Liberty, Freedom, Reflection: Happy Birthday to the United States of America!!

Think about how much this country means to YOU...

"When 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..."
     This is a wonderful country; do not misinterpret such a comment as a declaration of perfection or superiority. As a nation, as a people we have largely taken our history and our freedoms for granted. I would encourage you to actually read our founding documents and at the same time consider how they affect you and your future.
     Below I have provided links that explain our Bill of Rights, which consists of the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

"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..."

     The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, right to assembly, protects the citizen from the government, freedom of religion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Cm5ocVXkU

     The Second Amendment protects the Right to Bear Arms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88RLTqUQ1Tk

     The Third Amendment protects from being forced to quarter soldiers without consent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWg4sM9NxQ

     The Fourth Amendment protects against illegal search and seizure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTHmjvteAlY

     The Fifth Amendment protects due process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rc2A6NmWag

     The Sixth Amendment protects the right to an attorney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJJD19ldwZw

     The Seventh Amendment protects the right to trial by jury.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DTNtLXL-xs

     The Eighth Amendment protects against excessive bail and against cruel and unusual punishment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EghKqUdBsyc

     The Ninth Amendment notes that rights not mentioned in the Constitution are still retained by the people. Just because a right is not in the Constitution that does not mean you DON'T have that particular right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57L4ZNKOBZs

     The Tenth Amendment notes that laws not specifically allocated to the Federal Government are to remain in the states' hands.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JmKAgC6rYo


https://sites.google.com/site/esterlighthorse/
https://sites.google.com/site/esterlighthorse/theopoly
https://sites.google.com/site/esterlighthorse/customization
http://toleratingaggressivereligioushumor.blogspot.com/
http://realbookofrevelation.blogspot.com/
http://cantstandreligion.blogspot.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/biblical_myth_periodic_table_of_elements_posters-228084324809883766

The United States: Founded on Faith, God, Christianity, and the Bible?

Popping the Long-Standing Bubble of Misunderstanding

     We will first start with a couple of videos that show a bit of what some people claim to be the truth in regards to the founding of the United States of America. Pay close attention to the presented statements and who supposedly made them. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and even Patrick Henry are a few of the fellows listed as having endorsed the idea that the USA was founded on Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzFfoAGE2Q

     Pastor John Hagee renders a heart-felt rant that the USA was created by Christians for Christians. That's right, Hagee, you are all for limiting any religion so long as it isn't yours. Total turd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv__QFqLJd4

     Oh, look what we have here. A cross between a Christian fundamentalist and Ike Eisenhower...with just a touch of General Patton. Stop eating the Twinkies, buddy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ1kM_FzPW8

     Now, dear friend, let us rebut the first three videos. Notice that the statements offered are statements made by the very same folks that some claim to have made assertions that this nation was founded on the Bible and Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsfgBvOLjAY

     This country's Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were NOT founded on Christianity or the Bible or on or by Jesus. This guy addresses the issue here in a clear and concise manner. Very well done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apdtVdJhDus

     Don't you just love it when people try to backtrack or reform the available information into something that better suits their needs? The Founding Fathers DID express great concern in relation to ethics and moral standing when contributing to the foundations of this country, yes. However, they did not view mixing religion and politics as a good idea on any level. And yes, Jefferson DID pen the 'Jeffersonian Bible' with the intent and purpose of removing the bullshit (like the virgin birth of Christ...which Jefferson thought absurdly ludicrous and useless) and leaving the information that provided something of relative value. I love it when Christians try to debunk valid, provable history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN36-Ieb-aU

     Here is a bit on the Jeffersonian Bible that some of the uber-religious, must-prove-America-was-founded-on-the-Bible folks of the nation should really watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu3QvUIeKkY

     And here is another link for the viewing pleasure of those refusing to let go of the thought this nation was founded on the Bible and Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgZ5GH5Mb5M&list=PLF0BE7828C7CB71E1&index=5

     Christians are loathe to ANY information that would result in any kind of loosening of their grip on the absurdly INCORRECT idea that this nation was founded on the Bible and Christianity. They simply cannot let this idea go, can they? Of course not. Doing so would be an admission if huge lies and purposeful misinterpretation of founding documents. So, what is done is careful formulation of MORE lies that are intended to validate the utter stupidity that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, by Christians, and for Christians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9HrMWzUrfM

     Our founding fathers knew better than to mix religion and politics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BWA4aNQFHM

     Politics requires reason, not religion. Once you mix religion and politics you fuck things up royally. That isn't to say that religious folk cannot think; many intelligent people are religious. The politics of any nation and the rules and laws and regulations of any nation should be founded upon reason and not under any circumstance founded on what some invisible guy in the sky or His employees say to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EufgsuRrzII

     Ask a person who believes that this nation was founded on Christianity WHEN the Pledge of Allegiance and the nations money added the phrase 'Under God' and you will find many of them truly think they were initially written with such. Nope. Didn't come about until the 1950s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WEbhk36Ato

https://sites.google.com/site/esterlighthorse/

http://toleratingaggressivereligioushumor.blogspot.com/

http://realbookofrevelation.blogspot.com/

http://cantstandreligion.blogspot.com/

http://justlivingbyfaith.blogspot.com/

http://noahsarkrevealed.blogspot.com/

Maintaining Our Country's Foundation

Now, we do have in our Bill of Rights the right to a trial. When I heard and even read articles that vehemently asserted that the accused man really does not even need to go on trial because of all the evidence against him (video, witnesses, etc.) and therefore he should be sentenced straight away, my stomach lurched with horror.

     Yes, what was done was terrible indeed. However, he still has to go to trial and be found guilty. I mean, and I hope I am saying this correctly, because the deed he is accused of is considered an act of terror against the US and the people of this nation does that mean he can be denied the right to trial? I am not saying that is what is happening. I just want to know if there is anything in our Constitution or Bill of Rights that states acts considered to be treason and a threat to national security automatically negate rights? I do not think so.

     Much of the conversation/articles that supported some type of revocation of the rights of this man carried an air of, "Well, he hates the US and its citizens and our government. Considering such, why should the rights afforded by the Bill of Rights of this nation that he hates so much extend to him?"

     Then there was the issue of the man not being properly read his Miranda Rights. Why in the world did they allow him to continue? Was it because they were afraid he would not say anything at all if they did? Wouldn't that be his right to remain silent? Was an attorney present for the man, and if so why didn't the attorney stop the man and insist Miranda Rights be read? Shocking to me also was an article in which  Representative Peter King, R-NY, is noted as saying he "totally disagreed" with the decision of the magistrate to read the accused his rights at a hearing.

     By asking these questions I absolutely do not intend any disrespect for the victims and their families or Boston. I love this country and our citizens, yes. Granted I say this without being a victim and without having any of my family and friends fall victim, but if people allow their anger and hatred for this man and his violent cause to create some kind of validation for breaching rights that are at the very core of this nation's foundation, well, if that happens a very dark, very ugly precedent may be set.

     Our justice system may not be perfect in application, but one of the reasons we have the laws and Constitution and Bill of Rights of this country is to strive for fairness and equality in the eyes of the law. There is, I think, an implied understanding and assertion by the drafters of our founding documents that what makes a nation strong, THIS nation strong, persevering, and lasting is a persistence to be just, and that the drive for justness/justice does not include the allowance of strong emotions of revenge/vengeance to dictate where and when and why rights may or may not be extended to the accused. 

     I understand the fear and the anger, the resentment and the sheer loathing for the accused. Like many people of this nation I still vividly recall 9/11 and the fear, sorrow, hurt, and even rage that I felt. But the last thing people of this nation should do is establish any kind of habit, political or otherwise, that undermines the purpose of our foundation and what sets this nation apart as an example for the rest.

     It is important that Americans remember the manner of approach taken in the prosecution of some of the Nazi leaders for war crimes at the trials at Nuremberg. Many government leaders including Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and to a lesser degree FDR at first supported summary executions.

     However, while the world waded through the aftermath of WWII, trying to comprehend the scope of the inhumane, atrocious, and evil actions that brought about the deaths of tens of millions of people, US Secretary of War, Henry Stimson argued for the war trials to be commenced with the basic rights of due process as so noted in the US Bill of Rights.

     Stimson argued that such an approach would help to uphold the "democratic notion of justice" and that the purpose of the trial was for "prevention and not for vengeance." Because of this approach the Nuremberg Trials will be remembered in part for being consistent with due process.

     It would serve this nation and it's leaders and it's people well to remember and consider this.