Back when I was young and bold,
I spent my time chasing rainbows for gold,
Because of all the strife,
I never really had a life,
And now it’s a pity I’m too old.
—©1998 by Lawrence
“Advice to young writers who want to get ahead without annoying delays: don’t write about Man, write about ‘a’ man.” —E.B. White
One of the projects that I have been supporting on the Pepsi Refresh project is the MEMission. That is difficult to do, because I am a Coke drinker. Pepsi, however, is doing a great thing with this grant project.
While supporting the Williams Youth Center Project with my vote, I ran across the MEMission—named after Mykel and Emily, founders of the organization—who is attempting to get five grand for their project. Their laudable goal is to inspire a love of literature by getting approximately 700 books a year to hand out to students on their birthday. Many of whom are homeless.
The latest news from their blog as of May 28, 2010 at 2:58 am is:
For the second month in a row it doesn’t look like we will be winning the grant. I believe we will be re-entered for June but I am not certain. I will keep you updated.
In the mean time if you have any donations please contact us! We will be more than happy to come by and pick them up or arrange a meeting place!
Emily and I have been really busy lately with the end of the year and finals. Even though we are really busy we will be more than happy to arrange something if you have donations. We apologize for not posting anything lately. Thank You for your support and understanding.
MEMission is on the web site in June, so if you are voting on the Pepsi Refresh project web site, you can vote for this project HERE. If not, go and sign up! It’s free and I haven’t received any spam email from them.
Whether they receive the grant, or not, you can always to go their blog and learn how to donate after.
Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.—Thomas Jefferson
I added significant dates concerning American History and the development of our American culture. Yes, Virginia, there is an American culture.
As I watched old tapes of the American War of Independence aired on the History channel years ago, they point out that—even under King George III—the colonies were the freest in the world.
Just finished adding a table with all of the States, dates they were admitted to the union, capitol cities and mottoes.
The work will continue as I have dates to add and some things, but I am hoping that it will help people find the time to study what made this country great—and why we should return to it.
The first volume of Twain’s 5,000-page manuscript, which has been sitting inside a vault at the University of California, Berkeley, will hit the press in November 2010, the Independent reported Monday.
The first volume of Twain’s 5,000-page manuscript, which has been sitting inside a vault at the University of California, Berkeley, will hit the press in November 2010, the Independent reported Monday.
The creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn left hand-written notes at the time of his death in 1910, saying he did not want the memoirs to be published for at least a century.
There are several theories as to why Twain wanted publication of his memoirs delayed. Some scholars say the author wanted to speak freely about religion and politics, while others believe Twain wanted to avoid offending friends, the paper reported.
A View of the Constitution of the United States of America was written by Williams Rawle, LL.D. in 1829. The Senate writes of Rawle in Senate Document 2807; A report on the Second Amendment by the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 97rd Congress in February of 1982. Senator Orin Hatch wrote of Rawle,
The Jefferson papers in the Library of Congress show that both [St. George] Tucker and Rawle were friends of, and corresponded with, Thomas Jefferson. Their views are those of contemporaries of Jefferson, Madison and others, and are entitled to special weight.
Senator Hatch quoted A View of the Constitution of the United States of America concerning the Second Amendment. Concerning that amendment, Rawle writes
No clause in the Constitution could by a rule of construction be conceived to give to Congress a power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some general pretense by a state legislature. But if in blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both
What it's all about
The Run for the Wall event occurs every year about this time and their first stop is in Williams. The riders came into Williams last night and were treated to a meal at the Cordova Post #14 American Legion hall.
Now available!
The Government Class Book, by Andrew Young (1865) is now available for purchase for $12.00 in 8 x 11 paperback. The download is $4.00.
The book is formatted tightly to reduce the number of pages. That is, there is very little margin space for notes. Later editions might add one or two pages for notes depending on the index. Speaking of the index, I added a quick one. I plan to revise it in later editions.
I have not read the entire work yet. However, it appears to go into much more detail concerning citizenship than just the Constitution. It covers many legal terms used and from where they are derived.
As a sample, the first section is entitled Principles of Government. In Chapter Two of that section, Rights and Liberty, defined, we read:
Sec.3. The rights here mentioned are natural rights. They are so called because they are ours by nature or by birth; and they can not be justly taken from us or alienated. Hence they are also called inalienable. We may, however, forfeit them by some offense or crime. If, for example, a man is fined for breaking a law, he loses his right to the money he is obliged to pay. By stealing, he forfeits his liberty, and may be justly imprisoned. By committing murder, he forfeits his right to life, and may be hanged.
You won’t find that in text books at NAU today.
Under the topic of Laws, defined we find:
Sec.7. If, as has been said, the laws of the Creator form a perfect rule of conduct for all mankind, and ought in all cases to be obeyed, then all human law ought to agree with the divine law. If a human law is contrary to the divine law, or if it requires us to disobey the commands of God, it is not binding, and should not be obeyed. So the Scriptures teach. They speak approvingly of men who disobeyed human authority, and who gave as the reason, that it was their duty to obey God rather than men; and they furnish many examples of good men who submitted to severe punishment, even to death, rather than do what they knew to be contrary to the divine will.
Sec.8. But although the divine will as revealed in the Scriptures, is a perfect rule or law for all mankind, and although human laws ought to conform to the divine law, yet it would be impossible to govern the people of a state by that law alone. The divine law is broad, and comprehends rules to teach men their whole duty; but it does not specify every particular act of duty. Much of it consists of general principles to which particular acts must be made to conform. It requires men to deal justly with each other; but men do not always agree as to what is right. Human laws, therefore, become necessary to declare what shall be considered just and right between man and man.
The manual has the distinct advantage of having been written closer to the signing of the Constitution so there was less time to twist the concepts on which the Constitution was founded. The section quoted above describes that our laws are based on the Holy Scripture. It does not dwell on that, however. It simply goes on to describe the rules and definitions of citizenship in a clear language understandable today.
I, also, note that the information is freely available on the Internet. I do not make a “killing” on any classic reprints in my catalog. Only enough to, hopefully, get paid a little for my efforts.
I am waiting, now, on the hard copy of A View of the Constitution of the United States by William Rawle. This is another excellent work on the Constitution written before Harvard turned to the New World Order.
I am currently working on adding another political science reprint on the Constitution. The Government Class Book was written by Andrew W Young, the author of Science of Government, First Lessons in Civil Government, American Statesman and Citizen’s Manual of Government and Law. It was originally published in 1865 and not only covers the Constitution, but gives brief descriptions of several law concepts.
The book has the advantage of being published closer to the date of the adoption of the Constitution. Thus, it is probably closer in explaining what the founding fathers desired than the “civics” books of today.
The book is in reprint through other sources and can be found free in several places including Project Gutenberg. I am in the process of formatting and editing and I hope to have it published by the end of the week at Lulu.com.
So why am I adding a book that you can get for free or from other sources? The intent of this article is to make you aware that it exist. As for why I am reprinting it, I am doing so for my sake. To have a hard copy that I can read and annotate. The same reason that I publish many classic books.
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