odds and ends

So, over the last few weeks I've alluded to a friend who was going through a rough patch, most recently in Earworm, 06/14/2017.

Basically, her son went from a 5% chance of surviving, to full consciousness, coherent speech, and walking unassisted.

Apparently, it is possible for certain organs which have shut down to regenerate.

Somewhere in there, I wondered if this was going to turn into a Lifetime movie, or even in to a Hallmark Special.*

Then she told me that certain other aspects of her life were turning around, and now I suspect even Hallmark would turn the script down as too unrealistic...

***

...In the meantime, my wife has been listening to me obsess about the problems of a woman shes never met, and all she says is "What's the news? Is she  doing OK? She probably needs a break, why don't you see if we can take her to lunch or dinner?"

So, yeah, I think even Hallmark would say it was too hokey. 

Also, I love my incredible wife.

***

Also in the meantime, the NRA has relented on it's ban on 1911s and revolvers in the Carry Guard self-defensive shooting classes.  (Dear NRA: WTF is wrong with you?!)

I heard a lot of rationales why this rule made sense, but frankly, IMnsHO none of them stood scrutiny. If someone is paying $850 for a three day class, you should be a little more lenient about what gat they bring.

If Mas can design the shooting courses of MAG40 to accommodate single-stack pistols and 6 shooters, than by Friar Schwartz' ghost so can the NRA.

***

*Okay, so I have this theory that women's lives can be divided into one of three categories:

1. Hallmark Channel movies
2. Lifetime Channel movies
3. Oxygen Channel movies

depending on how horrible the tragedy is, how sordid the scandal is, and/or how many people die and/or go to prison.

There may be other categories, the woman I first developed this theory around turned out to need one of those pay-per-view channels, if you know what I mean, and I think you do...

(Edited to add that I was only "involved" wih this woman as a co-worker.)

I haven't yet heard a proposed equivalent for men's lives, although I suspect my life story will star Bruce Campbell...

Earworm, 06/14/2017

For a very good friend who got some very good news today.*


*Technically yesterday, but when you work my weird schedule...
Also, her family member's not out of the woods, but much, much better than yesterday.
Technically the day before yesterday, etc., etc.

WOO-HOO!

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket, lands booster back on land

W00t!

Conga Rats to the Barnetts!

Well, isn't this an interesting development!

Alan Gura reports success inVictory in Palmer v. D.C.

The full decision is here, all 19 years of it, but here is what you need to know:

In light of Heller, McDonald, and their progeny, there is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia’s total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny. Therefore, the Court finds that the District of Columbia’s complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public is unconstitutional. Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and enjoins Defendants from enforcing the home limitations of D.C. Code § 7-2502.02(a)(4) and enforcing D.C. Code § 22-4504(a) unless and until such time as the District of Columbia adopts a licensing mechanism consistent with constitutional standards enabling people to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms.4 Furthermore, this injunction prohibits the District from completely banning the carrying of handguns in public for self-defense by otherwise qualified non-residents based solely on the fact that they are not residents of the District.

(Emphasis added.)

IANAL, but... Constitutional Carry in DC! Seems appropriate, actually. Look for the Fed .gov to ban it in all Fed-controlled property. Cuz the Smithsonian should obviously be a No Self-Defense Zone.

"When, in the course, of human events..."

Independence Day

I sometimes contemplate writing a post in which I would advocate referring to the fourth day of the seventh month as Independence Day, not simply by the date.  Barron has a post on Facespace in which he quotes a friend who sums it up pretty well:

"The holiday is Independence Day, not "4th of July". We aren't Mexicans celebrating a minor battle victory in a long string of defeats. We're celebrating the day we told the King of England to fuck off and then backed it up. I can see why some people might want to downplay that epic middle finger to authority."

Barron actually wrote the blog post I would write, last year: Independence Day… The Minuteman.  (Here's another he wrote on observing Independence Day several years ago: On Independence Day The Minuteman)

Photo by Mrs. Drang, all rights reserved

For all her faults, I cannot imagine growing up and living in another nation.I sincerely believe that America has brought more benefits to mankind in the short time she has existed than any other nation has -- ever.

Long may she continue to do so.

Sometimes it can be hard, when we look at what our alleged leaders, elected, appointed, or self-appointed, say and do, to remember that all hope is not lost, and we can turn the tide. Sometimes we get to bickering over side issues.  Sometimes the side issues seemingly are deliberately promoted to distract us from truly important matters. But the People are still sovereign here, and we might need to go out of our way to remind some of that.

And maybe some fireworks will do the job.

(I'd prefer to post the Bill Daniels version from the movie, but Sony exercises it's copyright claims on such things...)

By the Rude Bridge that Arched the Flood...

(Lyrics to "Chester")

GOAL Post 2014-9

In my previous post I speculated that Joe would have something to say about SB5956 returning from the dead.  I was right.  As usual, I have made minor formatting changes for the blog, but the post is otherwise as Joe sends it out.

FROM: GOAL [goalwa@cox.net]
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 3/7/2014 6:52 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2014-9
Legislative Update from Olympia 7 March 2014

• SECOND CHAMBER CUT-OFF
• LIFE AFTER DEATH
• CONCURRENCE OR CONFERENCE COMMITTEE?
• LAST WEEK

The second chamber cut-off passed at 5 p.m. this afternoon.  Bills that had not passed out of the second chamber are theoretically dead for the session (see the next item).  It appears SB 6025 (body-armor) died, while four total bills passed out of the House and Senate (two each).  Two are on their way to Governor Inslee, two are headed for a concurrence vote or conference committee (see below). 

Last week I reported that SB 5956 (short-barreled rifles) had died in Committee.  But as I noted earlier, dead doesn't mean dead.  In an unusual move, yesterday the entire House voted to pull the bill away from the House Judiciary Committee and brought to the floor, where it was voted 95-3.  The bill now goes to Governor Inslee for his signature... or veto.   Congressman Inslee had a dismal record on guns.  Now we'll see what Governor Inslee does.  The bill passed with only three dissenting votes out of 147, so it obviously had strong support -- and a veto-proof majority.

If a bill is amended in the second chamber before passing out (House bill in the Senate or Senate bill in the House), it has to go back to the originating chamber for a concurrence vote on the amended bill.  If they concur, the bill goes to the governor.  If the original chamber does not concur, it is sent to a conference committee (made up of Senators and Representatives) where they will try to reach compromise language.  If a compromise is adopted, it goes back to both chambers for an up or down vote. 

Two of the bills still under consideration passed their second chamber in amended form, and now await concurrence/conference.  These bills are marked "con" in the Bill Status section.

Next week is the final week of the regular session.  Per the state constitution, the fat lady will sing some time Thursday evening, and the legislators will go home, hopefully until next January.  The supplemental budget was passed, so at this point it does not appear a special session will be necessary.  But it's a long time until January 2015!

I'll be publishing at least one more GOAL Post for the session, a wrap-up.  With both I-591 and I-594 going to the electorate in November, I'm sure I'll be posting additional GOAL Updates for the remainder of the year, probably bi-monthly or monthly.  This is an election year, so GOAL will also be posting a list of candidates we are supporting.. or opposing.


BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

The following bills remain under consideration in the 2014 session:

Bill #	Subject	Sponsor	Status	GOAL Position
*HB 1840	Firearms/restraining orders	Goodman (D-45)	Passed, To Gov.	NEUTRAL
*HB 2164	Juvenile firearm possession	Orwall (D-33)	Passed, Con	SUPPORT
*SB 5956	Short-barreled rifles	Hatfield (D-19)	Passed, To Gov	SUPPORT
*SB 6025	Use of body armor	O’Ban (R-28)	Died H. Aprop	NEUTRAL
*SB 6199	Wildfires/incendiary devices	Braun (R-20)	Passed   Con	SUPPORT
I-591	Protect gun rights		H. Jud/S. L&J	SUPPORT
I-594	Universal background checks/registration		H. Jud/S. L&J	OPPOSE

Key to abbreviations:  S. = Senate, H. = House, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture/Natural Resources,  HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, , W&M = Ways and Means

* = status change this past week  

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED:   None
 
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:  You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.  Toll free!!!  The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993.  Also toll free!!!

            1-800-562-6000   TDD 1-800-635-9993

You can also use the direct link available on each bill's web page to contact your legislators by clicking on "Comment on this bill."

 OTHER DATA:  Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "www.leg.wa.gov".  Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format.  You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com).  You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573.  Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.  You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted.  By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill.  The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT:  If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com" or to "goalwa@cox.net.".  Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.  Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).  PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL.  I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com" or by telephone at (425) 985-4867.  Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals.  Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

• Puyallup                22-23 March
• Monroe                  5-6 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men."
 Article 1, Section 24
Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2014 Gun Owners Action League of WA

Well, that was quick!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Seen in comments to R-R-R-R-R-R-Rainier:

Brigid said...
I just about got run down by a herd of wild Rainiers in downtown Seattle during college, a promotion of some kind. I never tried the beer, but my Dad had some in the fridge on occasion or two.

Just got back from honeymoon, will be toasting, but not with Rainier.

Not two months ago the blushing groom told me they hadn't set a date yet! Congrats, you crazy kids!

HUZZAH!!!

Just scared the crap out of the cats yelling "YES, YES, YES!!!!

Amazon has Kindle editions of John Meyers Meyers' books!  Silverlock!  The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughter: A Sequel to Silverlock!  (The claim that this is a sequel to Silverlock is misleading.) Historical novels Dead Warrior and I, Jack Swilling and The Wild Yazoo!  and western history The Saga of Hugh Glass! Historicals Out on Any Limb: An Elizabethan Adventure and  Harp And The Blade: A Medieval Adventure!

Now they need to digitize The Alamo and Deaths of the Bravos (AKA Bravos of the West.) 

Note that the Amazon.com John Myers Myers Page does not show most of these. And there does not seem to be an Amazon.com John Meyers Meyers Kindle page.

Update: Publisher is Prologue Books.  At this time, their web pages do not show ANY of the John Meyers Meyers books. They have a lot of other stuff, including A Bertram Chandler and E.E. "Doc" Smith.

NOTE: Today, Silverlock is a Kindle Daily Deal, ninety-nine cents.(Expired, but the books are still available) 

"Be not afraid...

...Of any man

No mater what his size 

When danger threatens 

Call on me 

And I shall equalize"

Happy Birthday, Samuel Colt.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

To the Byrne Clan, and Welcome to the world, Christopher Byrne the Fifth!!!

Good news, close to home

King County sheriff denies request from NY firm for names of CPL holders - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com

Oddly, for such a deep blue county*, the King County Sheriff's Office is and has been pretty good on firearms rights.


*Mostly due to Seattle.  If the rest of King County were to secede from Seattle, the 'burbs would probably turn out to be closer to the "ROY" end of the scale than the BIV.

Suit (to be) filed against NY gun law

TO: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
...
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that THE NEW YORK STATE RIFLE & PISTOL
ASSOCIATION, THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY FIREARMS OWNERS ASSOCIATION, THE
SPORTSMEN’S ASSOCIATION FOR FIREARMS EDUCATION, INC., and AR15.COM LLC, by and through their counsel, GOLDBERG SEGALLA, LLP, hereby serve notice that they intend to file a claim against THE STATE OF NEW YORK pursuant to General Municipal Law section 50-e....
...
I. TIME & PLACE WHERE CLAIM(S) AROSE
The claims of the plaintiffs arose with the passage of legislation on January 14th, 2013, (identified as New York Senate Bill 2230, New York Assembly Bill 2388, and collectively known as “the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Act (“NY SAFE Act”))...
...
II. NATURE OF CLAIM(S)
Plaintiffs claim that passage and enforcement of the aforementioned legislation:
A. violates their fundamental constitutional rights to lawfully possess, keep, bear and use firearms for self-defense and other lawful purposes;
B. violates their constitutional rights to privacy;
C. impermissibly interferes with and infringes upon their fundamental constitutional rights to travel both intra-state and inter-state with lawfully possessed firearms;
D. unconstitutionally criminalizes and bans the possession of certain firearms, ammunition and large capacity feeding devices that were legally possessed prior by plaintiffs prior to the legislation’s passage and enforcement, and in which the plaintiff’s had a cognizable property interest. The outright criminalization and ban of these firearms, ammunition and large capacity feeding devices amounts to a deprivation and taking of them by the State of New York under color of law and without due process or just compensation. As such, passage and enforcement of the NY SAFE Act effectuates an unconstitutional taking of private property under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution;
E. unlawfully and unconstitutionally imposes restrictions on the ability of the plaintiffs to conduct business on both inter-state and intra-state levels with the designers of, manufacturers of, sellers of, distributors of, and purchasers of certain firearms, ammunition, and large capacity feeding devices, all in violation of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution;
F. deprives the plaintiffs of life, liberty and/or property without due process of law, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution;
G. deprives the plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution;
H. was passed and is being continuously enforced with the ongoing tortious intent to harass, harm, impede, interfere with, disrupt, interrupt, and/or destroy the present and future business and commercial activities of those plaintiffs who engage in the design of, manufacture of, distribution of, sale of, possession of, and/or training in the safe and lawful use of firearms, ammunition, and/or large capacity feeding devices; and
I. the legislation is impermissibly vague and overbroad.
III. ITEMS OF DAMAGE / INJURIES SUSTAINED
A. Violation of rights guaranteed to the plaintiffs by the U.S. Constitution and the New York State Constitution.
B. Deprivation of property rights and property values.
C. Interference with business relations, business activities, and business contracts relating to the design of, manufacture of, distribution of, sale of, possession of, and/or training in the safe and lawful firearms, ammunition, and/or large capacity feeding devices.
IV. AMOUNT OF DAMAGES TO WHICH PLAINTIFFS ARE ENTITLED
Plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages. Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief against the ongoing enforcement of the NYS SAFE Act, and declaratory relief the NYS SAFE Act is unconstitutional.

A Shovel-Ready Project

From the Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing:  DIY: Shovel AK - photo tsunami warning!
Note:  Thread is 17 pages long so far, there is little or no significant content after the original post.

FWIW, I do not actually belong to the WECSOG, since they demand an unreasonable amount of personal information for membership. I realize they're trying to keep criminals, terrorists, snitches, ATF agents, and other riff-raff out, but I am none of the above, so screw 'em.


h/t Robb Allen's twitter feed.

Your Tunage for Today

And maybe every day.



Inspired by I had lunch with my fellow Americans today | An NC Gun Blog, in which Sean goes and has lunch with people who don;'t look or (probably) talk like him, but finds that

I am a patriot. The sight of the flag makes me happy. I believe in America and in Americans. I take second place to no one in love for my country. The Sikh speakers, especially the President of the temple, exceeded me in patriotism by a long shot. America is not blood, and it’s not soil. America is ideas, and the people who believe them. These were Americans. They might have been born here or far away. But once they started talking about America, the “best” and “safest country in the world”, you could tell that they were Americans. These are not scare quotes, these are direct quotes from the speakers. Thomas Jefferson might have had a problem understanding the accents, but not the sentiments.

I'll be honest. Mr. Tippin's video at the head of the page makes me tear up a bit. So did reading Mr. Sorrentino's words. I got to Sean's post by way of Robb Allen's post There are Americans among us, in which he noted

I am constantly reminded, throughout my life, that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I was born into the greatest country this planet has ever seen. My citizenship was given to me by virtue of my birth. I am reminded about this many times by other Americans who have had to work relentlessly to call this place home. And it makes me proud.

All I can say is "Hoo-Ah!" (Actually, I'll translate for the Pantsless One, he having been one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children: "Ooh-Rah!")

"How very interesting!"

Reading the post How very interesting! on Daily Pundit last week--behind again!--I read that the Cato Institute and the Koch Brothers had settled their dispute(s). 

Good.

Blah, blah, the new CEO of Cato is "John Allison (the former CEO of BB&T)"... and the post goes on to quote a New York Times article about Allison and BB&T:

After the Supreme Court upheld the right of local governments in 2005 to condemn private property and hand it to someone else for commercial development, he says, BB&T refused to make loans to developers who obtained property that way.
He also says BB&T decided not to offer the controversial “pick a payment” mortgages that got so many of its competitors into trouble. Such loans, also known as “option A.R.M.’s” or “negative amortization loans,” allow borrowers to make payments that don’t even cover the interest on the loans, which causes the amount they owe to grow.
“While we did not foresee the decline in the real estate market, we knew home prices would not continue to appreciate at 15 percent per year forever,” he says, adding that his bank knew that pick-a-payment loans would be trouble for many homeowners.
“We believe Rand’s concept of the ‘trader principle,’ where life is about trading value for value, where both parties benefit from the transaction,” he says.

 BB&T, which holds the paper on Alte Schloss Drang, is run on Randian Objectivist principles!

Coming soon! To a grocery near you!

At least if you're in Washington...

...booze!