Yeah, sure, this song may technically be about about the fight for Irish freedom, fighting against an oppressive British regime, but the sentiment is valid in every nation being oppressed by its government, including our own.
For if anyone believes that the citizens of the United States are truly free anymore, they are seriously deluded. Thankfully, we only have another 6 1/2 months under our current oppressors, who will then retire off to Texas and Wyoming with taxpayer protection for the remainder of their lives.
One can only hope that our next President will help restore that which the current has taken away.
FLOGGING MOLLY - WHAT’S LEFT OF THE FLAG
His eyes they closed
And his last breath spoke
He had seen all to be seen
A life once full
Now an empty vase
Wilt the blossoms
On his early grave
Walk away, me boy
Walk away, me boy
And by morning we’ll be free
Wipe that golden tear
From your mother dear
And raise what’s left of the flag for me
Then the rosary beads
Count them: one, two, three
Fell apart as they hit the floor
In a garb of black
We must pay respect
To the color we’re born to mourn
Walk away, me boys
Walk away, me boys
And by morning we’ll be free
Wipe that golden tear
From your mother dear
And raise what’s left of the flag for me
In his place there grew
An angry festered wound
Filled with hatred and remorse
Where I pick and scratch
‘Til the blood amassed
To silent rage now that fills my lungs
For there are many ways
To kill a man they say
With bayonet, axe or sword
But son a bullet fired
From a shapeless guise
Just leaves the shell of a Thompson gun
Walk away, me boys
Walk away, me boys
And by morning we’ll be free
Wipe that golden tear
From your mother dear
And raise what’s left of the flag for me
From the east out to the western shore
Where many men and many more will fall
But no angel flies with me tonight
Though freedom reigns on all
And curse the name for which
We slaved our days
So every men chose Kingdom Come
But sure as night turns day
It’s the passion play
Oh my God
What have they done
With madmans rage
Well they dug our graves
But the dead rise again you fools
Walk away, me boys
Walk away, me boys
And by morning we’ll be free
Wipe that golden tear
From your mother dear
Raise what’s left of the flag for me
Walk away, me boys
Walk away, me boys
And by morning we’ll be free
Wipe that golden tear
From your mother dear
And raise what’s left of the flag for me
My mother sent me more mom-spam yesterday, this one being a purported re-write of the Preamble of the Constitution, accompanied by a series of articles. Some of the articles are basic pleas to common sense. But one in particular really got my goat.
ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country’s history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!! GET OVER IT!!!
The problem is that this nation was NOT founded on the belief in one true God. Far from it; when asked about it, Alexander Hamilton once flippantly responded that the United States was not in need of “foreign aid.”
Please show me, in the original Constitution, where it makes mention of God. Please!
Unfortunately, you can’t, because the word does not appear once in the entire document.
The word God did not appear on US money until the Civil War, and did not appear in the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954, as a reaction to the McCarthy-driven hysteria.
Oh, sure, there are two brief mentions in the Declaration of Independence (cf. the phrases, “Laws of Nature, and Nature’s God” and “endowed by their Creator”), but the Declaration of Independence is not the document on which our nation is based … the Constitution, which was drafted 11 years later, holds that estimable position.
Heck … most people think that George Washington was the first President, too … but he wasn’t.
There were several Presidents of the United States prior to George Washington. Under the Articles of Confederation (drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781), the following men served as President of the United States in Congress Assembled:
Samuel Huntington (March 1, 1781 – July 9, 1781)
Thomas McKean (July 10, 1781 – November 4, 1781)
John Hanson (November 5, 1781 – November 3, 1782) — the first to serve a full one-year term, and the first selected after the surrender of the British Army … but not the first.
Elias Boudinot (November 4, 1782 – November 2, 1783)
Thomas Mifflin (November 3, 1783 – October 31, 1784)
Richard Henry Lee (November 30, 1784 – November 6, 1785)
John Hancock (November 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786)
Nathaniel Gorham (June 6, 1786 – November 5, 1786)
Arthur St. Clair (February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787)
Cyrus Griffin (January 22, 1788 – March 4, 1789)
By the way … the word “God” isn’t mentioned in the Articles of Confederation, either.
And because some people weren’t clear on the concept, the first 10 words of the First Amendment to the Constitution specifically state: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
If God isn’t an establishment of religion, I don’t know what is.
Furthermore, in the Treaty of Tripoli, ratified in 1797 in one of the Senate’s only unanimous votes, Article 11 famously states:
As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
In 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association:
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.
Note that Jefferson did not even capitalize the name of God in his letter. He, along with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine were not Christian, although they were Deists … they believed in one Supreme Being, however, but rejected many elements of the Christian church. James Madison, primary author of the Constitution once wrote on Christianity:
What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution.
For what it’s worth, I do believe in God, or rather that there is a higher power within all of us, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist alike … even in the fuckwit currently inhabiting the White House. I guess that makes me a Deist, like Jefferson, et al.
But God, in whatever form, has NO place in official government.
On the bike, however, is a different story all together … when I’m on the bike, I’m constantly praying … if only to make it to the top of the next rise without my lungs exploding. And I wear my Madonna del Ghisallo … now without a rash, since I finally got a nickel-free chain.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. hailed the state’s vibrant economy and growth, but challenged lawmakers Tuesday to do more to help the Utah’s uninsured and invest in Utah’s schools.
It was Huntsman’s first State of the State speech given in the House of Representatives chamber, which closed in 2004 for a $227 million restoration project.
The governor did not offer many details and did not offer sweeping new policy proposals, but focused on the two items - education and health-care reform - that have topped his agenda for the 2008 legislative session.
Are we sure this man is a Republican? It will be interesting to see what his specific proposals are, and how the Republican-dominated Legislature reacts.
When Huntsman was first running for Governor, against Democrat Scott Matheson, I had to do a considerable amount of thinking to figure out who to vote for. I agreed with more of Matheson’s positions on policy, but there was a fair amount of overlap in Huntsman’s positions as well, and Huntsman is a far more dynamic and charismatic individual, which I think goes a long way towards accomplishing goals.
… ultimately, I did vote Matheson, because Utah needs as many Democratic votes as it can get, but I wasn’t unhappy that Huntsman won; and for the most part, I haven’t been unhappy with his tenure in office.
So now, heading into another gubernatorial election year, I’m looking forward to seeing who runs against Huntsman, and how they really try to distinguish themselves; because if they’re not incredible enough, I just might find myself voting for one Mormon Republican this year.
