Happy 4th of July!

5 Responses to Happy 4th of July!

1. Bruce says:

   July 4, 2013 at 1:41 pm

   Another interesting ‘take’ on the phrase – TAKING LIBERTY –

   ‘Taking Liberty: The Story of Oney Judge, George Washington’s Runaway Slave’ – by Ann Rinaldi, Release Date for Hardcover Edition – 2002

   Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly:

   In this swiftly paced historical novel, Rinaldi (Girl in Blue) chronicles the life of Oney Judge, favorite “servant (they were never called slaves)” to Lady Martha Washington. By Oney’s own admission in the prologue, as Lady Washington’s “pet,” she enjoyed “a life of comparative ease and even luxury.” Oney surreptitiously learns to read (and though this violates the law, Lady Washington keeps her secret), wears fine clothes and accompanies the General’s family to New York and Philadelphia. Rinaldi seamlessly weaves history and strong characters, from the mansion house to the servants’ quarters, to offer a balanced portrait of their complex and contradictory interactions. The author demonstrates why Oney is reluctant to leave her “home” and “family.” A free black woman Oney befriends in Philadelphia forewarns, “That’s the worst way to be, you know, treated like a daughter…. It’s another way of binding you to them.” Rinaldi so persuasively portrays Oney’s loyalty that when she realizes what the family truly thinks of her, readers may well feel as betrayed as Oney herself does. Some readers will be concerned that Rinaldi continues the use of the historically accurate term “Negroes” in her author’s note, but the excerpts included from primary source material, including George Washington’s writings, further illuminate the conflicts of the period. This memorable heroine and novel offer a thought-provoking exploration of the courage needed to grasp freedom. Ages 12-up

   Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

   Wikipedia article concerning ‘Oney Judge’:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oney_Judge
2. Bruce says:

   July 4, 2013 at 2:22 pm

   U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement

   The New York Times
   Ron Nixon
   7/3/2013

   Excerpt:

   WASHINGTON — Leslie James Pickering noticed something odd in his mail last September: a handwritten card, apparently delivered by mistake, with instructions for postal workers to pay special attention to the letters and packages sent to his home.

   “Show all mail to supv” — supervisor — “for copying prior to going out on the street,” read the card. It included Mr. Pickering’s name, address and the type of mail that needed to be monitored. The word “confidential” was highlighted in green.

   “It was a bit of a shock to see it,” said Mr. Pickering, who with his wife owns a small bookstore in Buffalo. More than a decade ago, he was a spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmental group labeled eco-terrorists by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Postal officials subsequently confirmed they were indeed tracking Mr. Pickering’s mail but told him nothing else.

   As the world focuses on the high-tech spying of the National Security Agency, the misplaced card offers a rare glimpse inside the seemingly low-tech but prevalent snooping of the United States Postal Service.

   Mr. Pickering was targeted by a longtime surveillance system called mail covers, a forerunner of a vastly more expansive effort, the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program, in which Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the United States — about 160 billion pieces last year. It is not known how long the government saves the images.

   Together, the two programs show that postal mail is subject to the same kind of scrutiny that the National Security Agency has given to telephone calls and e-mail. – (bold emphasis added in the preceding two paragraphs)
   ……………………………….

   View the complete article at:
3. Bruce says:

   July 4, 2013 at 6:55 pm

   U.S. explodes with 100 anti-NSA protests

   Americans take to streets, Internet to demand feds stop spying on citizens

   WND
   Chelsea Schilling
   7/4/2013

   Excerpt:

   Americans outraged by the federal government’s spying programs took to the streets on Independence Day for “Restore the Fourth” protests in an estimated 100 American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Memphis and Miami, plus international cities such as London and Munich.

   The “Restore the Fourth” national protest was named after the Fourth Amendment, which was intended to protect Americans against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

   The NSA’s PRISM online surveillance program was exposed by Edward Snowden only weeks ago. Americans soon learned that at least nine Internet companies reportedly submitted to government surveillance of their servers: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple.

   “Restore the Fourth,” initially organized on Reddit, describes itself as “a non-partisan, unaffiliated group of concerned citizens who seek to strengthen the Fourth Amendment with respect to digital surveillance by the U.S. government.”

   “The July 4th demonstrations seek to demand an end to the unconstitutional surveillance methods employed by the U.S. government and to ensure that all future government surveillance is constitutional, limited, and clearly defined,” the group explained.

   “Restore the Fourth aims to ensure that the will of the people is reflected in the government of the United States of America. This movement intends to bring an end to twelve years of Fourth Amendment abuses, and demonstrate the need for a return to the Constitution. All Americans should stand with them in this cause to protect the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

   The group is calling for Congress to:

   1) Enact reform this Congress to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the state secrets privilege, and the FISA Amendments Act to make clear that blanket surveillance of the Internet activity and phone records of any person residing in the U.S. is prohibited by law and that violations can be reviewed in adversarial proceedings before a public court;

   2) Create a special committee to investigate, report, and reveal to the public the extent of this domestic spying. This committee should create specific recommendations for legal and regulatory reform to end unconstitutional surveillance;

   3) Hold accountable those public officials who are found to be responsible for this unconstitutional surveillance.

   The Internet Defense League – a coalition of thousands of websites that sound the alarm whenever there is a major threat to the free and open Internet – organized a major online protest to amplify the efforts of the Restore the Fourth protesters.

   Americans are being directed to CallForFreedom.org, a web page where they can share Fourth Amendment themed images, call Congress to demand investigations into NSA programs and donate to help fund television ads about NSA surveillance.

   “The U.S. Government has been systematically spying on people all over the globe, violating their human rights,” Fight for the Future co-founder Tiffiniy Cheng said in a statement. “The NSA programs that have been exposed are blatantly unconstitutional, and have a detrimental effect on free speech and freedom of press worldwide. … You can’t disregard people’s privacy, invade their personal lives on a daily basis, and not expect them to fight back.”
   ………………………………………….

   View the complete article, including photos, at:

   U.S. explodes with 100 anti-NSA protests

   Massachusetts Protest Photo
   Image Credit: Dustin M. Slaughter

   
4. Voice of Reason says:

   July 6, 2013 at 5:15 pm

   Birthers are a cowardly and superstitious lot.
5. Larry bland says:

   July 6, 2013 at 6:38 pm

   @ Voice of Reason:
   Kurt, in addition to being a RACIST you are also an azzhole. Another nonsensical comment from the proven RACIST Kurt Coleman.