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 harass 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 benefit 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 Legislatures, 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 & 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 attentions to our British 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.

a

Declaration of Independence

If the decision was to protect them from future attacks and bring some peace, I admire it and respect it.  It is also the end of her national political career.  That being said, there are other things to pursue in this life and I am sure she will be successful with whatever path she chooses.

If the decision was made to elevate the fight and dedicate time specifically to the fight, it could prove to be very good timing.  There is a void, in the public space, of high profile people criticizing the President and his policies.  The Repulican Party leadership has been quiet, too quiet in my opinion.  There is pent up demand for leadership, national leadership, to stand against the rising tide of statism.  If she chooses to take the fight to them, it could prove an interesting dynamic.

Good luck to Governor Palin, regardless of the path.  She has conducted herself with honor and character—we would do well if more public servants followed her example.

a

Two Outcomes for Governor Palin

A message from the healthcare executive confronting expanding demand with decreased margins:  Decrease my cost of doing business!  Dramatically reduce the 125,000+ pages of federal regulation currently burdening the healthcare industry.  Regulation that attempts to control costs dramatically reduces efficiency and my ability to competitively bid.  Allow for fair but controlled settlements in medical malpractice lawsuits.  Insurance companies must be able to predict exposure, with the current ‘lotto’ amounts of punitive damages, they are unable to do that.  Dramatically reduce the amount of state level minimum mandates on insurers.  These mandates drive up the cost to insure despite not being applicable to a vast majority of insured.  This will allow me to buy more capital, make more money and inevitably, hire more people.  Get out of the way!

A message from the venture capitalist looking to fund new businesses:  Decrease my cost of doing business!  The regulatory environment is stifling the ability of my industry to fund, grow and exit from businesses with a profit.  A high degree of failure is a part of my business and I recognize that I must fail in order to succeed.  For this high failure rate, I get a high return on those businesses that succeed.  My industry has been the engine behind the technological revolution of the past thirty years, yet now we are stagnating.  The future of American job growth will be driven by small innovative businesses that venture capital is expert in finding, growing and helping to succeed.  This job growth will not happen with current financial regulations growing and subsequently burdening our industry with higher hurdles.  Competition and winning are in our blood—we will buy more capital, make more money and increase jobs providing that the government can GET OUT OF THE WAY.

A message from the American citizen:  Reduce the control that you are attempting to exert on my life, my liberty and my pursuit of happiness.  As I stand in line at the post office with three people in line and ten people behind the counter, I wonder how you are going to drive cost out of the healthcare industry by increasing government control.  As I stand in line at the DMV with twenty people and thirty people are behind the counter, I wonder how you are going to drive cost out of the healthcare industry by increasing government control.  As I look back at our nation’s history, I am still searching for the industry that was formed, or grown or improved by a dramatic increase in government control.  I do not need the government to take more of my money and then tell me, with increased frequency, how to spend the money that I have left.  What I need is more of my own money.  More of my own money to invest in my business.  More of my own money to invest in my own home.  More of my own money to fund my kids education.  More of my own money to buy the things that I need, that I want and that will make my life better.  With more of my own money, I will save more money, invest more money and live the life that I choose.

Get out of the way!

a

GET OUT OF THE WAY!

The weight of President Obama’s policies will be with us for a long time.  As Michael Ledeen notes,

“To our great shame, we were unprepared for the uprising of the Iranian people, which had become highly likely in the runup to the “election,” and which, we should have been aiding for years with better communications, strike funds for workers, open calls for freedom, and insistence that political prisoners be freed. Worse yet, in the first days following the explosion, our leaders seemed annoyed that the Iranian people had interrupted efforts to strike a bargain. The president first took credit for the “robust debate,” then suggested there was no real difference between Mousavi and Ahmadinejad, warned that it would be counterproductive for him to be seen “meddling,” and then, when the dimensions of the street massacres were too large to ignore, criticized the repression and finally spoke warmly of Mousavi.

Iran is still simmering; there is still fire beneath the ashes of the savage repression, and no one knows what the tens of millions of anti-regime Iranians will do in the coming weeks and months. But we do know what the regime will do, both to its own people and to us: continue to wage its 30-year war. The big question is whether we will respond effectively.”

We have effectively been denying the intentions of Iran for over three decades and through multiple administrations.  However, the U.S. has never seen the opportunity to give credence to freedom in Iran like we are seeing now.  Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has chosen to take a pass, and, in doing so they will effectively allow the mullahs and the revolutionary guard to seize greater control over that troubled nation.

The continuation of this denial of freedom was seen most recently in Honduras.  The Honduran President, Zelaya, attempted to circumvent his country’s constitution and remain in power past his legally mandated limit.  The Honduran Legislature and Supreme Court, to their credit, sided against this singular abuse of power.  The military, acting on the legal authority of the court and the legislature, removed Zelaya from office and he ended up leaving the country.  Zelaya is now being defended by Hugo Chavez, Raul Castro and Daniel Ortega.  These three men not only stand against freedom, they have spent their entire political lives attempting to deny freedom to their own citizens.  President Obama has taken the unprecedented step of standing with these enemies of freedom and calling for the reinstatement of Zelaya.

Here at home, President Obama has consolidated control of two automobile companies, multiple financial institutions and insurance companies within the executive branch.  He is attempting to nationalize the medical industry ( a full 20% of our GDP) and place everyday personal medical decisions within the control of the federal government.  At every opportunity, this President is taking away individual freedom and expanding the power of the state.

Rhetorical flourish aside, presentation aesthetics aside and coverage by the MSM aside, we must start to realize that we have an executive running this country who does not cherish and foster individual freedom—the very basis of our country and its multi-faceted success.

The opposition to President Obama needs to focus on the universal themes that have driven this country’s success.  We can focus on a wealth of examples displaying the wisdom of following a path toward increased individual intiative and liberty.  The examples that President Obama and his supporters will have on their side are non existent.  Limiting freedom limits opportunity, limits growth, and limits the very hope and change that President Obama claimed to be promoting.

a

Restraining Freedom

a

Health Care

Epic failure by the House Republicans.  They were unable to strike more fear in the hearts of their members than the Democrats.  This will correctly be billed as a bipartisan effort, it will not be hung on the Democrats and may, in fact, put wind in the sails of ‘moderate’ Republicans in the Senate.

The NRCC, as well as the Republican Party should yank all funds away from the reelection campaigns of the eight who voted with Speaker Pelosi, with Al Gore and with the increasingly discredited ’science’ of global warming.

Failure to bring the heavy hand down on these legislative symcophants will simply allow them to make more discrediting moves.

a

Failure of Republicans

The legislation hitting the books today is cap-and-tax, an opportunity killing initiative meant to placate the environmental special interest groups.  Man-made global warming is a myth, unproven by pier-reviewed and publicly accessible research.  That myth provides the basis for this legislation, which is being described by the Wall Street Journal as the largest tax increase in human history.  The Democrats are banking on the ’slow-burn’ nature of the tax ( it will be implemented in the future and phased in over several years) to minimize the immediate impact on their electoral chances.   The immediate impact of the legislation will be increased caution that it creates within the business community.  This caution will mean slower job growth and slower GDP growth—-not the things you want during a recovery.

During this ‘flooding of the zone’ with liberal initiatives, it is important that conservatives remain focused, keep our rebuttal simple, while focusing on universal themes that resonate with the American People.  Freedom, liberty and opportunity.  Will any of these initiatives promote those ideals?  Will any of this legislation increase our independence?  Will this liberal wish-list create a country with more opportunity for our children than we have?  The answers to all of these questions are no, no and no.

a

Flooding the Zone

I do not stand in judgement of his choice, that is between himself and his family.  However, Governor Sanford is a solid fiscal conservative that can speak to the need for limited government.  His voice will now lack credibility on the national stage.

a

Governor Sanford

Some six months after that devastating attack on Hawaii, the U.S. Navy launched an ambitious attack against a very powerful and successful Japanese military.  Much attention will be paid to the D-Day anniversary over the coming week, rightfully so, but Midway surely turned the tide in the Pacific and helped us to secure our footing and move on to eventual victory over the Japanese.

There are several sites that provide great information about Midway, I would like to forward a few:

Navy History

Wikipedia Summary

Navy Memorial Events

We should always give thanks to our veterans, regardless of what battle they fought or what service they provide.  However, there are certain campaigns that truly have saved our country—-Midway was one of those engagements.

a

Midway

The three men who occupy that space on the internet; John H Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson and Paul Mirengoff, were all graduated from Dartmouth College and went on to pursue careers in law.  Their writing, while sometimes focusing on legal issues, is a broad based commentary on the political and cultural movements in our country.  Over the years, their posts have grown more in depth, providing an enjoyable and educational read.

As many of you know, Powerlineblog was heavily involved in bringing the fraudulent CBS News story regarding George W. Bush’s military service to light.

I strongly recommend adding their site to your daily reading.

a

A Tribute to Powerlineblog