Like American history? blogsense-by-barb has a post worth reading. Check out Sons of Liberty: Patriots or Terrorists?

Curious about the start of WW I? rogueoperator acquainted me with something I did not know. In Tyranny and Crisis: The Rise of American Militarism, he points out that according to the “rules of war” the Germans had every right to sink the Lusitania.

Curious about that secret war fought by the CIA and the Hmong tribes of Laos against the North Vietnamese. thatmrgguy posts The Secret War…Video.

Curious about the latest on the current action. In Senseless Jerry Fuhrman posts a link to an AP story, NATO convoy bomb adds urgency to protecting Kabul.

Curious about the future of war? In Alternative Futures to 2028 for the U.S. Army, James Atticus Bowden observes that the Army provides a curiously open and intellectually honest environment.

• Here from Wikipedia is a brief history of the French Constitution.
• Social Liberty is defined here in the Urban Dictionary and here in Wikipedia. I think the Wikipedia definition better approximates the usage below.
• “paid terrorists” — Here at NewsMax and here at the Daily Mail we have some explanations of how the Palestinian Authority spends the money other nations give it.

INJUSTICE The Weapon of the Left by Ms Wells The Left has many weapons. There are crazies, criminals, terrorists, communists, addicts, perverts, liars, psycho shrinks, to name a few. But, the most powerful weapon in the Left’s arsenal is Injustice. To identify the Left, one must study Libertarianism i.e. “social liberty”. “Social Liberty” was coined in France decades ago and it led to one of the overthrows of the French Constitution. The French C … Read More

via The Mad Jewess With Breaking News By Donna Spellbound

 William Whipple, from New Hampshire,  was an original signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a merchant, a judge, a Revolutionary War General and a member of the Continental Congress. from Yahoo.com: Whipple freed his slave, Prince Whipple, who had fought with him in the war and was one of a group of slaves who had petitioned the Legislature for their freedom. Prince Whipple also is buried in the Old North Cemetery. … Read More

via Diary of a Mad Conservative

An Exceptional Independence

I have always loved Independence Day celebrations since I was a small child. While I was a soldier, they were often marked by wonderful celebrations followed by picnics and evening fireworks. When I was a battalion commander of the 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery, a huge and lethal rocket launcher force, the largest in the Army, the unit also was also responsible for the ceremonial salute battery. We had 6 vintage pack 75MM howitzers that were used to give salutes for dignitaries and ceremonies. On the 4th of July, we often provided the cannon fire in support of the Division’s concert which featured the 1812 Overture. It was all fun and the troops and their families just loved it. It gave them a chance to take their minds off of the more serious matters related to the defense of the Nation. And it offered us an opportunity to reflect on the greatness of this Nation.

And we are great. Indeed, we are exceptional. Unfortunately, there is a very disturbing trend afoot among the far-left, including the Obama Administration, that diminishes, indeed denies, American exceptionalism, seeking to supplant it with a “citizen of the world” mentality and adhering to a “blame America first” attitude. Frankly, I reject this thinking and I know that patriots do as well.

We are an exceptional nation. We are citizens of the greatest nation in the world. Want proof? The world beats a path to our doorstep for freedom, opportunity, and progress. If that’s not exceptional, I’m not sure what is.

So this weekend and on Monday when you are enjoying your time of celebration, remind folks, proudly, that we do not take a second seat to anyone. In fact, we aspire that the rest of the world follow our example in their own nations by establishing free democratic republics committed to individual rights, the rule of law, and the right to possess private property.

Finally, please pray for our Soldier, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen deployed around the world and at war. They are our best, folks. Our very best.

Sic Semper Tryannis

L. Scott
Lingamfelter
Delegate, 31st District
Virginia House of Delegates

When we celebrate Independence Day, we celebrate what some brave men wrote on behalf of thirteen colonies. These men established a commitment to rule themselves as they believe God would have them do. They hoped that future generations would do the same.

So today many take the time to read Declaration of Independence carefully. The men of the Second Continental Congress wrote down exactly why they were rebelling. That is why for the most part the document speaks of ugly things, of how a tyrant had abused his subjects. Nonetheless, what is surprising is that these men did not react hatefully; they wrote thoughtfully, even respectfully. Moreover, they began their document with what the stood for, not what they were against.

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.

Most will say George Washington won the American Revolutionary War at the Battle at Yorktown. Nonetheless, the wise know the pen is mightier than the sword. It was an idea that won that war. On July 4, 1776, the idea that sparked America flamed to life. It is our commitment to that idea that makes us proud Americans.

July 4, 2011

Dear Friends and Fellow Virginians,

235 Years ago our nation’s founders issued a declaration of independence – formally severing the bonds between the thirteen American colonies and Great Britain.

So strong were our founders’ convictions that they pledged their lives, fortunes and scared honor toward the shared goal of forming a nation premised on the ideals of life, liberty and property.

Independence Day gives us an especially good reason to remember these ideals upon which our nation was founded – and what makes the United States so great today.

For many in our country – the fight to preserve liberty seems like an antiquated concept. Over two centuries have passed, and yet the struggle to achieve the same ideals still continues today.

We are a great nation – but it is not by default that we remain that way. We must always be fighting for liberty and freedom – so that we remain free from tyranny.

We have troops on the ground fighting in multiple conflicts around the globe. These brave men and women fight to secure our freedoms and spread democracy around the globe. They keep us from harms way – May God bless all they do for our country.

So, as we celebrate this, our 235^th year as an independent and free nation, let us do so keeping in mind all we still must do in defense of liberty.

Remember the words from a truly inspirational leader in the defense of liberty, President Ronald Reagan:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. – Ronald Reagan

Sincerely,

Ken Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General of Virginia