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IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen 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.

— John Hancock

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

One of the ships I worked on had a cook everyone called Spice.  One day I got a chance to ask him how he ended up as Spice.  He told me that he was nicknamed Spice because he’s from the Spice Island.  Well, I had never heard of that particular island except for the brand name of herbs and spices that my father liked best.  I had never heard of it because that’s not really it’s name.  He was from the island of Grenada in the West Indies.

Eventually, I signed on a ship that had St George, Grenada as one of it’s regular ports of call.  The ship was too large to dock in St. George’s horseshoe shaped harbor, so we were tendered in by the Rhum Runner boats.   Once on the island, I would walk around the harbor into the downtown shopping district, nearly always stopping on the way for a delicious island breakfast and coffee.  Then I would proceed on around and up the hill through town.  Often I would just keep walking up that hill until I got to the top where there was a mental health facility and a terrific view of the harbor and of my ship farther out at anchor.  After enjoying the view for awhile, it was time to head back into town.  I stopped by the bank, changed dollars into EC and then stopped by the shops.  Sometimes I would need a spool of thread or just want to browse a bit.  Then I would stop by the market for provisions before heading back towards the Rhum Runners.

My last stop was the little place that sold Ting.  Actually, it was my first stop before going on into town, as well.  I would be returning my Ting bottles from the previous week’s purchases.  I have to tell you that Ting is a great drink on it’s own, but when you live on a ship, someone will find a way to put alcohol in just about anything.  One night during an illegal popcorn party (popcorn poppers were not allowed because of safety issues), someone came up with the idea of putting vodka in Ting.  That was Ting with a zing!  Everyone knew I wasn’t very good at the drinking thing, but that I was good for one zingy Ting.

After awhile I got to know all the crew on the Rhum Runners and got invited on one of their outings for snorkelers.  I wasn’t prepared to snorkel, or even swim for that matter, but got the opportunity to enjoy a nice little beach away from the tourist crowd downtown.  That was the day I met my good friend, George.  You can meet him, too.  Just go to Grenada Broadcast.

There’s so much to say about this island that it really isn’t going to fit in one post.  I’ll take you back again next week.  While you’re waiting, spend a little time with George.  I’ll be there, too.

I just read an interesting article at TechCult titled “Microsoft Admits Defeat On Vista.”   You have to admit that when Microsoft’s top guys can’t even get Vista to function properly, there are some problems.  I wrote an article about Vista on June 24th.  This article follows up on why I was whining in my article.  Good News.  Microsoft has decided not to cram Vista down the throats of businesses.  Instead, they are now encouraging users to “fix” Vista PCs by installing XP.  You heard me right.  Businesses can now fix their problems by installing XP.  They’ve now promised support for Windows XP until 2014.  Windows 7 is slated for 2011.  Don’t get too excited.  Bad news.  The rest of us are going to be stuck with the Vista rejects.  As of July first, individuals can no longer buy an XP PC.  Go on over to TechCult and read the entire article. 

I recently discovered a new science magazine.  Well, new to me at least.  It’s been in print since November, 2001 and is published bimonthly.  The name of this magazine is Seed, subtitled “science is culture.”  Before beginning to read this magazine one notices a difference in the size, quality of paper and quality of photography in each issue.  Another noticeable difference is the spine of the magazine.  Each issue highlights one of the elements.  The July/August is of chlorine (Cl 35.453).  The magazine has a unique contributors page.  Instead of photographs, one finds drawings in the pen and ink style of the major contributors for that issue. 

The July/August issue of Seed hits on a good variety of subjects.  One article, “Green Revolution 2.0” advocates genetically modified crops.  “Wind of Bat & Mouse’s Leg is about how a paw becomes a wing.  There’s a very interesting article about “The Shape of Music.”  You will also find an interview with Michael Gazzaniga, the father of cognitive neuroscience.  “Where I Do Science” takes one into the various laboratories of the scientist.  When one hears the word laboratory, visions of beakers, test tubes, Bunsen burners and chemicals come to mind.  That’s one type of laboratory.  The laboratories include Egypt’s Western Desert, the Sinai Desert, the Utah Station operated by the Mars Society, virtual reality, robotics laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center.  And that’s only a few of the different places where scientists work. 

There’s a long article called “A New State of Mind.”  This talks about research into dopamine and what it reveals about how different brain processes work.  Another article is about five researchers who combined unlikely fields of science, thereby developing new fields.  These include neuroarchaeology, immunocomputing and astronomical medicine. 

The scope of this magazine is wide.  It even includes a review of the Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens in London, the world’s first gallery dedicated entirely to botanical art.  So, you can see that this magazine has a little something for everyone.  Or nearly everyone.  It goes against my value system.  I’m definitely not in favor of messing around with our food supply.  I don’t want my food altered.  I’m interested in natural foods and a greener lifestyle.  Chemistry is not assisting us in this.  Also, this magazine is built on the assumption that evolution is a fact even though no one has been able to scientifically prove it.  It just takes too big a leap of faith for me to believe in the theory of evolution, the big bang and other theories which can’t be backed up by science. 

I just read an article at Natural News.com that goes along with yesterday’s post, NASA’s Secret Weapon.  It’s titled “Offices With Live Plants Make Employees Happier and Healthier.”  Recent research published in the American  Society for Horticultural Science journal HortScience found that the workplace can become more humane and healthier with the addition of live plants to the setting.

The article lists fifteen of the plants NASA has documented as being especially good at improving indoor air quality.  Read the article for this listing and more regarding improving indoor air quality with plants.

Did you know that your indoor air can be more polluted than the air outside your home or work place? The Environmental Protection Agency says it often is.  We work hard to make sure our houses are tightly sealed to keep the cold air out and the warm air in or vice versa in the summer.  It is because of this and the fact that our homes contain a larger percentage of synthetic materials and products that our indoor air has become so polluted.

NASA’s secret weapon can help eliminate this pollution.  In the early 80’s, NASA researched the ability of plants to remove chemicals from the air.  Study results showed that houseplants metabolized the chemicals such as benzene, ammonia and formaldehyde and used them as sources of food and energy.  Of course, one lonely houseplant won’t do the job.  Make a nice little haven of greenery in your house or at work.  You also need to make sure your home is well ventilated, keep down the humidity and use fewer chemicals.

Choose your plants carefully as some prefer low light and others prefer direct sunlight.  The Encyclopedia of House Plants lists over 300 plants with descriptions and photos.  You will also find instructions on the care of these plants.  Bring the outside in and clean your air while enjoying the “greening” of your home.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it.  Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:8-13

There’s been a lot of mittnz whipped up for the reservation since my initial post about the mittnz blitz this coming fall.  A rough tally stands at 482 pairs.  Some of the support group have completed over 50 pairs each.  Wow!  That’s a lot of knitting and crocheting.  Check out Knitting Nonni for a picture of her 7th set of 8.  Do the math.  That’s 56 pairs.  There are prizes involved, too.  You can read a bit about them over at Sheep Shots.  Scroll down towards the end of the June 21st post.  One of the members of our Native American Support group shared a fast and easy mitten pattern with us.  Thank you, Panda Man.  If you would like to join in our challenge, let me know.  In the mean time, here are some more mitten patterns:

fingerless gloves

Bev’s Marvelous Mitts – These can be made to fit the entire family.

Snoopy Mittens and Hat

fingerless gloves – another version

angora gloves – Oh, how I loved that lush softness of angora as a teen.

crocheted mittens

Join in the Mittnz challenge with us; make mittens and share mitten patterns.  These small items are ideal for working with yarn in the summer.

I went to CVS today and made out like a bandit.  I’m not going to tell you about all the super bargains I got.  You can read about the CVS bargains at Coupon Cravings, “Cent”sible Sawyer and Deal Seeking Mom.  I’m going to tell you about a very patient young man at the check out.  He rang up all my purchases and coupons, but missed my extra bucks coupon and two other CVS coupons.  He had to void the whole thing and ring it all up again.  By the time he realized he had missed those coupons, the transaction had already gone onto my debit card.  When the receipt printed out, he tore off all the extra bucks coupons and handed them to me.  After that was all voided and put through the cash register a second time, another batch of extra bucks coupons printed out.  I ended up with a total of $38.98 of EB’s.  I spent $38.19.  That means CVS paid me 79 cents to take home a bunch of their stuff.  I don’t like to shop, but I think shopping would be a whole lot more tolerable if everyone paid me to take stuff home.

This was a good news, bad news week.  The good news is the tax stimulus rebate check really did show up.  Half of the $1200 went into the emergency fund and half on the car debt which is almost gone.  I had hopes of finishing that off by the end of July, but now am not so sure.  I had a small geyser under my bathroom sink a couple days ago.  I couldn’t find the shut off valve, so called Joe, my super duper handyman.  He told me to go turn it off at the outside hook up and would come over right away.  He found the problem, did a temporary repair and left me with a list of things to buy – two steel water hook up lines and a new shut off valve and the specifications for them.  The next morning I took my list to Home Depot, found someone in the plumbing department who understood what I needed and sent me on my way with my supplies.  That afternoon Joe came and repaired the problem.  Good news, Joe didn’t charge me for any of it.  Bad news, the bottom of the cabinet is crumbling away and under the bottom of the sink where it connects to the drain pipe is almost eaten away.  Which means another trip to Home Depot next week to buy a new bathroom cabinet and sink.  Good news, I’ve really wanted to replace that ugly sink since the day I moved in here.  Bad news, I didn’t really want to put out the money for it this soon.  That just wasn’t very high on my priority list.  I have a Home Depot credit card that I only use if I’ll be able to pay it all off when I receive the statement.  I think I’ll be able to save enough without touching the emergency fund.  If not, I guess that’s why I have that fund.  So, the week after the fourth Joe will be replacing my bathroom sink setup.  This one won’t be free.  I know where every water turn off valve in my house is located now.  Do you know where to find yours?