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 harrass 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 benefits 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 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.

• Got the day off today, and can sleep late. And here I am, up and about. Boy, am I a dumbass! #
• Scott Ott reads the Declaration of Independence http://tr.im/qKTJ #tcot #
• Since cable company reconnected us (after disconnecting us in error) some channels have terrible reception. I'm making a visit in person. #
• Do NOT attempt to put on a shirt while standing under a ceiling fan. Just sayin'. #
• I wonder why I haven't heard of Obama trying to take over the oil companies. Or did I just f**k up and give them an idea? #tcot #
• Apple blames iPhone overheating on weather http://tinyurl.com/kqa9zb Who knew it got hot in summertime? #tcot #
• I so much want to write a blog post about this: http://is.gd/1mrZ9 I even have the title: "Nigaz give me gas" #
• I know what a male is compensating for when he drives a too-big pickup. But what about a female? #
• Every time I put up a new mailbox, I forget to allow room for the door to open. Thankfully, no one is watching today. http://sml.vg/1nUQ6M #
• Cable guy just left. Getting all the channels now, and clearly. I didn't miss any breaking news, did I? #
• Maybe Palin is moving to Georgia to run for Governor next year. A guy can hope. #tcot #
• Any bets on Palin showing up on a cable news channel this fall (a la Huckabee)? #tcot #
• Here's a radical idea: Maybe Gov. Palin said what she meant and meant what she said. #
• Scrappleface: Palin Quits to Spend More Time with Couric, Gibson http://tr.im/qO4Z #tcot #
• Did Bill Kristol say Palin was "crazy like a fox?" Or "a crazy little fox?" #
• Powell airs doubts on Obama agenda http://tr.im/qOcI Thanks, General, for finally realizing what real conservatives knew all along #tcot #
• I heard Gov. Palin was depressed over Michael Jackson's death #
• Any word from David Shuster yet if Michael Jackson's musical future is "done?" #
• Disney adds robotic Obama to attraction http://tr.im/qOgw Still awaiting robotic teleprompter. Then no one could tell the difference. #tcot #
• U.K. Blind Man Sees Wife for First Time After Having Tooth Implanted in Eye http://tr.im/qOh8 Must have been his eye tooth #
• Mexican Midget Wrestlers Killed by Fake Prostitutes http://tr.im/qOif Finally! A story to take Jacko and Palin off the front pages! #tcot #
• Is Palin really going to move to the U.S. and run for president? #tcot #
• Is it true that Sarah Palin is starting a new political party? #
• The only thing wrong with politics is politicians #
• The only thing wrong with journalism is journalists #
• Obama to Avoid Father's Kenyan Homeland on Trip to Africa http://tr.im/qOwk I was hoping he'd seek out the manger he was born in #
• I heard Palin was tired of hunting moose, and was moving to Louisiana to hunt swamp sharks http://tr.im/qOxR #tcot #
• Reuters: Would you pledge your soul as loan collateral? http://tr.im/qOzg It worked for Obama #tcot #
• I'm still waiting on Sarah Palin to call and ask me to be her running mate in 2012 #
• If life was a western, Sarah Palin would be riding off into the sunset, and there'd be tears in people's eyes #
• Now that cable is fixed and channels are watchable I need to watch all the poor broadcast quality shows that TiVo recorded #
• PRNK fires two mid-range missiles http://tr.im/qPqR Attention Whore files missiles at home state of Attention Whore #tcot #
• Deer tramples pet dog in Westwood backyard http://tr.im/qPtQ Bambi gets revenge #
• Death of Sailor May be a Gay Hate Crime http://tr.im/qPuV Shocking! Imagine that hate may be involved in murder! #
• Jackson shared a bond with Diana Ross' http://tr.im/qPwj Also shared a nose, chin, and gender #
• New Delhi Lifts Ban on Gay Sex http://tr.im/qPyf Only taboos and sacred cows left in India are … wait for it … sacred cows #
• Tickets Available by Lottery for Jackson Memorial http://tr.im/qPzG Winners gets one ticket. Losers get two tickets. #
• Report: Obama to use NSA to monitor Net http://tr.im/qPAK Be careful what you say or you might suddenly dis… . . . #
• Incoming IAEA chief: No hard evidence Iran seeking nukes http://tr.im/qPBX Ahmadinejad saying so isn't enough proof #tcot #
• Much-needed tax refunds delayed from Ga. to Calif. http://tr.im/qPG9 East of GA and west of CA, you're okay. #
• Microsoft withdraws offending 'puke ad' http://tr.im/qPIL Why can't we get TV like that in the U.S.? All we get is 24/7 Michael Jackson #
• Foo Fighters to Rock White House Fourth of July Bash http://tr.im/qPJu To play official Obama administration song, "Long Road to Ruin" #tcot #
• Remember, Jim Brown had many more years of football in him when he decided to walk away #tcot #

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• Former South Atlantic League president John H. Moss has dies http://tr.im/qAgO In minor league baseball, he's a celebrity #
• Got called in to work early (3:55 AM). Good news is I got the Early Bird price on breakfast at the canteen. Bad news is the 3:55 AM thing. #
• Every time we idiot-proof something, along comes a bigger idiot. #
• Black socks, shoes, pants, shirt, tie, even underwear. The folks at work don't want to mess with me today. #
• The answer to concerns about the census is easy: lie your ass off. #tcot #
• In full Darth Vader mode today. Not the wimpy "I miss Padme," but the "I find your lack of faith disturbing" Darth Vader. #
• Unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years http://tr.im/qFv5 There's that Hope And Change! #tcot #
• Only $25 to attend the Michael Jackson funeral http://tr.im/qGFB Get them now and sell 'em on eBay, kiddies! #
• Israel has Cynthia McKinney in jail http://tr.im/qGNX This proves that Israel is our greatest friend #
• Helen Thomas criticizes White House http://tr.im/qGPn That's like Peanut complaining about Jose Jalapeño On A Stick http://tr.im/qGSY #tcot #
• Congress is doing lots of traveling http://tr.im/qGW5 The problem isn't their trips, it's that they come back from them #tcot #
• Obama Says He Gets Daily Prayers on His BlackBerry http://tr.im/qH5Z Receives them at 3:49, 5:47, 1:12, 5:08, 8:37, & 10:35 #tcot #

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Okay, some of you — heck, probably most of you — are saying, “Who is John H. Moss?”

Well, he’s a celebrity. To me, anyway.

Sure, you’ve heard about the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Karl Malden, and, of course, Michael Jackson.

And, each in their own way, were celebrities.

However, I never purchased a single thing from Billy Mays.

I never filled out an Ed McMahon envelope, though I did prefer The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson when Ed was there.

I have owned just one Karl Malden movie (Patton).

I did own one Farrah Fawcett poster. You know the one.

And I owned two Michael Jackson LPs (Off The Wall and Thriller), but no CDs.

However, I have a John H. Moss bobblehead. I have a John H. Moss baseball card. I have an autographed baseball, signed by John H. Moss.

So, who is John H. Moss?

He’s the former president of the South Atlantic League. Originally the Western Carolinas League, the league changed its name to the South Atlantic League in 1980, resurrecting the name that the Southern League had used until the early 1960s.

During his 50 years a president of the WCL/SAL, Moss guided the league into one of the premier organizations in all of baseball. When he retired, the league had 16 teams in 8 states. And I had the pleasure of attending his last game as league president: Game 3 of the 2007 South Atlantic League championship series.

During his term as league president, many players that played — or still play — Major League baseball spent time in the South Atlantic League.

I’d say that John Moss has had a larger positive impact on more people than any of the other celebrities you’ve heard about this week.

To a minor league baseball fan, such as me, John H. Moss was a celebrity.

• So, which car is driven by the ass? The one on the left? Or mine on the right? http://sml.vg/OQkwsy #
• Karl Malden died http://tr.im/qvTr Another celebrity dies on Obama's watch #tcot #
• Found out that, while my work is taking Friday off as a holiday, Wife's is business as usual. It's usually the other way around. Heh. #
• This actually explains the liberal mindset http://tr.im/qyqu #tcot #

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• Fred Travelena Dead at 66 http://tr.im/qhh9 Another entertainer passes under Obama's watch. Why does Obama hate entertainers? #tcot #
• There are 15 armed people within 30 ft of me in this restaurant. This has to be the safest place to eat lunch in Columbus. #
• Two convicts just escaped from a local work detail abou 45 min ago http://tinyurl.com/nck9gu With the 15 police sitting nearby, I'm safe. #
• One of these things is not like the others: Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Al Franken #tcot #
• Guy driving that beat-up Ford pick-up truck ahead of us looks like he's going to record a ZZ Top album, and is in no hurry to do it. #
• After speeding through town and running red light (much to my consternation), Wife says "Would you tweet and let me drive?" #
• Wife doesn't like to talk on cell phone while she drives. She does seem to like to hold cell phone in her hand, rather than put it down. #

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Are you being served, sir?

Yes, we come from Iran. We look for freedom and democracy. You have a president? Mr. Bush? He help us, no?

I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Bush has retired.

Yes, old Mr. Bush, you fire. We know. We want young Mr. Bush.

The confusion is understandable, sir. Both old Mr. Bush and young Mr. Bush have left our service.

You have Clinton?

Yes, as a matter of fact. Mrs. Clinton, are you free?

I’m free, Captain Peacock.

No, no. Not woman Clinton. Man Clinton, he help in Kosovo.

I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Clinton has retired as well. If Mrs. Clinton won’t do, perhaps our Junior, Mr. Obama can assist.

Obama? I like name. We talk with him.

Mr. Obama, are you free?

I’m free, Captain Peacock.

These good people would like some freedom and democracy.

Freedom and democracy? Ah, I see. Well, um, it’s, um, like this, you see. Um, we don’t really provide freedom and democracy.

But neighbor Iraq get freedom and democracy from you.

Oh, sir, not from me. No, sir. Not from me. Not at all. We did have a man here recently that, I believe, provided freedom and democracy to Iraq. But that was wrong. Very wrong, sir.

But Iraq like freedom and democracy. Oh, it not fit exactly, but Mr. Bush tell them it ride up with wear. And that happen. Now we want freedom and democracy.

If I might beg your pardon sir, didn’t you have a free and democratic election recently? That seems to me to be freedom and democracy already.

We have election. But it, how do you say, not a free and democratic election.

Oh, but sir. There was a selective recount, wasn’t there? And there were more votes cast than people living there, were there not? That’s how the Democrats in my country do it.

You will not help me with freedom and democracy?

Oh, I don’t see how I could, sir. But if you would bring your leaders here, I’m sure I can charm them so that they will just ooze freedom and democracy.

I see we have come to wrong place.

Thank you for coming by, sir. We hope we can be of asssitance in the future.

Ah, young Mr. Obama. I was watching how that was handled that. You’ve all done very well!

Thank you, Mr. Soros.

• Gale Storm (My Little Margie) died http://tr.im/q8to I know, you kids don't know who she is. Heck, I barely remember her. But I do. #
• I wonder why the girl running the register at Quiznos is wearing a Viva Mexico shirt instead of a Quiznos shirt. Laundry day? #
• Quiznos spends money printing up posters saying what comes on a torpedo. Then the clowns making them do whatever they feel like. Quiznos sux #
• No wheelchair access to Quiznos in downtown Columbus. If you're need handicap access, you're SOL. #
• Tell the truth: Did anyone really expect Sotomayor's decision to be upheld? http://tr.im/qbON #tcot #
• So what's the latest justification for the Sotomayor appointment? That she's a great judge with poor judgment? http://tr.im/qbON #tcot #
• Of course Obama objects to Manuel Zelaya's ouster http://tr.in/qdxS Obama was opposed to Saddam Hussein's ouster. #tcot #
• Big Cat at Ladonia (W of Phenix City) has gas for 2.159/gallon. Folks is lined up. #
• Obama sides with fellow socialists Chavez, Castro regarding Honduras http://tr.im/qedV He also opposed removing Saddam Hussein. #tcot #
• Report: Grieving Jackson Fans 'Commit Suicide' http://tr.im/qeeS Cleaning out the gene pool #
• Thank goodness Obama isn't "meddling" in Honduran affairs http://tr.im/qedV #tcot #
• Now Obama wants to control your lights http://tr.im/qeq9 Your lamps are bright, and your president isn't. #tcot #

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• Pageant over. Off to the Waffle House. #MissGA #
• How long does it take to get a waffle from the Waffle House? They burned four before Big Sister got hers. #
• TiVo thinks it recorded Red Eye. I was all excited. Then I pressed play. An hour of Greta talking about Jacko. Life sucks. #
• Now Billy Mays is dead http://tr.im/q4oh Will the carnage never cease? #
• Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays. And it all happened on Obama's watch. #tcot #
• New Miss GA resigns http://tinyurl.com/nzumyo She wanted to win Miss GA, she just didn't want to be Miss GA #MissGA #
• Power is out. Probably that big thunderstorm that just went through. #
• Power outage means the network is down, which means no Internet. Thank goodness for my BlackBerry. Until its battery dies, that is. #
• When two of you go to the drive-thru, place two identical orders. When they had you the first, ask "Is this mine or hers?" Watch their face. #
• My Big Sister thinks the Facebook is addicting. I told her the Twitter is electronic crack. Because it is. #
• Obama not happy leftist was overthrown: http://tinyurl.com/lnppvp Hopes no one on the US figures out how to do that to our leftist. #tcot #

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• Waiting in line at the cable place, trying to get them to fix their screw-up. #
• Done at the cable place. Sure enough, they disconnected the wrong address. They apologized and promised to have it back on today. #
• Couple parked nearby just left Big Lots. She stood there and made him come around and open the door for her. Good for her! #
• Might head back to town. First, Wife needs to put on a darker shirt or a lighter bra. Unless we go to Wal-mart. In which case she's dressed. #
• Michael Jackson's death drove CNN ratings to above Fox News. Proving that for non-important news, CNN is THE source. #
• Anybody want to buy a birth certificate? http://tr.im/pYJg #tcot #
• Beer-toting naked man tells police they got the wrong naked man http://tr.im/pYTY No, they don't all look alike. But you knew that. #
• At the mall. If people dress like this in June, I can hardly wait until Hallowe'en. #
• Waiting on the Miss Georgia pageant's final night. "Overture, curtain, lights. This is it, the night of nights. No more rehearsing…" #
• Pageant isn't starting on time. I wonder what time the 7:30 show begins. #MissGA #
• Finally! "On with the show this is it" #MissGA #
• What?! No National Anthem tonight? America The Beautiful is okay, but it's not the same. #MissGA #
• Miss Columbus Outstanding Teen (my neice) didn't make the finals. But Miss Southern Rivers (her close friend) did. Go Maggie! #MissGA #
• Betcha didn't know Prince wrote music for tap dance. #MissGA #
• "Shaving legs" will be the phrase of the night. You had to be there. #MissGA #
• 4 of 5 Miss GA finalists are blondes. At least partially. #MissGA #
• Maggie Bridges (Miss Southern Rivers Teen) was Teen 2nd runner up. Way to go Maggie! (Miss Cobb Co won the Teen crown) #MissGA #
• Finalists are talking about new media with local CBS affiliate morning anchor. #MissGA #
• Miss GA 2009 is Kristina Higgins (Miss Capital City) #MissGA #

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