BAMBINO: The Yanks have slowly made their way back to respectability. They have a long way to go, but as it stands, they are 8 behind Boston for the Division, and just 4 behind Cleveland for the Wild Card. I'll admit, I had them dead in the water about a month ago, but Joe Torre has righted the ship. I watch every game like it's a playoff game. Good stuff. Now I just don't hope Cashman makes dopey moves. We shall see. Let's go Yankees!
MLB STANDINGS:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp
Monday, July 30, 2007
Balad F-16s destroy terrorist training camp
27 July 07
by Maj. Robert Couse-Baker
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here destroyed an al-Qaida training camp southwest of Baghdad July 21.
In a coordinated attack, joint air terminal controllers on the ground cleared seven F-16s to drop 500-pound and 1,000-pound guided bombs on the terror complex near Karbala.
The precision-guided weapons destroyed the target, degrading al-Qaida's ability to mount attacks on the Iraqi government, coalition forces and innocent civilians. The destruction of the terrorist facility is part of aggressive and comprehensive operations to hunt down, capture or kill terrorists trying to prevent a peaceful and stable Iraq, said Col. Charles Moore, the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group commander. "Our Airmen and other coalition forces are helping Iraq achieve a stable government and ultimately, helping the United States and our allies to defeat terrorism," he said.
A large part of the 332nd AEW's combat effectiveness stems from the Air Force's culture of excellence. "We train day-to-day to make sure when we are called upon to deliver, we do it with precision and professionalism," said Capt. Kevin Hicok, a pilot with the 13th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed here from Misawa Air Base, Japan. "Deliberate coordination and careful planning goes into every weapons drop," Captain Hicok said, "to ensure that we have a positive ID on the target and that everyone is on the same page."
The recent increase in air operations is part of the coalition's increasing pressure on violent extremists, primarily in Baghdad and nearby areas. In a separate air strike north of Baghdad July 22, another F-16 from Balad AB dropped a precision-guided weapon on a terrorist weapons cache in a rural area, destroying it and detonating the explosives stored inside.
"I could not be prouder of the way our Airmen performed on Saturday," Colonel Moore said. "The events of this past weekend once again demonstrate the Air Force's ability to deliver decisive combat airpower any place and at any time."
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Soldier Chefs Keep Units Fueled at Remote Outpost
24 July 07
By Sgt. Natalie Rostek
COMBAT OUTPOST CLEARY, Iraq - It has been said that an Army runs on its stomach, and most Soldiers would agree. Soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion here rely on a five-member team to supply them with the culinary fuel they need to carry out their missions.
A typical day for the Soldier chefs starts at 4 a.m.
"Half of cooking is presentation," said Pfc. Emril Getscher. "We try to make everything we do look good as well as taste good."After breakfast is served and the area is cleaned, the food-service team usually has a few hours before repeating the process for dinner. Their work finally ends around 9 p.m.The team receives rations, supplies and supplements every few days from the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion's Company F. Each meal comes with a menu and instructions. Food sanitation is a large part of a cook's job, and harsh conditions in Iraq - like dust - can make the job even harder, according to Staff Sgt. Russell Slouffman, senior NCO in charge of food service at COP Cleary. The conditions also make transporting and storing food difficult.
"One of the biggest problems is not getting the food and supplies we ask for... it's the conditions," said Staff Sgt. Slouffman. Ice cream, for example, is one of Soldiers' biggest requests when the temperatures reach 120 degrees. "But it would have to be transported on dry ice or in freezers. We just don't have those capabilities," he said.Of the meals they do receive and prepare at the outpost, Staff Sgt. Slouffman and Pfc. Getscher agree that steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs are Soldiers' favorites.
"When we cook hamburgers and hot dogs, everyone feels like they are at home," Pfc. Getscher said. "We have the grill going, and we bring out chili and chips and it kind of brings us all back to the states."Despite the long days and challenges, the food service specialists say they love their work. "And when people say thank you," Pfc. Getscher said, "it makes it all worth it.""We are the No. 1 morale booster out here. When Soldiers get excited to eat something we cooked, I get excited," added Staff Sgt. Slouffman. "It's all about seeing the smiles on their faces when they come to chow."
Photo - Pfc. Emril Getscher, a cook for the 15th Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion, serves mashed potatoes to Spc. Brendan Murphy, a medic at Combat Outpost Cleary, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Natalie Rostek.
Marines take to skies to hunt insurgents
25 July 07By Lance Cpl. Joseph D. Day
2nd Marine Division (FWD)
Ramadi, Iraq -- The scout-sniper platoon from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, left the ground behind as they took to the skies to hunt for weapon caches and insurgents. As part of the aeroscout mission, the Marines travel by helicopter to areas not normally checked because of their remote locations.
“The average size group for this type of mission is usually two platoons. We’re doing it with about half,” said 1st Lt. Jordan D. Reese, the executive officer for Weapons Company, 3/7. “We train constantly, so that we are comfortable with each other. The Marines know what type of air power they have behind them. We believe there is no objective we can’t handle.”Marines from the scout-sniper platoon conducted aeroscout operations south of Ramadi, in the desolate lands of the Razazah plains July 22.
The Marines loaded onto the helicopters at 9 a.m. They carried with them a full combat load, and packs of food, blankets and water to pass out to the people they encounter on the mission.“The food drops are our way to show that we are on their side,” the Rockford Ill. native said. “In the city this might not be a big deal, but this food could mean life or death to these people. There is nothing out there in the far desert. Maybe it will keep them happy enough to have them stay working with us, and not the terrorists.”
During the flight, Reese observed different sites looking for anything suspicious. After flying around for about 15 minutes, he spotted a tent with vehicles around it and people walking around. He decided to insert the team to take a closer look.The two CH-53 Sea Stallions landed and the two scout-sniper teams moved fast out the door of the helicopter and began to provide security for the landing zone.“With a unit this small conducting the operation, it is real easy to maneuver,” Reese said. “We can get in, hit the objective, and get out in about 20 minutes.”Once the helicopters lifted the scouts went to work, moving fast, but cautiously toward the tent.
Between the two teams, one team held security while the other team searched the people and the structure.After a quick, but thorough search the Marines decided there weren’t any suspicious items or information, so they called in the helicopters for extraction.“These missions give us a presence in an area which hasn’t had any coalition forces in it for years or even ever,” Reese said. “This will keep the bad guys on their toes and that is really what we’re going for.
Keep them guessing so we can catch up to them and get them.”Though the Marines had finished with the objective, they were not done. While observing a different area, Reese noticed some additional suspicious activities. They went back to work.“The Marines showed the ethos of being a professional warrior today,” said Capt. Miguel A. Pena, a forward air controller for the battalion. “They showed the people we’re here to provide help to them.”As the Marines sprinted toward their second objective, men came out with their hands up as the Marines approached their vehicles.“We are able to reach far into the desert winds and help some people who we had no contact with before,” Pena said. “We are conducting these missions in a nonstandard way.
Before they were ground driven, now we bring the air element to the fight.”The Marines questioned the men through the interpreter. They asked them about, where they were from, why they were there, and if anything suspicious happened recently. The Marines gave the group of men the one of their packs of food for co-operating with them.The Marines then set up landing zone security again, while Pena called for the birds to come pick them up.“These missions provide us with the opportunity to hit the enemy before they hit us,” Reese said. “We will continue to do it because of all the positive effects it has on the people and on our mission here in Ramadi.”Photo - Lance Cpl. Adam A. Ramirez, squad automatic weapon gunner for the scout snipers, runs off the CH-53 Sea Stallion toward the objective. The Marines only have a short time on the ground so they move fast to ensure they can get everything they need done at each site.
http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Marines%20take%20to%20skies%20to%20hunt%20insurgents.aspx
Monday, July 23, 2007
Yankees 21 Devil Rays 4
Yankees blow by Rays in finaleTeam uses 10-run fourth inning to cruise to third straight
By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- That wasn't a miscue lit up on the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium. The bulbs were in fine working condition and the electronic switchboard checked out normal. Those two dotted numbers squished together under the fourth-inning column wasn't a malfunction.
Fourteen Yankees came up to bat in the 10-run inning to kick-start a 21-4 rout of the Devil Rays on Sunday. The 29-minute hitting barrage marked the first time the Yankees have plated double-digit runs in an inning since Sept. 4, 2006, against the Kansas City Royals.
"You might go a few years before you see another game like this," Derek Jeter said. "It was just one of those things I don't think you can really explain."
Crooked numbers riddled the box score, but the gold, silver and bronze awards go to the following in order:
• Alex Rodriguez inched closer to the 500-homer club with a two-run shot in the seventh for No. 498.
• Hideki Matsui set a regular-season career high with five hits and homered for the third time in as many games.
• Rookie Shelley Duncan, called up less than 72 hours ago, hit a couple of long balls. His solo shot in the sixth marked his third home run in a span of five at-bats.
The crowd beckoned Duncan for two curtain calls during the game, both coming after his four-baggers. That upped his standing ovations count to three in four games. He even overshadowed Rodriguez, who didn't receive a curtain call after his milestone-chasing homer.
Yankees manager Joe Torre said he leaned over to Rodriguez after one of Duncan's home runs and said, "Sorry, you're not the guy anymore."
BOX SCORE:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_07_22_tbamlb_nyamlb_1&c_id=nyy
Alonso Wins German GP
BAMBINO:
Well it isn't the Nurburgring of old, but it was still a pretty good race. The rain came twice and as a result all pit strategies went out the window. The beneficiary was Fernando Alonso who propelled his MP4-22 to victory after passing Felipe Massa with 5 laps to go (both cars touched each other as Fernando passed by). Alonso's intermediates were better than Massa's and that was the difference. There was an after race exchange of words before the podium ceremony between the two drivers where profanities were used.Ferrari had a mixed day. Massa rode home in second but Kimi Raikkonen retired on lap 34 limping his Ferrari into the pits before stalling on pit road. Still, both drivers are in the championship hunt.
McLaren also had mixed results. Alonso won and Hamilton, who rode off the circuit on turn 1 in the pouring rain, finished a miserable 9th.
The Red Bull-Renault team benefitted from the chaos as Mark Webber and veteran David Coulthard finished 3rd and 5th respectively.
Alex Wurz of Williams-Toyota finished a strong 4th while the BMW team stayed consistent scoring 6th and 7th. Heikki Kovalainen of Renault took the final points paying position.
FINAL RESULTS:
1) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Mercedes
2) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
3) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault
4) Alexander Wurz - Williams - Toyota
5) David Coulthard - Red Bull - Renault
6) Nick Heidfeld - BMW
7) Robert Kubica - BMW
8) Heikki Kovalainen - Renault
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Yankees at the All Star Break
BAMBINO: Well the Yanks just took 2 of 3 from the Angels at the Stadium but still are 1 game under .500. They have to play .650 baseball the rest of the way to even have a shot at the wild card. It's possible. They have a real easy schedule after the break but then again, they had an easy schedule two weeks ago when they hit the road to play some bad teams and only won 1 game. If the 2007 Yanks have taught us anything, they can't beat the teams they should beat, then they look like champs against the elites. Go figure. Anyway, the Bombers just need to win some series and hopefully by August, they are within striking distance. Then anything's possible.
LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!
Political Update
Let's see, Kool Aid drinking liberals want Bush impeached, check. Bush lied, check. Cheney is evil, check. We're at war for oil, check. Haliburton is evil, check. Bush is Hitler, check. All conservatives are racists who pollute the earth, check. Bush lied, did I say that already? Yes, check.
Just making sure the world is spinning right.
Just making sure the world is spinning right.
Raikkonen Reigns at Silverstone!
BAMBINO:
Just when you thought Hamilton and Alonso have hit their form, Kimi Raikkonen puts in another brilliant performance and steals the thunder from McLaren at their home GP at Silverstone. The Ferrari driver won his second GP in a row and is now in the hunt for the Driver's Championship. Again Kimi, who qualified 2nd, ripped out some hot laps while his challengers pitted and built up enough of a lead that when he made his second and final pitstop, he exited well ahead of Fernando Alonso's McLaren. Another brilliant drive for Kimi and Ferrari.As for Massa, he qualified 4th but when the field rolled off for the formation lap, his F2007 stalled on the grid and he had to start from pit lane. However, Felipe put in a fabulous drive despite the stalled car and finished 5th as Robert Kubica held him off in the final laps.
The McLaren Boys drove well and didn't get the win. But Alonso and Hamilton keep scoring big points and are the two top drivers in the standings. Hamilton again finished on the podium and continues his assault on the F1 record books.
The BMW team again has done well with Kubica taking 4th and Heidfeld 6th. They are definitely the best of the rest, but make no mistake, the fight is between Ferrari and McLaren for the Championship. The Renault team rounded off the scoring with Kovalainen and Fisichella finishing 7th and 8th respectively. The circus takes a weekend off before heading to the Nurburgring for the German GP.
FINAL RESULTS:
1) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
2) Fernando Alonso - McLaren - Mercedes
3) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes
4) Robert Kubica - BMW
5) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
6) Nick Heidfeld - BMW
7) Heikki Kovalainen - Renault
8) Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
July 4th, 1776
The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
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, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
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, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Monday, July 2, 2007
Ferrari 1-2 at Magny-Cours (French GP)
BAMBINO:
Kimi Raikkonen answers the call. A brilliant drive for the Finn who was seriously underachieving with La Scuderia Ferrari. Kimi started 3rd on the grid and on his second stint, was able to reel off some hot laps, a la Schumi, when race leader and team mate Felipe Massa pitted on lap 43. When Kimi pitted 3 laps later, he had built up a good enough lead that when he exited, he was 2 seconds ahead of Felipe. Kimi then led a Ferrari procession to the chequered flag. A good win for Raikkonen and Ferrari.Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton continues his assault into the record books by finishing in the final podium position making him the only F1 driver to stand on the podium in every race he has started so far. He is truly a breath of fresh air post Schumacher. His team mate and defending two time champion, Fernando Alonso, had a pretty awful race and finished 7th. His body language says it all.
The BMW team did extraordinarily well as Robert Kubica, fresh from his horrible crash at Montreal, finished 4th with Nick Heidfeld 5th. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button finished 6th and 8th respectively. This race might have been the last race in France for the foreseeable future. As usual French politics and F1 not seeing eye to eye.
FINAL RESULTS:
1) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
2) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
3) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes
4) Robert Kubica - BMW
5) Nick Heidfeld - BMW
6) Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
7) Fernando Alonso - McLaren - Mercedes
8) Jenson Button - Honda
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