Sitemeter reported that my request Monday for feedback on Google+ drew lots of hits.
Many of our readers may enjoy this article: Google goes social with Facebook rival (Update). The article starts with:
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"Online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it," Google's senior vice president for engineering Vic Gundotra said in a blog post about the long-awaited social networking initiative from the Internet giant.
Unveiling Google+, Gundotra stressed the ability it gives users to separate online friends and family into different "Circles," or networks, and to share information only with members of a particular circle.
"We'd like to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software," he said. "We want to make Google better by including you, your relationships and your interests."
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In another article, How Does Google's New Social Network Measure Up? compares Google+ to Facebook and Skype in a variety of areas.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Review: TED Talk by Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies
My second daughter provides this review of Patricia Kuhl's TED talk: The linguistic genius of babies:
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One of the TED talks I have watched recently was by Patricia Kuhl on the linguistic genius of babies. Research has found that young children have a greater ability to learn other languages. There is a critical period in which the brain in more open to learning other languages. Young children to the age of seven are geniuses for learning other languages but after that there is a decline and it becomes more difficult to learn other languages.
Scientist do not dispute this theory but the do not have any idea why it is that babies learn languages so easily. It seems that babies learn and take statistics on what sounds they hear and then work on those sounds.
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Here is the TED Talk:
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One of the TED talks I have watched recently was by Patricia Kuhl on the linguistic genius of babies. Research has found that young children have a greater ability to learn other languages. There is a critical period in which the brain in more open to learning other languages. Young children to the age of seven are geniuses for learning other languages but after that there is a decline and it becomes more difficult to learn other languages.
Scientist do not dispute this theory but the do not have any idea why it is that babies learn languages so easily. It seems that babies learn and take statistics on what sounds they hear and then work on those sounds.
---------
Here is the TED Talk:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Resource for Improv
I have a friend who is really into Improvisation. He said Improv Encyclopedia is a great resource for learning and improving in improvisation.
I love this thought
From Dan Galvin's Thought For The Day mailing list:
The only people with whom you should try
to get even are those who have helped you.
-John E. Southard
The (Other) Thought For The Day
2004/10/27
The only people with whom you should try
to get even are those who have helped you.
-John E. Southard
The (Other) Thought For The Day
2004/10/27
Humor - the Crown's response to the Declaration of Independence
This is kind of cute:
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The Court of King George III
London, England
July 10, 1776
Mr. Thomas Jefferson
c/o The Continental Congress
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dear Mr. Jefferson:
We have read your "Declaration of Independence" with great interest. Certainly, it represents a considerable undertaking, and many of your statements do merit serious consideration. Unfortunately, the Declaration as a whole fails to meet recently adopted specifications for proposals to the Crown, so we must return the document to you for further refinement. The questions which follow might assist you in your process of revision:
1. In your opening paragraph you use the phrase "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God." What are these laws? In what way are they the criteria on which you base your central arguments? Please document with citations from the recent literature.
2. In the same paragraph you refer to the "opinions of mankind." Whose polling data are you using? Without specific evidence, it seems to us the "opinions of mankind" are a matter of opinion.
3. You hold certain truths to be "self-evident." Could you please elaborate. If they are as evident as you claim then it should not be difficult for you to locate the appropriate supporting statistics.
4. "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" seem to be the goals of your proposal. These are not measurable goals. If you were to say that "among these is the ability to sustain an average life expectancy in six of the 13 colonies of at last 55 years, and to enable newspapers in the colonies to print news without outside interference, and to raise the average income of the colonists by 10 percent in the next 10 years," these could be measurable goals. Please clarify.
5. You state 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 a new Government..." Have you weighed this assertion against all the alternatives? What are the trade-off considerations?
6. Your description of the existing situation is quite extensive. Such a long list of grievances should precede the statement of goals, not follow it. Your problem statement needs improvement.
7. Your strategy for achieving your goal is not developed at all. You state that the colonies "ought to be Free and Independent States," and that they are "Absolved from All Allegiance to the British Crown." Who or what must change to achieve this objective? In what way must they change? What specific steps will you take to overcome the resistance? How long will it take? We have found that a little foresight in these areas helps to prevent careless errors later on. How cost-effective are your strategies?
8. Who among the list of signatories will be responsible for implementing your strategy? Who conceived it? Who provided the theoretical research? Who will constitute the advisory committee? Please submit an organization chart and vitas of the principal investigators.
9. You must include an evaluation design. We have been requiring this since Queen Anne's War.
10. What impact will your problem have? Your failure to include any assessment of this inspires little confidence in the long-range prospects of your undertaking.
11. Please submit a PERT diagram, an activity chart, itemized budget, and manpower utilization matrix.
We hope that these comments prove useful in revising your "Declaration of Independence." We welcome the submission of your revised proposal. Our due date for unsolicited proposals is July 31, 1776. Ten copies with original signatures will be required.
Sincerely,
Management Analyst to the British Crown
----------
The Court of King George III
London, England
July 10, 1776
Mr. Thomas Jefferson
c/o The Continental Congress
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dear Mr. Jefferson:
We have read your "Declaration of Independence" with great interest. Certainly, it represents a considerable undertaking, and many of your statements do merit serious consideration. Unfortunately, the Declaration as a whole fails to meet recently adopted specifications for proposals to the Crown, so we must return the document to you for further refinement. The questions which follow might assist you in your process of revision:
1. In your opening paragraph you use the phrase "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God." What are these laws? In what way are they the criteria on which you base your central arguments? Please document with citations from the recent literature.
2. In the same paragraph you refer to the "opinions of mankind." Whose polling data are you using? Without specific evidence, it seems to us the "opinions of mankind" are a matter of opinion.
3. You hold certain truths to be "self-evident." Could you please elaborate. If they are as evident as you claim then it should not be difficult for you to locate the appropriate supporting statistics.
4. "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" seem to be the goals of your proposal. These are not measurable goals. If you were to say that "among these is the ability to sustain an average life expectancy in six of the 13 colonies of at last 55 years, and to enable newspapers in the colonies to print news without outside interference, and to raise the average income of the colonists by 10 percent in the next 10 years," these could be measurable goals. Please clarify.
5. You state 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 a new Government..." Have you weighed this assertion against all the alternatives? What are the trade-off considerations?
6. Your description of the existing situation is quite extensive. Such a long list of grievances should precede the statement of goals, not follow it. Your problem statement needs improvement.
7. Your strategy for achieving your goal is not developed at all. You state that the colonies "ought to be Free and Independent States," and that they are "Absolved from All Allegiance to the British Crown." Who or what must change to achieve this objective? In what way must they change? What specific steps will you take to overcome the resistance? How long will it take? We have found that a little foresight in these areas helps to prevent careless errors later on. How cost-effective are your strategies?
8. Who among the list of signatories will be responsible for implementing your strategy? Who conceived it? Who provided the theoretical research? Who will constitute the advisory committee? Please submit an organization chart and vitas of the principal investigators.
9. You must include an evaluation design. We have been requiring this since Queen Anne's War.
10. What impact will your problem have? Your failure to include any assessment of this inspires little confidence in the long-range prospects of your undertaking.
11. Please submit a PERT diagram, an activity chart, itemized budget, and manpower utilization matrix.
We hope that these comments prove useful in revising your "Declaration of Independence." We welcome the submission of your revised proposal. Our due date for unsolicited proposals is July 31, 1776. Ten copies with original signatures will be required.
Sincerely,
Management Analyst to the British Crown
Good thought about being a better father
As fathers we should watch what we say:
“A father’s words are like a thermostat that sets the temperature in the house.”
—Paul Lewis
Hat tip: Quotes for Parents
“A father’s words are like a thermostat that sets the temperature in the house.”
—Paul Lewis
Hat tip: Quotes for Parents
Some of our best posts from February 2006
Janine and I have been blogging about homeschooling for over five years now. If you missed some of our early posts, you have missed some of our best thoughts. Here are some highlights from February 2006:
Henry wrote about The long term consequences of being too nice to students.
We provided an Introduction to Homeschooling, Steps to becoming a homeschooler and some Internet resources on Homeschooling.
Janine wrote about one of our favorite Reasons for Homeschooling: Family Time. Another good reasons is extending the growing season for our children in Waiting to Bloom.
How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? is a post about the importance of PRACTICING.
Teaching reading - the lost stages is about improving our children's ability to read.
Henry wrote about The long term consequences of being too nice to students.
We provided an Introduction to Homeschooling, Steps to becoming a homeschooler and some Internet resources on Homeschooling.
Janine wrote about one of our favorite Reasons for Homeschooling: Family Time. Another good reasons is extending the growing season for our children in Waiting to Bloom.
How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? is a post about the importance of PRACTICING.
Teaching reading - the lost stages is about improving our children's ability to read.
One hour video on College Conspiracy
This is long, but makes some great points:
Instapundit calls this problem of rising costs of college education the Higher Education Bubble.
I was surprised to learn textbooks are now $200, each.
Hat tip: Consent Of The Governed.
Instapundit calls this problem of rising costs of college education the Higher Education Bubble.
I was surprised to learn textbooks are now $200, each.
Hat tip: Consent Of The Governed.
Humor - Victor Borge in Dance Of The Comedians
Recently I was sharing some Youtube videos of Victor Borge with my children. They were laughing, almost hysterically. He did such a good job.
Enjoy:
Enjoy:
Book review: The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
Quick summary: Bad management. Bad politicians. Good engineers.
David McCullough, author of the famous biography on John Adams, is an amazing writer. He does a fantastic job of researching his subject and then tells the story in a mesmerizing way.
In The Path Between the Seas, Mr. McCullough breaks the story of the building of the Panama Canal into three stages. He starts with the first attempt, by the French. This ended in disaster. In the second stage of the story, America helped the Panamanians revolt against Columbia. Then McCullough concludes with the details of how the canal was finally built.
Reading about the French attempt reminded me of the manager from the Dilbert comic strip. So many decisions were made by people who had little expertise or knowledge. Estimates for the cost were almost pulled out of the air. Then sometimes these estimates would be divided in half, just because.
In 1879, a vote was taken to authorize the expenditures of funds to build a sea level canal, which would prove nearly impossible. Of the 74 who voted yes, only 19 were engineers and only one of them had been to Panama. It was not surprising that the French spent so much money and accomplished so little.
After the French fiasco, the project was dropped for a while. Then the Americans took up the challenge. I was surprised to learn that it was backing the Panamanian revolt that turned much of Latin America against the United States. Since the founding of the United States of America in the late 1700s, people to the south had looked to the US as an example in their struggles against European powers.
But President Theodore Roosevelt wanted a canal. He was upset that the Columbian government was slow to give him what he wanted. So this rough rider hinted to the Panamanians that they would be protected if they revolted. They revolted and President Roosevelt sent in the troops. Latin America came to distrust the big power to the north that would more and more would push its nose into their affairs.
In 1904, the US started building their attempt at a sea level canal. The design included a canal with a series of locks and a lake in the middle. This would save a huge amount of effort. John Stevens was put in charge. As a long time railroad man, he recognized the problem wasn’t so much digging a ditch problem, but a transportation problem of moving all the dirt. He spent time laying the foundation for moving the dirt. He put down heavier rails and placed orders for over a hundred locomotives with thousands of cars. Once this system was in place, the sea level canal become a reality.
This is a great book to read. I was fascinated to learn more about life in Panama and the world a hundred years ago. David McCullough makes the story of the canal a real page turner.
David McCullough, author of the famous biography on John Adams, is an amazing writer. He does a fantastic job of researching his subject and then tells the story in a mesmerizing way.
In The Path Between the Seas, Mr. McCullough breaks the story of the building of the Panama Canal into three stages. He starts with the first attempt, by the French. This ended in disaster. In the second stage of the story, America helped the Panamanians revolt against Columbia. Then McCullough concludes with the details of how the canal was finally built.
Reading about the French attempt reminded me of the manager from the Dilbert comic strip. So many decisions were made by people who had little expertise or knowledge. Estimates for the cost were almost pulled out of the air. Then sometimes these estimates would be divided in half, just because.
In 1879, a vote was taken to authorize the expenditures of funds to build a sea level canal, which would prove nearly impossible. Of the 74 who voted yes, only 19 were engineers and only one of them had been to Panama. It was not surprising that the French spent so much money and accomplished so little.
After the French fiasco, the project was dropped for a while. Then the Americans took up the challenge. I was surprised to learn that it was backing the Panamanian revolt that turned much of Latin America against the United States. Since the founding of the United States of America in the late 1700s, people to the south had looked to the US as an example in their struggles against European powers.
But President Theodore Roosevelt wanted a canal. He was upset that the Columbian government was slow to give him what he wanted. So this rough rider hinted to the Panamanians that they would be protected if they revolted. They revolted and President Roosevelt sent in the troops. Latin America came to distrust the big power to the north that would more and more would push its nose into their affairs.
In 1904, the US started building their attempt at a sea level canal. The design included a canal with a series of locks and a lake in the middle. This would save a huge amount of effort. John Stevens was put in charge. As a long time railroad man, he recognized the problem wasn’t so much digging a ditch problem, but a transportation problem of moving all the dirt. He spent time laying the foundation for moving the dirt. He put down heavier rails and placed orders for over a hundred locomotives with thousands of cars. Once this system was in place, the sea level canal become a reality.
This is a great book to read. I was fascinated to learn more about life in Panama and the world a hundred years ago. David McCullough makes the story of the canal a real page turner.
The Costs of Compulsory Education
Aaron Smith has a thoughtful column where he calls for the abolishment of compulsory education. The Costs of Compulsory Education starts:
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Education elites and their political cronies have implemented countless initiatives aimed at reforming education. From the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, every plan put forth has resulted in nothing but inefficient expenditures, new layers of bureaucracy, and continuing declines in student achievement.
Education will only be reformed once parents and entrepreneurs are free to create real alternatives to the broken systems that exist today. Repealing compulsory-education laws and allowing parents to spend their education dollars freely should be the first steps in this direction.
Curiously, compulsory-education laws, which conscript children into state-regulated programs of study, are rarely discussed in the context of education reform; these laws' ostensibly benevolent nature allows demagogues to marginalize detractors and quell any attempt at serious discourse. This results in far-reaching regulations that control how private actors educate, and thus prohibits students from getting the individualized education they need.
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I think practically speaking it would be very hard to get this kind of change, but it probably is worth raising just to get people to think about their basic assumptions.
Hat tip: Miazagora on Facebook.
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Education elites and their political cronies have implemented countless initiatives aimed at reforming education. From the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, every plan put forth has resulted in nothing but inefficient expenditures, new layers of bureaucracy, and continuing declines in student achievement.
Education will only be reformed once parents and entrepreneurs are free to create real alternatives to the broken systems that exist today. Repealing compulsory-education laws and allowing parents to spend their education dollars freely should be the first steps in this direction.
Curiously, compulsory-education laws, which conscript children into state-regulated programs of study, are rarely discussed in the context of education reform; these laws' ostensibly benevolent nature allows demagogues to marginalize detractors and quell any attempt at serious discourse. This results in far-reaching regulations that control how private actors educate, and thus prohibits students from getting the individualized education they need.
----------
I think practically speaking it would be very hard to get this kind of change, but it probably is worth raising just to get people to think about their basic assumptions.
Hat tip: Miazagora on Facebook.
Ten Lessons From Federal Spending
Randall Hoven looks at historical data for the federal budget over the last 80 years and has Ten Lessons From Federal Spending. The first is:
We can survive as a country with a lot less federal spending.
He shows a graph of Federal Government spending as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product from 1930 to now. I wish we could go back to when the Federal Government was spending only 5% of the GDP, instead of the 25% now.
The other nine lessons are also worth reading.
Hat tip: Miazagora on Facebook.
We can survive as a country with a lot less federal spending.
He shows a graph of Federal Government spending as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product from 1930 to now. I wish we could go back to when the Federal Government was spending only 5% of the GDP, instead of the 25% now.
The other nine lessons are also worth reading.
Hat tip: Miazagora on Facebook.
I wonder if this true
From A.Word.A.Day:
The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.
-Laurence Sterne, novelist and clergyman (1713-1768)
I think this thought is true for some people, but not everyone. As people learn more, some will be happy with what they have and some will want more.
The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.
-Laurence Sterne, novelist and clergyman (1713-1768)
I think this thought is true for some people, but not everyone. As people learn more, some will be happy with what they have and some will want more.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Politics and Public schools - a bad mix
Dave writes about a problem in California: State Board member conflict of interest:
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It is hard to imagine how someone could get away holding both jobs at the same time.
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As a "conservative nut-job" I was extremely disappointed with Governor Schwarzenegger most of the time. One good thing he did was to get rid Joe Nunez, a California Teachers Association (CTA) hack who was on the State Board of Education. I can't imagine a greater conflict of interest than having CTA staff as members of the state board. As soon as Arnold was gone and Governor Brown had control of appointments, we ended up with yet another CTA employee, this time it is Patricia Rucker whose daytime job is as a lobbyist. So during her work day, Patricia is running around the Capitol telling state legislators what their CTA masters want them to do. She's visiting the California Department of Education (CDE) and giving them their marching orders. Then magically, when she sits down at the table as a member of the State Board of Education, she puts aside everything that she works for during a normal day and serves as a representative of the people of the State of California. Somehow, I don't believe that.
Apparently, I'm not the only person who feels that way. Parent Revolution, the organization responsible for the "Parent Trigger" law which allows parents to force schools to convert to a charter school has filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
----------It is hard to imagine how someone could get away holding both jobs at the same time.
What are your impressions of Google+?
I've gotten a few invitations to Google+. I glanced at it and it seems similar to Facebook. Is anyone using Google+? Do you like it? Is it worth checking out?
Thanks.
Thanks.
How much groping does the TSA do in one hour at one station?
This was scary and depressing: "Dinner and a Grope Show:" An Afternoon at JFK Airport is the observations of one person watching New York's JFK Airport Terminal 1 for an hour.
I am truly surprised that more people don't say enough is enough.
I am truly surprised that more people don't say enough is enough.
Another reason to homeschool: so you can treat your boys like boys and your girls like girls
I am over half way through Why Gender Matters. This is a fascinating book. Luke has recommended the book several times. I finally got around to reading it and I’m glad I did. It is fascinating.
In our politically correct public schools there is a push to treat boys and girls exactly the same. This book explains why that is doomed to fail. In general the brain of boys and girls are wired differently. For example boys will be attracted to movement while girls will be attracted by faces. This happens long before society has had a chance to imprint anything.
Our son is an example of this. When baby bop showed up at 14 months old we didn’t have any cars in the house. He crawled around the house for a while looking and looking. Finally he took a shoe and moved it around on the ground while making truck noises.
Why Gender Matters reviews dozens of studies. Here are some of the differences between boys and girls the book shares:
Girls hear better than boys.
Music therapy helps premature baby girls but does little for baby boys.
Girls draw nouns. Boys draw verbs.
Women and men use different parts of their brains when navigating.
Boys often know what types of toys they like before they know their gender.
Boys will fight with someone and be best friends the next day. Girls will fight and hate each other for years.
Girls and boys assess risk differently. (Boys are much more likely to do something risky when they are with other boys.)
Boys and girls feel pain differently.
Girls’ friendships are face-to-face. Boys’ friendships are shoulder-to-shoulder.
Stress improves learning for boys but impairs learning with girls.
I hope to have a review up in a week or two. I am so impressed with the book that I bought a second copy and have asked my oldest two daughters to read the book
This book re-enforces how glad we are that we can homeschool. We are able to treat our daughters like girls and our son like a boy.
In our politically correct public schools there is a push to treat boys and girls exactly the same. This book explains why that is doomed to fail. In general the brain of boys and girls are wired differently. For example boys will be attracted to movement while girls will be attracted by faces. This happens long before society has had a chance to imprint anything.
Our son is an example of this. When baby bop showed up at 14 months old we didn’t have any cars in the house. He crawled around the house for a while looking and looking. Finally he took a shoe and moved it around on the ground while making truck noises.
Why Gender Matters reviews dozens of studies. Here are some of the differences between boys and girls the book shares:
Girls hear better than boys.
Music therapy helps premature baby girls but does little for baby boys.
Girls draw nouns. Boys draw verbs.
Women and men use different parts of their brains when navigating.
Boys often know what types of toys they like before they know their gender.
Boys will fight with someone and be best friends the next day. Girls will fight and hate each other for years.
Girls and boys assess risk differently. (Boys are much more likely to do something risky when they are with other boys.)
Boys and girls feel pain differently.
Girls’ friendships are face-to-face. Boys’ friendships are shoulder-to-shoulder.
Stress improves learning for boys but impairs learning with girls.
I hope to have a review up in a week or two. I am so impressed with the book that I bought a second copy and have asked my oldest two daughters to read the book
This book re-enforces how glad we are that we can homeschool. We are able to treat our daughters like girls and our son like a boy.
Reivew TED talk by Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter
My second daughter provides this review of Mark Bezos' TED Talk: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter:
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Recently I watched the TED talk by Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter.
He told a story about how he went in a burning building to get the owner a pair of… shoes. It was raining and the woman whose house was on fire needed shoes. A few weeks later the Fire station received a letter of thanks from the home owner, and the kindness she noted the most? That someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.
This really made me think about how little things we do can change someone’s day. Is it that hard for me to wait from someone or hold a door open? Is it that hard to send someone a thank you card? Don’t wait to do something big, do little things that help people.
This Ted talk was less than five minutes long but its’ message has probably been most influential to me than any of the others I’ve watched so far.
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I will echo my daughter's thoughts. It is a good talk with a great message, well worth five minutes:
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Recently I watched the TED talk by Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter.
He told a story about how he went in a burning building to get the owner a pair of… shoes. It was raining and the woman whose house was on fire needed shoes. A few weeks later the Fire station received a letter of thanks from the home owner, and the kindness she noted the most? That someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.
This really made me think about how little things we do can change someone’s day. Is it that hard for me to wait from someone or hold a door open? Is it that hard to send someone a thank you card? Don’t wait to do something big, do little things that help people.
This Ted talk was less than five minutes long but its’ message has probably been most influential to me than any of the others I’ve watched so far.
----------
I will echo my daughter's thoughts. It is a good talk with a great message, well worth five minutes:
The Declaration of Independence
Our gratitude for and reverence of the Declaration of Independence should be all year long. To prolong the feelings of the 4th of July I'm going to post a few patriotic thoughts over the next couple weeks.
As part of the kickoff here is the Declaration of Independence:
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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.
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
As part of the kickoff here is the Declaration of Independence:
----------
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. 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.
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Just whose castle is it?
It used to be that a man's home was his castle. He could do with it as he saw fit. Over time the government passed more and more laws limiting what was allowed.
It has gotten to the government officials think they can decide if and where you have a garden. Julie Bass may face jail time for planting vegetables is the latest example of a government that needs to be limited.
I love Spunky's observation:
"Michelle Obama grows veggies on the White House lawn and receives praises but a Michigan mom does the same thing and receives a possible prison sentence. It all hinges on how you define "suitable." Bravo to this mom for not giving in."
Hat tip: Spunky Homeschool
It has gotten to the government officials think they can decide if and where you have a garden. Julie Bass may face jail time for planting vegetables is the latest example of a government that needs to be limited.
I love Spunky's observation:
"Michelle Obama grows veggies on the White House lawn and receives praises but a Michigan mom does the same thing and receives a possible prison sentence. It all hinges on how you define "suitable." Bravo to this mom for not giving in."
Hat tip: Spunky Homeschool
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