Blogged on the Fourth of July

Winston Rand offers…

…this diverse group was of one mind regarding Bush, the war in Iraq, and
the sorry condition our country and world are in because of the Bush
administration. We have the highest respect for the Presidency, but
disdain for this president. We honor our military men and women and thank them for serving their country, but we begrudge this
ill-conceived war based on lies, misinformation, and incompetency. We
wish for our troops in Iraq a quick and safe return home, but we fear
hundreds or thousands more will die in Bush’s Battle for Barrels. We
are not all Bible-thumping fundamentalist Christians, but that does NOT
diminish our American patriotism as the Bushies would have you believe.

Chris Locke points the way toward discussion of Indo-European Polytheism and pagan conservatism… alive and well today in white America.

Denise Howell points us to the modern musings of Thom. Jefferson, who recently joined us following Daniel’s awkward moment with the "quantum flux temporal agitator."  Mr. Jefferson says:

This indeed, is what I believe: a strict observance of the written laws
is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not
the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our
country when in legitimate danger, are of higher
obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written
law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and
all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the
end to the means. The actions of many to write down the words that
become law, especially in Declarations and Constitutions, will be
forgotten if we ever forget the source of freedom, which stems from our
action in defiance to the senseless laws of tyrants, and in our noble
adherence and respect for the laws of civilized man.

Elisabeth (Lis) and Ian Osmond-Riba put patriotism first today.  Ian says,

When the President says pretty much anything, [another person] feels embarrassed to be an American.

But me, when the President says pretty much anything, I feel embarrassed that the President is an American. 

That,
I think, sums it up. I am a patriot. I believe that America has in it
much that is great, and believe that anything that falls short of that
– any time that we torture prisoners or send them abroad to be
tortured, any time that we curtail civil liberties for greater safety
(whether or not it actually works to make us safe), any time that we
don’t act in an open, free, and equal manner, that, in those cases,
that’s us not living up to what it means to be American.

Lis blogs about
the Declaration of Independence, the Pledjalleejuns, and William Dawes’
1775 ride up Mass Ave, among other things Independence Dayish.

Elayne Riggs points (through Desi) to a great cartoon on the "Too Stupid to be President" site.  Elayne says,

Happy Independence Day! Remember, loving your
country and its ideals is not the same as supporting its current
leaders, particularly if those leaders are doing things you consider
anti-American and anti-freedom.

Norm Jenson links to the Veterans for Peace "Declaration of Impeachment."