Department of Redundancy Department

Jay Aykroyd of Eschaton has already linked to this, but Tom's a friend of mine, so I'm linking to it too. Lots of intelligence in the comments thread, as well. One of my favorites:

@Martin:

But they were Founders! They were without flaw, like Jesus.

It’s funny how a common theme of the history of the period is how Washington had to channel an administration and cabinet of geniuses (including Adams, Hamilton and Jefferson) who all held very divergent views of how the country should be run. But somehow, people like the Tea Party People or Antonin Mad Dog Scalia all like to push some phoney idea of near universal Original Intent held by the Perfect Founders.

The challenge of this birthday

You might say that July Fourth is the day that America was conceived and that its birth awaited the ratification of the Constitution after a long gestation. But that's not how we celebrate it, so:

Happy Birthday, America!

As every generation has, we face Ben Franklin's famous challenge:

A Republic, if you can keep it.

Lately, we haven't been doing so well on that score. Though the Judiciary remains occasionally independent, the Congress even in Democratic hands has failed utterly to perform its duties as first framed among equal branches.

On this Independence Day, we should remember the words of Thomas Jefferson about who holds the true just power:

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.

Duhbya has altered the old Constitutional order beyond recognition. Congress has disgracefully failed to stand in his way. We the people have for the most part acquiesced.

If it is to be done at all, the people must alter our form of government back or institute a new form.

Pseudonyms

I have to say, I have decreasing respect for those who only populate the comments sections of blogs and never put themselves out there by writing something in a form that more than three people read. Take a stand. Show some guts. Stop hiding behind anonymous screen names. Show us who you are. And stop pretending to be know-it-alls.

Waaah! If you can't beat our arguments, an ad hominem will have to do, well-spiced with aggrieved elitism at our poaching on your pundit's unearned preserve.

Screen names? C'mon, graduate from AOL.

We're pretending to be know-it-alls? Sheesh.

Now for substance in response to your lack of it: I suppose you have decreasing respect for Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Paine, etc. They didn't sign their given names either. Probably wanted to avoid the useless ad hominems of defensive frauds like you.

(Originally posted here.)