All in the Family featured the curmudgeonly Archie Bunker. Archie was television’s most famous grouch, blunt, blustering, straightforward and untouched by the PC crowd. He was the archetype of the conservative male. Michael desprately tried to reeducate him, but he persisted in his breviloquence.



Looking back at the last 40 years, we realize: ARCHIE WAS RIGHT!

7/31/2006

Owes Me a Beer

In college I worked with a fella named Len. Len (his real name btw) was big on trying to get laid and chased ANYTHING in a skirt. I hesitated when he told me how he fixed us up with these two girls he met, but I said yes, since he agreed to drive and pay our way into the comedy club that he said we were going to. I figured I’d get snockered, have a few laughs and watch him try to do a Captain Kirk.

We drove to Hamtramck to pick up the girls, and they’re a no show, but her mom tells Len of this bar they were going out to, they wanted to see the band.

We’re off to Roseville. I guess they were so hot for Len’s bod that they needed to drive across town to get a beer to cool down. Did I mention that it’s now about 6:00 on a Friday? Van Dyke to Seven Mile to Groesbeck, rush hour traffic northbound on a Friday, if you haven’t been a passenger in a car driven by a hormonally desperate boy hot on the trail of some polish chick, don’t, the life you save may be your own.

We make it to the bar, alive. I pay my two bucks. There is one table left, next to the stage half hidden behind the stage and a stack of speakers. The waitress comes buy and takes our order. This guy wearing a beard and shoulder length scraggly hair comes over and asks if he can join our table. I really don’t want him to but there isn’t another seat.

About then the manager gets on stage and announces the band isn't comming and folks start to head out the door to get their money back. Len is still convinced that the girls will show, wants to wait. My beer shows up and the waitress asks the scruffy man if he wants anything, he orders a Strohs. The waitress is a little slow getting back to our table, Len gets up to scout for our dates and I end up talking to Scruffy the Bum.

The waitress brings Scruffy his beer, he pats himself down looking for his nonexistent wallet, that he “forgot”. No dates, no comedy club, no band and now I’m buying beers for bums. This sucks. The place is mostly empty now but Scruffy is still hanging out talking about lots of crap. I’m not really paying attention. After about round four the manger comes by. Scruffy the Bum asks him if he’d mind if he played a few songs. The manager gets a big smile on his face and tells him ok.

Scruffy the bum finds a guitar, tunes it up, sets up on a bar stool, fools with the mike and then…

“On a long lonesome highway east of Omaha…”

After that tune he did another and another and it turned into a two and half hour set. About half way in he stopped and said, “I get a lot of flack for this song cause some think I sold out doing it.” Then he told us about how he was setting in bar in Detroit and some UAW guys were talking about how the industry was going down and they asked him to do something to help it out because they just got laid off from Chevrolet. Then he sang “Like a Rock”.

We never did catch up to those girls but, once I saw Bob Seger play acoustic for two bucks while setting 10 feet from the stage, and now you know how Chevy got their longest lasting theme song.

7/28/2006

Coming for a Better Life?

I think Taylor is the only person here who knows this about me. In college I met a girl, we started a friendship and it might have been going someplace more. I decided to learn about her culture and even took some lessons to learn her native language. The reason for this little glimpse into the nearly romantic relationships of my past will be clear in a minute.

I have had the privilege to travel around to many countries. One small talent I have is the ability to guess with a great deal of accuracy the language someone is speaking, even if I can’t always follow 100% of what’s being said. For instance, spoken German sounds very different in Munich, than in Geneva. Both are speaking German but the Swiss have an entirely different language going. I can tell them apart even though my vocabulary is limited.

As you know I live in BFE Wyoming. Today I made a trip to the gas station to get a coke and a bag of chips. There were four other guys in the station. All four had dark hair and olive skin. The first two were Mexicans who were speaking Spanish.

The Mexicans got in line ahead of me, paid and left. I was next and paid for my chips and started to leave. That’s when I heard the other two olive skinned men dressed like day workers talking. They were having a disagreement about whether the hot dogs were (Taylor correct me here if I’m messing this part up) “houb hasty”.

For those of you who don’t know or can’t make out my phonetic spelling “houb hasty” is Farsi for religiously good. In the context of the conversation we’d probably say kosher. They were trying to figure out if the dogs had pork in them.

I went out to my truck and got in and started backing out to leave. The two Iranians got into the SUV with the Mexicans. We've got a lot more than wet backs coming through that southern boarder.

7/26/2006

Ephesians 5

Eph 5:22-25

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;
NASB

I have had this verse explained to me thus:

Women are to submit/respect their husbands if he is a good Christian man who is loving her like Christ loved the Church.

Do you agree?

I don’t, although I was taught to see this verse this way since I was a small child. We tend to see the right to be loved as unconditional. The man is to love his wife unconditionally, as Christ loved the Church.

In our culture we often say that respect is earned. Is that what is being taught here? It’s not uncommon for a wife to say she’ll submit/respect her husband when he does X. This is just a way of her putting a condition on her respect/submission. What if her husband put similar conditions on his love for her?

I believe that this passage applies unconditionally to both men and women. The Christian woman is to be in unconditional submission to her husband and the Christian man is to unconditionally love and care for his wife. This passage has nothing to say to unbelievers, indeed the Bible has little to say to an unbeliever at all, beyond repent.

You might be thinking that this is all well and good if both the man and women are doing this for each other. So what happens if one spouse believes and the other does not, or one is doing their part and the other is not? The person with the most spiritual maturity will implement God’s requirement on their life first, and trust Him to work out the rest.


OK go ahead and word em up.

WTW – Red Neck Store Keepers

This don’t qualify as white trash, but it sure is redneck. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that Arkansans ain’t tolerant of folks of different heritages. Look here at this special they ran for Passover.

7/25/2006

Beth Fails to Grasp

While wasting time at Vox’s today I ran across this little comment:

“I just love these posts! They go so far in restoring my faith in a completely male led society.”

Not sure if she was serious, I clicked the link to the Homepage of God’s Warrior Princes . Wait, don’t go there yet, you need at least one more cup of coffee and a hit of acid.

The first thread on the page was “Don’t Tell…Be Silent”. Just reading the title you’d think its about the evils of a women not running her mouth 24/7. Unfortunately not, that might have been interesting.

Instead what we have is post about a Bible passage, 1 Peter 3:1-4. For those of you who haven’t seen a Bible since your friend dragged you to Sunday School in 2nd grade, the passage is about how a women can lead her husband to Christ by being a good wife and good example. That’s it, that’s the entire meaning behind what’s said in those verses. Apparently men aren’t prone to being nagged into heaven.

Beth goes on to rant against some book someone wrote about the verse:

“They are going to tell us what God REALLY meant. I must say that this is my favorite sentence: He knows she is not going to discuss him with her pastor or friend. What a gift! He knows that he can abuse her and the children, but he has managed to skillfully silence her so that she cannot even seek help.”

Follow the femilogic here: Being a good example equals being an abused wife. Honey here’s a clue for you, men don’t like every intimate detail of their life shared with your friends, that’s all these folks are saying. When you blab about your husbands faults you are running him down and disrespecting him as a man. Exactly how deeply should a good Christian woman be allowed to wound her mate?

The verse you allude to in your title 1 Cor 14:34, isn’t about keeping silent so you can be abused, its about keeping silent in church, arguably because you’re not making any sense.

7/24/2006

Insufficient Brain Activity

A South American scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with "IBA" or insufficient brain activity read blogs with their hand on the mouse.


Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late…


Was your hand on the mouse? Yes or no in the comments please. We don't need to know what the other hand was doing.

7/21/2006

Words of Wisdom

Fred hits it on the head, and wants it dead.

“I think it is time to close the universities, and perhaps prosecute the professoriat under the RICO act as a corrupt and racketeering-influenced organization, Universities these days have the moral character of electronic churches, and as little educational value. They are an embarrassment to civilization.”

Before anyone pipes in about how only the uneducated think learning is bad, lets get something straight. I’ve spent tens of thousands on my education all of which was at private universities. If I could go back in time and talk to me at 18, I’d advise me not to do it. Not because the schools were bad. I went to half way normal schools that had decent campus life and weren’t blatantly communist. I tell me not to do it because after doing a cost benefit analysis (a skill I learned on my own) it isn’t worth it.

Lets say college cost $10,000 a year at a second tier state school. That’s $40,000 plus incidentals, then figure another $30,000 for grad school maybe more. That’s $70,000 and 6 years of your life, with $5,000 in incidentals a kid has just rang up a $75,000 tab. Now whats he gonna earn for that kind of cash? Well if he was smart and went into engineering or another “hard” field he’ll start out in the low $50,000’s or maybe a little better. If he’s in some other field the pickings aren’t looking so good. Kids pulling low to mid $30,000’s aren’t uncommon.

So, why was it you sent the kid to school? Oh yeah to get a good job. What do other jobs that you don’t need more than a GED require? Coal miner (open pit) $75,000 or better. Compressor mechanic, $100,000 avg. Truck driver $40,000 to $50,000 depending on various factors, equipment operator $65,000.

Get the picture? Unless the kid has a talent for something like, medicine or engineering you're wasting your money. Make JR get a job or join the service, then at 23 or 24 if he wants to go to school let him foot the bill for it. After all he’ll be making as much money as you at that point.

The fact is that if you send your 18 year old into the military they can get a hard to fill MOS like jet engine mechanic, air traffic controller, heavy equipment operator, welder, etc and after 4 to 6 years go to the civilian job market and make more money than you do with a 4 year degree. Not to mention that an honorable discharge means an extra 5 points preference when applying for a federal job.

Good paying jobs aren’t always about education, they’re always about supply and demand. Sure in the 60’s every school in America had a votec program, but that’s gone away now. Everyone wants their kid to go to college to get a good job. If most kids are going to college, who’s working the skilled trade jobs? Supply and demand, less workers means better money. That’s why some plumbers, electricians etc make more an hour than what a doctor bills.

An Excellent Post

NY TIMES, 4 July 1776

Philadelphia: A small group of right-wing extremists continues to foment trouble here in the colonies, this time with the publication of a "Declaration of Independence" seeking to break away from Mother England and institute their own religious dictatorship.

Doh-San has the rest of it at his place. Good read, great post. Had the current media types been around in 1776, they would have been against freedom then too.

Jamie Begins to See What Makes America Great

“Oh no a gun thread....”

“Oh no another gun thread....”

“Aaarrgghhhh!!!!!”

Gun thread!!!

7/20/2006

If Only We Could...

July 3, 2006
The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510


Dear Senator Sarbanes,

As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Immigration and Naturalization Service in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you. My reasons for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted.


If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, what I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.


Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you for your assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent,
Samuel F. Chatman

7/18/2006

More Data on the 300 WSM

Instead of billing hours this morning I spent 3 hours fooling with the gun.

What I did:

1. Rebore sighted the Simmons scope supplied by Savage.
2. Torked the barrel into the action, it moved ¼ inch
3. Discovered that you MUST NOT EVER expect a Simmons scope to hold the same point of aim at 3x as 6x or 9x. Limited all sight in shots to the 9x power setting.
4. Followed to the letter the break in shooting/cleaning procedure as recommended by Savage, except I did it twice before every 5 shot string. Once with Hoppes #9 and then with Sweets 7.62.
5. Dry fired a min of 3 shoots per before each live round to assure my technique and hold were correct.

Pic #1 is the 25 yard sight in, no adjustment were made at this point. I think we can agree that this is what you’d expect from a bore sighted riffle.

The group spread is 1 5/8 inches (far side of the hole to far side of the hole) including the low flyer.


Pic # 2 is the actual 100 yard performance.



Shot # 1: 24 in high 10 in wide
Shot # 2: 19 in high 12 in wide
Shot # 3: 17.5 in high

I walked the shots in to center of target and stopped adjusting for windage after shot #4.

I pulled the gun on shots #5 and #6.

I was happy with # 7. At 5 in high and center it would be almost zero at 200 yards (apx 1.5 in high). # 8 was 2 in lower than #7. I ended up with a group measuring 5 ¼ tall by 3 3/8 wide at 100 yards.

Had this been a 300 yard target, I’d still be unhappy, but I feel I’d have little to gripe about since its an out of the box gun. However, this is a 100 yard group. Yes, 5in by 3in is a dead elk at 100 yards but it’s a wounded or missed elk at 300 or longer ranges.

Savage customer service closed ½ hour ago, first thing tomorrow I’m gonna get on the phone with them and see what they have to say. I’m also gonna drop by the gun store I bought the gun from and check in with them.

Input?

7/17/2006

WSAS, What Should Astro Shoot….

Waterboy and I are planning another whitewater rafting trip to Colorado for sometime in late August or early September. It’s a one last bone crushing class V, paddle or die trip before Ipsa Jr makes his/her presence known and I am officially a dad. If you’d like to join us please let me know.

When I’m down that direction I’ll have a little time on my hands and my buddy Astro has indicated he’s willing to squeeze off a few rounds of ammo. Provided he and I can workout the details of getting together, what should I bring for him to try?

I’m not going to post the contents of my gun collection here for ya’ll to ponder but lets just say its got a few interesting pieces in it and sufficient quantity to use up a afternoon’s time at the range. I don’t have any class III stuff or an AR-15 so those are out. What would you recommend he try?

UPDATE: BLEG

I'd like a few great (accurate to MOA at 500 yards) reloading recipes for the 30-06 with bullet weights of 130 grains to 175 grains. I’ve got a new project that I need to finish up before October 1. Thanks.

A Little Flag Waving

By
Dinesh D’Souza, Legal Immigrant to America

"The immigrant cannot help noticing that America is a country where the poor live comparatively well. This fact was dramatized in the 1980s, when CBS television broadcast an anti-Reagan documentary, “People Like Us,” which was intended to show the miseries of the poor during an American recession. The Soviet Union also broadcast the documentary, with the intention of embarrassing the Reagan administration. But it had the opposite effect. Ordinary people across the Soviet Union saw that the poorest Americans had television sets and cars. They arrived at the same conclusion that I witnessed in a friend of mine from Bombay who has been trying unsuccessfully to move to the United States for nearly a decade. I asked him, “Why are you so eager to come to America?” He replied, “Because I really want to live in a country where the poor people are fat.”

In America, by contrast, you get to write the script of your own life. When your parents say to you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” the question is open ended, it is you who supply the answer. Your parents can advise you: “Have you considered law school?” “Why not become the first doctor in the family?” It is considered very improper, however, for them to try to force your decision. Indeed, American parents typically send their teenage children away to college where they live on their own and learn independence. This is part of the process of forming your mind, choosing a field of interest for yourself, and developing your identity."

The Savage Saga Continues

"What kind of groups are you getting?"

Pic # 1 is of my 25 yard sight in. I fired a total of 6 shots to check my bore sighting of the scope. Shot #1 was low and left. I worked my scope adjustments till I arrived at shot #6, which was where I wanted it.



Pic # 2 is of my 100 yard hits, all 4 of them.

I took 30 rounds to the range. Only 10 hit paper, six of those were at 25 yards. All shots were fired from a rest. All ammo was Winchester factory loaded premium 180 grain fail safes. However, this is typical performance with other loads too.

Group size of the 4 random shots that hit paper is 22 in at 100 yards. Considering that most of the shots didn’t hit paper or the back stop actual performance is more like 8ft at 100 yards.



I won’t list all the stuff I’ve done or checked but If anyone has an idea of how to correct this I’d appreciate the suggestions.

7/16/2006

Multifarious Monday

Random Thoughts

I’m a great cook; a so-so baker and believe it or not, until this last week, a virgin canner. I grew up watching dad help mom with the canning and my grandfathers both canned, I just never learned how. When we got married Mrs. Ipsa was into learning how to can (her family does it) so she naturally took over. This year the Mrs. needs a little extra help and I learned about cold packing and canning apricots. The last batch is finishing up now. So far I’ve only had one jar not seal. As they say so far so good.

We had our first baby class last week. We are very, very pleased with the outcome. We’re not the oldest geezers having a kid! Two couples were older than us. I guess the end of December is a good time to get laid, there were 30 women in class, all due in September. It was good to see that most of the gals had a guy who cared enough to show up to class. Over half were wearing a wedding ring. One gal had her mom with her, she had a ring on, I heard her say her husband was in Iraq. He’s going into a six month period where he’ll be in a very dangerous duty rotation, she’s scared for him and that her son might not ever see his dad.

Since Thursday night baby class is taking the place of Thursday night pistol shooting for 2 more weeks, I snuck off to the range for a little one on one time with the riffle. I’m still trying to get the savage I bought last year to shoot properly. It’s getting one more trip out before I read Savage the riot act. Does anyone out there know if I can convert a 300wsm action into a 308win with minimal work? I don’t think I could pawn this gun off on some unsuspecting pilgrim, so I may have to rebuild it into a decent gun if Savage won’t work with me on it.

7/12/2006

WTW - Belated Edition, Jesus and the Redneck

An Irishman in a wheelchair entered a restaurant one
afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee.

The Irishman looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is
that Jesus sitting over there?"

The waitress nodded yes, so the Irishman told her to give
Jesus a cup of coffee on him.

The next patron to come in was an Englishman with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Englishman said to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a redneck
on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down, and hollered, "Hey there, sweet thang! How's about gettin' me a cold glass of Coke?"

He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that
God's boy over there?" The waitress once more nodded, so the redneck said to give Jesus a cold glass of Coke, "And put it on my bill."

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Irishman, touched him, and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Irishman felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus also passed by the Englishman, touched him, and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Englishman felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, praised the Lord, and did a series of backflips out the door.

Then Jesus walked towards the redneck. The redneck jumped up and yelled, "Don't touch me! I'm drawin' disability!"

Where Have you Been?

It’s been a big weekend here. Last Thursday my folks showed up for a visit and our annual fruit picking trip. I spent all day and most of the night Thursday getting work finished so I’d be free to join them for the weekend.

We managed to get 189 lbs of sweet cherries, 50lbs of pie cherries and 125lbs of apricots. We got back home Sunday afternoon and started putting up cherries. As of late last night we had everything canned or frozen except the apricots, and I’ll be getting to those tonight after work.

My dad and I spent Monday and Tuesday scrapping and painting my shed. He volunteered for it but I don’t think he realized how big a job it was going to be. The weather hitting 95 and 100 didn’t help but we got it prepped, primed and two coats of paint on it by 7:00 last night. We also finished picking the last of the peas and got them put up to. The folks got on the road this morning by 9 and should be back home sometime tomorrow.

Not a bad visit, I expect we'll see em again come October when they have a grandbaby to check up on.

7/06/2006

From Iraq

I got this in a email that reprints stories about Marines. If you're having a bad day, suck it up, these boys are.

Here are some real motivators for you

If I ever hear airmen griping and complaining, I jump into them pretty quickly, now. Most people over here have nothing to gripe about compared to Marines. Marines are different. They have a different outlook on Life.

One Marine Private was here for several days because he was a lower priority evacuation patient. He insisted on coming to attention and displaying proper military courtesy every morning when I came through on rounds. He was in a great deal of pain, and it was a stressful to watch him work his way off the bed and onto his crutches. I told him he was excused and did not have to come to attention while he was a patient, and he informed me that he was a good Marine and would address "Air Force Colonels standing on my feet, Sir."

I had to turn away so he would not see the tear in my eye. He did not have "feet" because we amputated his right leg below the knee on the first night he came in.

I asked a Marine Lance Corporal if there was anything I could get him as I was making rounds one morning. He was an above the knee amputation after an IED blast, and he surprised me when he asked for a trigonometry book. "You enjoy math do you?" He replied, "Not particularly, Sir. I was never good at it, but I need to get good at it, now."

"Are you planning on going back to school?" I asked.

"No sir, I am planning on shooting artillery. I will slow an infantry platoon down with just one good leg, but I am going to get good at math and learn how to shoot artillery". I hope he does.

I had the sad duty of standing over a young Marine Sgt. When he recovered from anesthesia - despite our best efforts there was just no way to save his left arm, and it had to come off just below the elbow.

"Can I have my arm back, sir?" he asked.
"No, we had to cut it off, we cannot re-attach it." I said. "But can I have my arm?" he asked again.
"You see, we had to cut it off."
He interrupted, "I know you had to cut it off, but I want it back. It must be in a bag or something, Sir."
"Why do you want it?" I asked.
"I am going to have it stuffed and use it as a club when I get back to my unit."
I must have looked shocked because he tried to comfort me," Don't you worry now, Colonel. You did a fine job, and I hardly hurt at all; besides I scratch and shoot with my other hand anyway."

God Bless the Marines
Col. Brett Wyrick USAF
Heroes, every one of them!

Because… Sometimes the Shoe Fits


Yes we all know em. Women, that no matter what, will find a man any man, who is responsible for whatever is wrong with her life.

If (when) you hear a woman complain that the reason she can’t have her way is because she “has her reproductive organs on the inside”, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction, she's insane.

7/05/2006

WTW – Grandpa and the Good Old Days

Grandpa was always going on about the good old days, and the lower cost of living, in particular. "When I was a kid, my mom could send me to the store, and I'd get a salami, two pints of milk, 6 oranges, 2 loaves o' bread, a magazine, and some new blue jeans... all for a dollar!!"

Then Grandpa said sadly, "You can't DO that anymore..... they got those video cameras everywhere you look."


Feel free to share your own hillbilly, redneck or old timer joke.

7/03/2006

Obscure Word of the Day

I heard a word on the radio yesterday that I hadn’t heard used since Arty Parlen blasted us with it in Jr. High. I only remember it because me and a friend took the time to go to the library to look it up in the really big dictionary.

Do you know what “demivierge” means?

Rules: You cannot use the internet to look it up, this is cheating, you can state if you know it or not but please don’t give the definition, hold off till Wed or Thur and give everyone a chance to chime in.

Spacebunny, I’d be interested to know if the great Mohawked wordsmith in your life knew the definition off the top of his head. More importantly I’d like to see him work it into an article in the next week or so; maybe as a reference to the Republicans and socialism or Me-So-Michelle. It’d be a hoot. See if you can influence him would ya?

The Course of Human Events

The first successful English colony was established in 1607. The Virginia Company of London financed the purchase of ships, and transported settlers to the Jamestown settlement. King James issued the Virginia Company a charter for the colony. The charter spelled out the legal basis for the existence of the enterprise and how matters were to be administered in Jamestown.

The process of granting a Royal Charter was the first step in establishing a colony and several of these were granted from 1607 onward by the various Kings of England. Most Royal Charters spelled out the terms of governance of the newly acquired territory. In every case the king was recognized as sovereign, English common law was the legal system and the local governors were authorized to manage the internal affairs and day to day matters as this section from the Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania 1681 demonstrates.

"AND Wee doe further, for us, our heires and Successors, Give and grant unto the said William, Penn, his heires and assignee, free and absolute power, to Divide the said Countrey and Islands into Townes, Hundreds and Counties, and to erect and incorporate Townes into Borroughs, and Borroughs into Citties, and to make and constitute faires and Marketts therein, with all other convenient priviledges and immunities, according to the merits of the inhabitants, and the Tithes of the places, and to doe all and every other thing and things touching the premisses, which to him OI them shall seeme meet and requisite, albeit they be such as of their owne nature might otherwise require a more especiall comandment and Warrant then in these presents is expressed."

"AND FARTHER our pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heires and Successors, Wee doe covenant and grant to and with the said William Penn, and his heires and assignee, That Wee, our heires and Successors, shall at no time hereafter sett or make, or cause to be sets, any impossition, custome or other taxation, rate or contribution whatsoever, in and upon the dwellers and inhabitants of the aforesaid Province, for their Lands, tenements, goods or chattells within the said Province, or in and upon any goods or merchandise within the said Province, or to be laden or unladen within the ports or harbours of the said Province, unless the same be with the consent of the Proprietary, or chiefe governor, or assembly, or by act of Parliament in England."

Each colony charter had unique sections however they follow this general format:

  1. The King of England is sovereign
  2. The local authority may establish laws provided: Are consistent with English common law, No conflict with legislated laws of the Kingdom
  3. Locals may establish courts to enforce the laws.
  4. The grantee/colony may determine its own taxation/funding
  5. The duties paid by the colony to the king will be at the same rate as those paid by the rest of the empire.

Now with that in mind reread the Declaration of Independence again.

The Declaration is a listing of the many ways that the king of England, in conjunction with the parliament of England was breaking its legal contract with the colonies. These points can be further grouped as:

Military/police abuses
Arbitrary legal system/judges
Administrative/bureaucratic abuses
Unreasonable taxation
Subjection of the people to an illegitimate governing body
Trade restrictions to benefit special interests
Plundering private property
Immigration/invasion issues

Fast forward from 1776 to 2006, not much has changed. We have: a abusive administration/bureaucratic system, judges that corrupt the law, centrally planned trade, illegal subversion of government to the UN, crimes against private property, excessive taxation etc.

The Revolutionary War had a legitimate legal basis for being waged and for dissolving the ties of governance form a tyrannical ruler. Yet 230 years latter we are laboring under a government that is more repressive in practice, and doing the same things as the one our forefathers rebelled against.