It's Independence Day in the United States, so we realize that many of you won't even be reading this until Tuesday, at the earliest. Still, we think the following is worthy reading for every American, every day. We've edited it for space - so feel free to view the entire document at its official website, including some great information on it's history. While you're at it, you may even want to read the Constitution - and feel free to forward today's Daily Felltoon to those persons you might know who may not know the difference between the two documents.
Enjoy your holiday safely, whatever you choose to do.
---
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...
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 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.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday Funday: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Today is not only Friday - for most of you, it's the beginning of the Independence Day holiday weekend in the United States. For our Canadian readers, it's Canada Day weekend. And for our non-American readers from Bratislava to Brazil? We hope you'll indulge our celebratory spirit today.
It's also the halfway point of the year, and it's been quite an eventful first six months. Our web guru has moved himself and his family - twice - in the last six months. But we gained a new location in Florida, one of the states guaranteed to be a political hotspot between now and November 2012.
There have been many firsts, too - especially in the home of our editor, Amy, who's young daughter is giving her and her husband a run for their money.
Paul has been in and out, traveling to many places, and working with the Sowers Club of Nebraska on some great HuskerNutz cartoon calendars for 2012. Keep in touch to see information on the calendars and where you can order them... right here.
Like we said, it's been busy.
For all of us, the Independence Day holiday weekend always means a little bit more, and not just because we have great love for our country. It's also a chance for us to kick back, relax, and spend a little time with family and friends. It's not exactly Christmas in July - but it is a chance to ignore the craziness of the world around us for a day or two, and remind ourselves of the blessings we all have.
Whether you are a far-right-wing conservative, or a far-left-wing liberal - or like most people, somewhere in between - if you're an American, we hope you take some time this weekend to remember what that really means.
It means you're lucky. To be born in this country - or simply to be able to live here at this time in history is still amazingly lucky. You could be living in a hut, in a village, in any one of a number of third-world countries.
You're also generally free, and hopefully employed. Yes, the facts are what little economic recovery there's been has been highly skewed in favor of corporate profits and against increased wages for workers, as a recent study from Northwestern University has proven. And yes, unemployment is still much higher than we'd like to see. But it could definitely be worse. We could live in Somalia - or even Greece - right now.
We know that the tendency in the media these days is to overreact to everyone and everything - for example, suspending someone for using vulgar speech that doesn't even come close to what we hear on many talk radio shows these days. But we've never been that way, and we won't start now. Even extremist Glenn Beck is an American - and we wish him well on his future as a non-Fox employee.
The key thing to remember about this weekend is, while we don't always agree with each other, we need to remember we are all Americans, and we're all in this together. We don't wish that other Americans who vehemently disagree with us were dead. We do hope that we can find some common ground with them, sooner rather than later.
Looking forward, we hope the next six months are filled with as many positive events as the last six have been - for us, for you, and for our nation and world.
It'll require hard work, and yes - compromise as well.
But anything worth doing is worth doing well.
For us, that includes celebrating our weekend, and our nation's independence.
We hope you enjoy your weekend too.
It's also the halfway point of the year, and it's been quite an eventful first six months. Our web guru has moved himself and his family - twice - in the last six months. But we gained a new location in Florida, one of the states guaranteed to be a political hotspot between now and November 2012.
There have been many firsts, too - especially in the home of our editor, Amy, who's young daughter is giving her and her husband a run for their money.
Paul has been in and out, traveling to many places, and working with the Sowers Club of Nebraska on some great HuskerNutz cartoon calendars for 2012. Keep in touch to see information on the calendars and where you can order them... right here.
Like we said, it's been busy.
For all of us, the Independence Day holiday weekend always means a little bit more, and not just because we have great love for our country. It's also a chance for us to kick back, relax, and spend a little time with family and friends. It's not exactly Christmas in July - but it is a chance to ignore the craziness of the world around us for a day or two, and remind ourselves of the blessings we all have.
Whether you are a far-right-wing conservative, or a far-left-wing liberal - or like most people, somewhere in between - if you're an American, we hope you take some time this weekend to remember what that really means.
It means you're lucky. To be born in this country - or simply to be able to live here at this time in history is still amazingly lucky. You could be living in a hut, in a village, in any one of a number of third-world countries.
You're also generally free, and hopefully employed. Yes, the facts are what little economic recovery there's been has been highly skewed in favor of corporate profits and against increased wages for workers, as a recent study from Northwestern University has proven. And yes, unemployment is still much higher than we'd like to see. But it could definitely be worse. We could live in Somalia - or even Greece - right now.
We know that the tendency in the media these days is to overreact to everyone and everything - for example, suspending someone for using vulgar speech that doesn't even come close to what we hear on many talk radio shows these days. But we've never been that way, and we won't start now. Even extremist Glenn Beck is an American - and we wish him well on his future as a non-Fox employee.
The key thing to remember about this weekend is, while we don't always agree with each other, we need to remember we are all Americans, and we're all in this together. We don't wish that other Americans who vehemently disagree with us were dead. We do hope that we can find some common ground with them, sooner rather than later.
Looking forward, we hope the next six months are filled with as many positive events as the last six have been - for us, for you, and for our nation and world.
It'll require hard work, and yes - compromise as well.
But anything worth doing is worth doing well.
For us, that includes celebrating our weekend, and our nation's independence.
We hope you enjoy your weekend too.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Who the Hell Do They Think They Are?
We apologize if we come off a bit blunt today, but it struck us that in recent discussions with other media professionals around the country, the comment that keeps finding its way into our conversations - even from some of our Republican colleagues - about the current GOP Congressional "leadership" is the same: "Who the hell do they think they are?"
We're glad that President Obama finally took on the hubristic Republicans yesterday at his press conference, both on the budget and on the issue of leadership. Frankly, we think he should have done it a LONG time ago.
If you missed the President's press conference, you can watch or read the full transcript at Whitehouse.gov, when you have time. In the spirit of being blunt, however, we decided to rewrite our own short version of his remarks yesterday. This is the address we wish he'd given.
"Good morning, everybody.
We all know how crappy the economy still is out there - and I know there are a ton of people, especially on the Republican side, bitching and whining that my administration still isn't doing enough to fix our economy after they nearly destroyed it. I don't think I need to remind you - again - that I'm not the only one that controls this government. At a certain point we need to say to our Republican friends that they just need to do their own damn jobs.
Right now, there are a whole list of things Congress could do, if they truly wanted to get off their asses and deal with reality. Right now, Congress has a bill they're sitting on that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to patent a new product or idea. Right now, Congress could send me a bill that puts construction workers back on the job rebuilding infrastructure, by providing loans to private companies, states and local governments. Right now, Congress could pass some new trade agreements which would actually help level the playing field for once between the U.S. and countries in Asia and South America. And right now, we could give middle-class families the security of knowing that the tax cut I signed in December will be there for one more year. All of these things are the homework that is sitting on the desks of Congress, RIGHT NOW, still half-finished, after they've had a LONG time to complete it.
My 10 year old and 13 year old daughters get their homework done before their deadlines every day - what the hell is your problem, Congress?
We all know the single biggest thing we could do to help the economy and create jobs is to get this budget done, and tackle the nation's deficit. Our budget committee, led by Vice President Biden, has busted butt to find more than one trillion dollars worth of spending cuts already.
Still, that hasn't been enough for our Republican friends. They want to defy the laws of mathematics, and never raise taxes again, especially for millionaires and billionaires. Yet somehow, they still expect to magically balance the budget. EVERY economist - ours, theirs, economists from other countries - have all said the same thing: What the Republicans want isn't possible. Period.
It would be nice if we could keep every tax break there is, but we’ve got to make some tough choices here if we actually want to reduce our deficit, instead of just BS-ing everyone about this. For instance, if we choose to keep tax cuts for billionaires, then college kids, cancer patients, and old people will suffer - and you won't ever again be able to trust that hamburger you love so much.
The bottom line is this: Any agreement to reduce our deficit is going to require tough decisions and balanced solutions by leaders on all sides. Only a few people have what it takes to make the tough decisions in life. That’s why they’re called "leaders".
There’s no point in procrastinating any further. We have got to get this done. If, by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress on the budget, then members of Congress are going to have to suck it up and cancel their vacations - which they seem to be on all the time.
They're in one week, they're out one week. They come back for a few days, and leave again. And then they have the gall to say, "Obama has got to step in and take care of this." Congress? You need to be here. I’ve been here. I’ve been doing Afghanistan and bin Laden and the Greek crisis. I've done healthcare reform, and Iraq, and Wall Street - and I've even been on diplomatic missions around the world while I did all this. It's time you stay here and get your work done, for once.
Let’s get it done, people. I'm tired of being jerked around - and so are the American people. It's time you did your job."
We're glad that President Obama finally took on the hubristic Republicans yesterday at his press conference, both on the budget and on the issue of leadership. Frankly, we think he should have done it a LONG time ago.
If you missed the President's press conference, you can watch or read the full transcript at Whitehouse.gov, when you have time. In the spirit of being blunt, however, we decided to rewrite our own short version of his remarks yesterday. This is the address we wish he'd given.
"Good morning, everybody.
We all know how crappy the economy still is out there - and I know there are a ton of people, especially on the Republican side, bitching and whining that my administration still isn't doing enough to fix our economy after they nearly destroyed it. I don't think I need to remind you - again - that I'm not the only one that controls this government. At a certain point we need to say to our Republican friends that they just need to do their own damn jobs.
Right now, there are a whole list of things Congress could do, if they truly wanted to get off their asses and deal with reality. Right now, Congress has a bill they're sitting on that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to patent a new product or idea. Right now, Congress could send me a bill that puts construction workers back on the job rebuilding infrastructure, by providing loans to private companies, states and local governments. Right now, Congress could pass some new trade agreements which would actually help level the playing field for once between the U.S. and countries in Asia and South America. And right now, we could give middle-class families the security of knowing that the tax cut I signed in December will be there for one more year. All of these things are the homework that is sitting on the desks of Congress, RIGHT NOW, still half-finished, after they've had a LONG time to complete it.
My 10 year old and 13 year old daughters get their homework done before their deadlines every day - what the hell is your problem, Congress?
We all know the single biggest thing we could do to help the economy and create jobs is to get this budget done, and tackle the nation's deficit. Our budget committee, led by Vice President Biden, has busted butt to find more than one trillion dollars worth of spending cuts already.
Still, that hasn't been enough for our Republican friends. They want to defy the laws of mathematics, and never raise taxes again, especially for millionaires and billionaires. Yet somehow, they still expect to magically balance the budget. EVERY economist - ours, theirs, economists from other countries - have all said the same thing: What the Republicans want isn't possible. Period.
It would be nice if we could keep every tax break there is, but we’ve got to make some tough choices here if we actually want to reduce our deficit, instead of just BS-ing everyone about this. For instance, if we choose to keep tax cuts for billionaires, then college kids, cancer patients, and old people will suffer - and you won't ever again be able to trust that hamburger you love so much.
The bottom line is this: Any agreement to reduce our deficit is going to require tough decisions and balanced solutions by leaders on all sides. Only a few people have what it takes to make the tough decisions in life. That’s why they’re called "leaders".
There’s no point in procrastinating any further. We have got to get this done. If, by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress on the budget, then members of Congress are going to have to suck it up and cancel their vacations - which they seem to be on all the time.
They're in one week, they're out one week. They come back for a few days, and leave again. And then they have the gall to say, "Obama has got to step in and take care of this." Congress? You need to be here. I’ve been here. I’ve been doing Afghanistan and bin Laden and the Greek crisis. I've done healthcare reform, and Iraq, and Wall Street - and I've even been on diplomatic missions around the world while I did all this. It's time you stay here and get your work done, for once.
Let’s get it done, people. I'm tired of being jerked around - and so are the American people. It's time you did your job."
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