Independence Day 2012
“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.”
Those were more than just words, for when the founders affixed their names under those words they did exactly what those words said; they pledged their lives, fortunes, and honor towards the founding of a new nation and a cause that they believed so firmly in that they were willing to die for it.
Independence was declared on that day with the words: “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 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 levey war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do.” But independence was not yet won.
There would be many years of conflict to follow, there would be more defeats than victories before the war ended, but in the end victory was achieved and a new nation was born.
The war had been raging on for over a year when the Declaration was signed, but up until July 4th 1776 America was in a war which was being fought to reestablish her natural born rights as Englishmen, it was not a war for independence. This document changed that and henceforth this was a war of separation.
While people such as Samuel Adams were clamoring for independence, and while George Washington secretly hoped that America would declare its independence as he was leading the Continental Army against the British, it was a pamphlet called “Common Sense” which was written by Thomas Paine that finally convinced many of the founders and citizens of America that independence was not only justifiable, but was also proper.
Thomas Paine was the first person to actually set down in words the reasoning for American independence, and why it was a noble and worthy cause; and he is credited as the first person to actually brand this nation the “United States of America.”
When the founders signed this document they became traitors to the Crown and if captured they would have been hanged as such– losing all three pledges they had sworn to each other. They all understood this and were willing to pay the price as Benjamin Franklin famously quipped, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
While they never had to pay the ultimate price for the freedom they have given us–an estimated 25,000 men did, fighting for the cause they believed in–many of them did end up bankrupt or near bankrupt and in debt. So when they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor there was no turning back. Many of them may have lost their fortunes, but they never lost their honor.
Now it was up to the Continental Army to deliver us the freedom the Declaration rightfully claimed belonged to Americans. The battle went on for many years and it wasn’t until October 19th in 1781 at Yorktown that General Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to General Washington by sending his second in command to surrender his sword instead of doing it himself as was considered proper in the day–a slight that George Washington was offended by and never forgave–hat hostilities ended and a year later the Treaty of Paris was signed and independence was official.
But none of those events would have happened if it wasn’t for the Declaration that was signed on this day in 1776 and so today we celebrate the birth of the greatest nation in the history of the world. ”It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
I hope that everyone enjoys their Fourth of July. Let the fireworks and the grilling begin! Please take a little time during this Fourth of July holiday to think about the men and women who are serving this country today– as well as all of those in the past– who have dedicated their lives to ensure that the vision of our founders remains intact and that a ”government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I am sharing with you two videos this year: The first is a video of Patrick Henry’s infamous “Liberty or Death” speech and the second is the scene from the HBO mini-series “John Adams” when the Declaration is adopted.
Below is a video of Allen West speaking out against some of the overburdensome regulations proposed by the Obama regime and the fact that the US House has passed dozens of bills to “staunch the toxic regulatory flow coming from the federal agencies” which are still sitting on Harry Reid’s desk because he refuses to act on them.
This is a must watch:
The controversy surrounding Elizabeth Warren’s false claim that she is of Native American descent has died down in recent weeks but now it has come roaring back with newly found government documents which show Elizabeth Warren’s relatives were listed as white.
Cherokee genealogist Twila Barnes posted census data on her blog this weekend that she says shows that Warren’s mother, Pauline Herring, listed herself as “white” in 1940.
Barnes also posted a death certificate for Warren’s “Aunt Bea,” who was listed as “white” on the form
In a United States census Elizabeth Warren’s mother is listed as white, but that isn’t the part of the story I found most interesting because in Elizabeth Warren’s Aunt Bea’s death certificate she is also listed as white. Why is the more relevant than her mother’s census listing?
If the individual mandate is a tax doesn’t that mean Mitt Romney raised taxes as Governor of Massachusetts?
Some people have tried to put a positive spin on the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision by claiming that this ruling highlights the fact that Barack Obama lied to the American people when he promised not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000. Certainly the GOP hopes to make hay with this ruling by bringing up this tax increase every opportunity they get and this is something that Barack Obama tried hard to avoid for the longest time when he denied the individual mandate was a tax.
“You can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase” is what Barack Obama told George Stephanopoulos when he was denying the mandate was a tax increase, and yet that is precisely what Chief Justice John Roberts did. For all intents and purposes if the government issues a mandate it is a tax increase in the eyes of the Supreme Court so Barack Obama can no longer deny this truth; he raised taxes on many of the American people.
So while the GOP intends to make an issue out of this tax increase heading into the general election I have to wonder how successful this strategy will be when Mitt Romney as Governor of Massachusetts also implemented a tax increase on the residents of his state in the form of a mandate.
Video: Allen West calls SCOTUS Obamacare ruling “behavior modification through taxation”
Nancy Pelosi was asked about her opinion on the Supreme Court’s decision that the individual mandate constituted a tax after the Obama regime had been arguing that is wasn’t a tax. Nancy Pelosi basically said “who cares what it is called as long as it was upheld.” Here are her exact words:
Call it what you will—it is a step forward for America’s families. And you know what? Take yes for an answer. This is a very good thing for the American people. What you’re talking about here is Washington talk
She when on to talk about how the Supreme Court ruling that the mandate was a tax was a “technical term” and it shouldn’t really mean anything to the American people. Basically she was dodging the question because she knows middle class families will be hardest hit by this and she knows Barack Obama promised not to raise taxes on the middle class. But in her eyes the end justifies the means so who cares what the mandate is called.
Allen West cares and below is a video of an interview he conducted after Nancy Pelosi made her comments where he calls her delusional and asks if she would feel the same way of the government ordered the people to buy a 9mm Glock or face a tax penalty. He goes on to call this a “horrific decision” by the Supreme Court and states that it is “behavior modification by way of taxation.”
This is a must watch so here it is:
Gunrunner: Darrell Issa releases wiretap applications which implicate the Department of Justice in Fast and Furious-and more
Eric Holder originally claimed that Operation Fast and Furious was a local program carried out by rogue agents in the field without the approval or the knowledge of the Department on Injustice. But then we learned that Fast and Furious was an OCDETF program which required the approval of the heads of as many as ten government agencies, and Eric Holder had to amend his story a couple of times as a result of this news. A top level person in the Department of Injustice had to approve this “rogue” action and that person was most likely Eric Holder himself.
Lost in yesterday’s contempt hearing and the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare was the fact that Darrell Issa released wiretap applications given to him by a whistleblower which prove high level Department of Injustice officials had to have known about Fast and Furious from the beginning. Read more…
Solargate: Abound Solar receives a $400 million loan guarantee and then files for bankruptcy
When the Obama regime is asked about Solyndra–a company which went bankrupt after it was awarded a $500 million loan guarantee because the Obama regime fast tracked a review of the company–the regime fends off criticism by stating this was one bad investment but the rest of Barack Obama’s green energy initiative portfolio is strong, and after all, when you gamble on so many companies some are sure to fail because you can’t be right all the time. (Of course this doesn’t stop the Obama regime from attacking Mitt Romney for investing in some companies which eventually had to be shut down, the regime doesn’t apply the same standard to Mitt Romney as it does to itself apparently.)
But the truth is that Solyndra is not the only failure Barack Obama has invested taxpayer money in and he is purposely downplaying how disastrous his green energy initiative has been by neglecting to mention Solar Trust, SoloPower, Enir1, BrightSource, Abengoa, SunPower, LightSquared, Tesla, Fisker, and Beacon Power–all companies the Obama regime has invested in and all companies with major issues, and all these companies just happen to have ties to Democrats and Barack Obama.
Gunrunner: Eric Holder held in Contempt of Congress
Today the House voted on contempt charges against Eric Holder for failing to comply with a subpoena request for certain documents which may reveal either his or his boss’s involvement in the Fast and Furious scandal which led to the deaths of Brian Terry, Jamie Zapata, and countless Mexicans.
By a vote of 265-67 the House did vote to hold the embattled attorney general in contempt with 17 Democrats voting with the Republicans while many walked off the floor in protest of the vote. The House then voted 258-95 to pursue a civil contempt case against Eric Holder and this time 21 Democrats voted with the majority.
While the vote shows us that this was more than a partizan political issue dragged on by the Republicans as campaign fodder what does it actually mean? Not much I am afraid because while this will allow Darrell Issa to pursue legal action in an attempt to get the blocked documents the case will now be turned over to Eric Holder’s Department of Injustice for an investigation. How far do you think this is going to go?
This does help to highlight the depths that Barack Obama and Eric Holder will sink to in order to cover up the events which led to so many deaths, and it it weren’t overshadowed by today’s Obamacare ruling maybe people would have been paying attention to this story instead and would begin asking pertinent questions because it is clear that Barack Obama and Eric Holder are covering up something big. But what are they covering up? Eric Holder’s involvement? Barack Obama’s involvement? The FBI’s involvement?
There are many questions which still need to be answered and it is ironic that the man who promised the most transparent administration in United States history is the same man who is making it impossible to punish those who are responsible for the deaths of two American heroes.
When I first heard the ruling come down I ran through a gamut of emotions; initially I was stunned and shocked, but that was quickly replaced by anger and eventually I settled into a state of numbed acceptance. I had thought that parts of Obamacare would be upheld but I believed with all my heart that the individual mandate would be deemed unconstitutional and the only thing I find more surprising that the individual mandate stands is the individual who provided the deciding vote on the matter–Chief Justice Roberts–and his explanation of why the mandate is constitutional.
The chief justice started his opinion by stating what we all thought was going to be good news for opponents of the mandate when he declared the government could not force a person to buy healthcare coverage under the commerce clause and said because of this the individual mandate was unconstitutional: Read more…
Judge rules that Florida’s voter purge can continue
Florida had been in the midst of purging its voter rolls of people who are ineligible to vote either because they are not citizens, they are dead, or they are felons, but that process was abruptly stopped when Eric Holder ordered Florida to stop the process at once. Eric Holder claimed that Florida was in violation of the National Voter Registration Act because the purge wasn’t concluded more than 90 days before the next scheduled election, and technically he is right.
But the state of Florida contended that it tried to keep in line with the law but was unable to do so because the Department of Homeland Security has been unwilling to provide the state with the information needed to complete the voter purge on time even though the state requested the information over a year ago. Florida filed a lawsuit against the federal government and today the state was handed a victory–the voter purge can continue.
Here is what Governor Rick Scott had to say about this ruling:
Today’s ruling puts the burden on the federal government to provide Florida with access to the Department of Homeland Security’s citizenship database,” Scott said. “We know from just a small sample that an alarming number of non-citizens are on the voter rolls and many of them have illegally voted in past elections
It certainly seems to me as if the Department of Homeland Security was purposely withholding these documents with the intent to ensure that Florida would not be able to comply with federal law so that the Department of Injustice could swoop in and stop the purge dead in its tracks, but Florida did not back down from the Chicago style thuggery which is becoming more and more commonplace in the Obama regime and today the state was rewarded for standing up against an ever expanding and all encompassing federal government.
America's Watchtower 