[thoughtomator]

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 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 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.

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.

A stinging indictment of the current Supreme Court.

[Huck]

Interesting thread. It seems to me that the vacuum lamented by this thread is in large part due to plain old apathy. I suppose political correctness has something to do with it, but I think that a lot of folks just don't concern themselves too much about it. Some folks are intimidate by subjects as lofty as these. They simply don't feel equipped to speak or think about it at all, in some cases. It doesn't make them bad people. Maybe just not too reliable politically. My wife and I had a party to celebrate the 4th of July. To me the 4th is synonymous with celebrating America. And America is synonymous with liberty and independence, and thank God for it. So call it what you will. Revellers needn't know that John Adams imagined at the time that we would for all time be celebrating the day with pomp and flare. Maybe they just get a good fireworks show in their small town and barbeque. They are feasting and revelling and it is in honor of the 4th of July. Whether they fully understand its meaning or historical importance, they get the basic idea, on a Homer Simpson level.

As the old man in "Babe" said to his pig, "That'll do."

Happy 4th ;-) My wife and I boated 8 bass and 1 pickeral this weekend, and had a bbq shindig at our house with family and friends. I got to watch some great stuff on the History Channel covering the whole revolutionary period.All in all a great weekend. Hope yours was good too.