Independence Day
July 4, 1776 – 2008
When in the course of human events the government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, it is the Right of the People to alter it and demand restoration of those Constitutional Principles that have so long assured their Liberty, Safety, and Happiness. Therefore, on the anniversary of our Independence, we offer this new declaration for our times.
The history of this president is one of arbitrary usurpations of power, the effect of which is to establish tyranny through false promises of greater security.
He has created a multitude of secret programs and sent swarms of petty officers to spy on Americans in a misguided effort to combat foreign terrorism. He has invested these agents with sweeping new powers to monitor our conversations and ransack our personal papers and effects without judicial supervision or any reason to believe as the Constitution requires that a crime has been committed.
He has further claimed the power to disregard legislation that Congress has passed.
He has suspended the laws and treaties against torture, authorized the kidnapping of mere suspects, and transported hundreds of prisoners beyond seas so that no independent judiciary could question the legality of their mistreatment.
He and his supporters in Congress have granted amnesty to the officials who unleashed torture and humiliation upon helpless prisoners, to the disgrace of our nation.
He has denied these prisoners access to attorneys, family, and friends and has claimed the right to try them before military tribunals specifically designed to disregard the most basic principles of law.
He has imprisoned thousands of lawful immigrants for months without charges, under brutal conditions, until his agents, rather than independent courts, decided that they posed no threat.
He has wrapped his usurpations of power and his deprivations of liberty in thick cloaks of secrecy, thereby showing contempt for the rule of law and the proper functions of Congress, the courts, and the press.
At every stage of these oppressions we have sought redress, but our petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.
We, therefore, resolve to resist these usurpations by all lawful means at our disposal. We insist that the powers of our national government be shared by all branches of that government and not concentrated in one alone. And we call upon Congress, the courts, and the press to reassert their constitutional functions and restore the promise that is America.
To these ends, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Bill of Rights Defense Committee • Council on American-Islamic Relations • Defending Dissent Foundation • Electronic Frontier Foundation • The Rutherford Institute • Alabama • Patricia Hefner • T.L. Mcclellan • Arizona • Russ Ferrell • Mark Hayduke Grenard • W. Paul Jones • Deborah Paree Francine Shacter • Karen Wilkison • Arkansas • Bobbie Edwards • California • American Muslim Voice • Antiwar.com • First Amendment Project • Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace • Sonia Aceves • Omar Ahmad • Norma Andes • Joyce Appleby • Elizabeth Barrial • Elaine Booth • Blaine Brende • Jean Burnett • Johan Carlisle • Valerie Carter • William & Aimee Cheek • Joshua Cohen • Prof. Marjorie Cohn • Sharon Crocker • Dawn A. DeKeyser • Daphne Delores • Gary DeSorbo • Susan Helander Espey • Chandra Friese • Kim Gottlieb-Walker • Patrici Gracian • Gerald S. Gras • Mitch Gurney • Peter & Harriet Hanauer • Tian Harter • Woody Holmes • Philip & Harriette Humphreys • Alan B. Jones • Glenn Kuder • Mary E. Langley • Ken Larson • Lars Laurinovics • Kathie Lester • Charlotte Lichterman • Lori Liederman • Tony Litwinko • James H. Lothrop • David Lubeck • Christine Luman • Darby Mangen • Nicholas P. Maris • Renee Martin • Paul Matzner • HRH Lee Mentley • David Meserve • Prof. L. D. Mitchell • Denis Mosgofian • Hilary Naylor, Ph.D. • Carol Norberg • Brooke Passano • Linda Pollack • Stephen Pratt • Barbara J. Reid • Jonathan Reid • Deborah L. Rhode • Carol Roberts • Stephen Rohde • Irv Rothstein • Jim Ruymen • D'Cady Sarahchild • Sy Schwartz • Harry A. Scott • Richard Seeley • Cathryn Sells • Don Smith • Kim Soskin • Fernando Suarez del Solar • Jean-Pierre Swennen • Shakeel Syed • Stanford Taylor • Cara Turner • Les Washburn • Sally Watson • Elizabeth Watts • Raymond S. Weitzman • Ruth E. Willett • Colorado • Bill of Rights Supporters of Fort Collins • Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center • John Atwater • Candace Beatty • Cristina Dixon dePalma-Vega • Vivian Long • Jeffrey T. Maehr • Dale Schellenger • Sophie Siebert • Faith White • Connecticut • Barbara Broughel • Sandra Elizabeth Canning • Ramsay MacMullen • Janet Minella-Didier • Michael J. Mordine • Judith Rudikoff • Leslie Weinberg • John Wirzbicki • District of Columbia • Simon Billenness • Ann E. Corbett • Edward Elder & Sara Markle-Elder • John F. Foley • Janet Gilmore • Joel Hawthorne • Jeanne Herrick-Stare • James Poteet • Jesselyn A. Radack • Marc Rotenberg • Paromita Shah • David L. Sobel • Florida • Parvez Ahmed • James Clinton Burke • Michael T. Burns • Jacquelyn R. Cartwright • Jamila Mimi Chami • Clinton Sparlin Chard • Prof. Jim Cobbe • Glen Davis • Gail K. Dolly • William A. Dolly John F. Earle • Dennis Parnell-Oliver Edelen • Sheldon A. Maskin • Neal R. Sonnett • Georgia • Rev. Murphy Davis & Rev. Eduard Loring • Ellie Hall • Ray & Betsey Miklethun • Dot & Bill Udry • H. Berrien Zettler • Hawaii • Thomas C. Burnett • Sabina Swift • Idaho • Kevin Bayhouse • Illinois • Chicagoland Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights • Jane Alexander • Phyllis Benstein • John Butler • Patricia J. Ellis • Brent Mesick • Nancy Fleck Myers • Rosalie G. Riegle • Allan Stevo • Sandra Wrencher • Indiana • Self Education Initiative of Northern Indiana • Bil Corry • Jan & Greg Ellis • Benjamin Jacobus • Isabel Piedmont • Iowa • Arthur Harry Behn • Von Kaster & Mary Sand • Kansas • James J. Clark • Jai & Chuck Johnson-Pickett • Franklin Neff • Kentucky • J.D. Eames • Phillip M. Edwards • Claudia P. Hanes • Angela Henson-Gosselin • Lisa Norton • Louisiana • T. Lee Horne, III • Maine • George N. Appell, Ph.D. • Anthony W. Dater • Jean Foss • Frederick J. Graboske • Jean Macaulay • Bill Pagum • Jane Sanford • Maryland • Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee • Peace & Justice Coalition, Prince George's County • Joan E. Biren • Daniel M. Fox Kit Gage • Brian A. Hayden • Ben Jealous • Patricia D. LeBlanc • David Luban • Patrice McDermott • Anne McDonough • Theo Merkle Hugh Schmittle • Karen R. Stahler • JoAnn Walker • Marilyn E. Wood • Massachusetts • Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program at Hampshire College • Friends of Thomas Paine • Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety • Joyce & Robert Abel • Frances & Robert Abrams Robert M. Abrams • Prof. Michael Avery • David Ball • Lisa Unger Baskin • Brad Bigelow • Amy Bookbinder • Joan E. Borgos • Leslie Burg • Vincent & Marie Cleary • Bruce Cohen • Vera Spohr Cohen • Frances Crowe • Allen J. Davis • Barry De Jasu • Paul DeMarco • Stephen Donnelly • Lisa Downing • Nancy & Paul Dubin • Buz Eisenberg • Dr. Mohamed I. Elgadi • Jean M. Entine • Fran Forman • Fran Fortino • Nancy & John Foster • Zelda Gamson • Darien Gardner • Susan G. Gracey • Meredith Gray • Joan Grenier & Jon Weissman • Bill Haff • Johanna Halbeisen • Wil Hastings • Barbara Maria Haugen • Bruce Hawkins & Ruth E. Hawkins • Eleanor Hawkins • Marjorie Hess • Carolyn F. Hicks • Jane H. Hovde • Mordechai Kamel • Herb Kline • Jim Levey • Tom Lincoln • Roget Lockard • Nancy S. Lovejoy • Ronal C. Madnick • Michael L. Malta • Jim Margolis • Bob McCormick • Sarah McKee • Matt McNamara • Gerald R. Mimno • Sharon Mitchell • Karen Nelson • Attorney William Newman & Dale Melcher • Barry J. Nigrosh • Ellen Emerson Nigrosh • Helen F. Norris • Attorney William A. Norris • William Obear • Christine Olson • Deborah Pelletier • Johanna Plaut • Thomas Plaut • Christopher H. Pyle • Daniel Romeo • Lois & Tom Schwab • Linda Shapanka • John F. Sherman, III Judith Solsken • Michael & Mia Kim Sullivan • Alice C. Swift • Nancy Talanian • Priscilla R. Ulin • Sara Weinberger • Paki Wieland • Jorg Winterer Naomi Yanis • Michigan • India Foundation Inc. • Prof. Donald K. Anton • Kenneth W. Harrow • Alfred Hegerich • Vernon Jay King • Nancy Leiserowitz • David Lonier • Kary Love • Margaret Nielsen • Shrikumar & Mayurika Poddar • Ann M. Rogers • Paul V. Sheridan • Henry Silverman • Tom Sullivan • Minnesota • Mr. & Mrs. James Charles • Thomas Dickinson • Karin Grosscup • Isaac Kaufman • Ronald A. Miller • Ryan L O'Connell • Prof. David Weissbrodt • Kay Marie Winter • Mississippi • Marilyn Cameron • Ronald Miller Sr. • Missouri • WashingtonYoureFired.com • Robert Flickinger • Philip L. Harrison • John Pruitt Killian • Jeanine Molloff • Montana • Jack & Leslie Bishop • John R.P. Fletcher • Daniel J. Smitherman • Nevada • Don G. Conklin • Timothy D. Lyons • Bob Tregilus • New Hampshire • Gerhard Bedding • New Jersey • Coalition for Peace Action, Princeton Mercer County Coalition on Civil Liberties • New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee • Trenton Citizens for Civil Liberties • Flavia Alaya Patricia Bennett • William H. Buckman, Esq. • Jim Crawford • Tom Gardner • Deborah Goodell • Deborah Jacobs • Barry R. Komisaruk • Mary E. Moriarty • Peter Nicholas • Manijeh Saba • Michelle Sternfeld • Allan Harry Willinger • Morton Winston • Kathy Wojtas • New Mexico • Pain Relief Network • Amy V. Bunting • Thomas L. Donelan • Seth D. Mosgofian • Jack Steadman • Tom Stribling • Karen Ushman • Jerry N. Wesner • New York • Blauvelt Dominican Sisters Social Justice Ministry • Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture • Libertarian Party of New York Rochester Civil Liberties Coalition • Rockland Coalition for Democracy and Freedom • Stephen & Virginia Abrams • Govind Acharya • Jeremy Barth • Carolyn Blum • Donna M. Boguslav • Brad & Monica Bradbury • Bill Bruno • David Byrom, Ph.D. • Susan M. Canna • Mary L. Carter • Rome Celli • Monique Weston Clague • David Alan Curry • Elizabeth de G. R. Hansen • Teresa DeNicolis-Villani • Ann Diehl • Patricia Dillon • Randy Dunaieff • Helen Eckard • Brian Eden • Bernadette Evangelist • Mustapha Fadil • Prof. Eric M. Freedman • Carol Gable • Eugene Glabermann • Lawrence Grunberger • Georgia Kingsley Guida • Jenny Heinz • Nat Hentoff • Karen Hinderstein • Ann Peck Hood • Dean Karaman • Eileen Kaufman • David Keaton • Phyllis Hersh Keaton • Ernest E. Keet • Dooley Kiefer • Cathy Kirkland & David Graper • Bertha Kriegler • Susan Lasley • C.A. Lawrence Cinda Lawrence • Martin A. Luster • Penelope & David Mace • Ann & Peter Martin • Edwin S. Matthews, Jr. • James A. McMahon • James H. Mearns • Zachary Michaelson • Daniel Millstone • Anne O'Byrne, Ph.D • Martha Lee Owen • Tasha Paley • Nancy J. Parish • F. Pool • Brenda J. Quinn • James T. Quinn • Sheila M. Richardson • Dr. Salvador Rivera, Jr., Ph.D. • Zach Roberts • Bruce Rosen • Fredrica Rudell • Elizabeth Baird Saenger • Gwen Sanchirico • Ellen Schrecker • Marjorie A. Silver • Jack Simel • David & Mitzy Smith • Eleanore Feucht Sudbrock • Alan Eron Sukoenig • Sherry Krafve Svec • Martha Swan • Jim Tomkins • Nancy VandenBerg • Lynne L. & John Weiner • Hazel Weiser • Doug Wyatt & Shehla Imran • Nancy E. Young • North Carolina • Durham Bill of Rights Defense Committee • North Carolina Stop Torture Now • Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee • Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Triangle Branch • Edwin L. Brown • George Daly • Morris Davis • Reynolds Dixon • Magnolia Izquierdo • Ed King • Kay K. Mersereau • Margaret S. Misch • Billie J. Murray • Richard Paddock Bernadette Page, M.D. • Jack Page, M.D. • Daniel H. Pollitt • Marty Rosenbluth • Fritzi Ross • Alonza Bryan Salter • Laura Sorensen • Gregory Urban • Ohio • Oxford Bill of Rights Defense Committee • Oxford Citizens for Peace & Justice • Ahmad Al-Akhras • BillORightsMan • Dave Huntsman • Daniel J. Sullivan • Alan & Ann Alaia Woods • Oregon • Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice • Gerald Cavanaugh • Gary D. Cavener • Eileen Chieco • Justine Cooper • Glenn C. Devitt • Jean Fogden • Andy Frederickson • Richard G. Garrett • Chris & Anne Hohenemser • Misa Joo • Dr. Hank Keeton • David Kelly • Jeanine Malito • Hope Marston • Ann Elizabeth McCrary • Brian Michaels, Attorney- at-Law • F. Regina Psaki Sam Rejab • Maria Sause • Susan Skinner & Tom Duncan • Michael Slocum • Martha Watson • Greg Williams • Pennsylvania • David Beard • Barbara A. Bryer • Jane Swift Dugdale • Porter Hedge • Thomas J. Killeen • Phillip A. Lee • Elsa Russell Lichtenberg • Skip Mendler • Donald P. Wilczynski • Rhode Island • Patricia Hval • South Carolina • Benita Cary Cranford • Natalie Hevener Kaufman • Tennessee • Lisa L. Thornburgh, • J.D. • Texas • Bill of Rights Defense Committee of Greater Dallas • Freedom and Justice Foundation • Waco Friends of Peace • Mark Amans • Aaron Anderson • Jeanne Carlson • Chloe N. Daniel • Herman Dobbs • Prof. Douglas C. Dow • Sasha (Alexandra) Freeman • Sally B. Garcia • Phyllis Guest • Rick Halperin • Jim Hargrove • Paul Heller • Prof. Jennifer S. Holmes • Hadi Jawad • Nel LaBar • Charlie Linam • Charles A. Livingston • Adrienne McKee • Debbie McKee • Prof. Jordan J. Paust • Joe W. (Chip) Pitts III • Dr. John Paul Schwartz, D.O. • Rochelle Tyler • Richard & Idell Vogel • Utah • Douglas Cortney • Jill Mayer • Vermont • Douglas Dunbebin • Deborah Lubar • Virginia • Rev. Karen S. Carter • George Clarke • Elizabeth Isley • James A. Landrith, Jr. • Charlotte Mautner • Ray McGovern • Joy McNabb • David L. Oldaker • William & Carol Solomon • Christopher W. Townsend • Meredith Tupper • Washington • Barbara Beach-Moody • Dr. Louisa Beal • Michael Bourgoin • Karen C. Boyette • Linda Jean Davis • Kris deLancey • Norm Enfield • Dr. R. Finegan • Katie Frevert • Charlynne Francesca Gilbert • Kathy Hay • Denis Hayes • Steve Hood, Attorney • Trevor J. Johnson • Jeffrey William Lauckhart • Joan Lawson • Doris Loeschen • O'Neill D. Louchard • William Maiden • Michael J. McCabe • Chuck Park • Howard Petrella • Douglas Phelps • Muriel & Ira Quint • David Reading • Robert J. Rindy • Stanley F. Robinson • Amy Rust • Dru Saunders • Samuel Scharff • Rosemary S. Tucker • Steven Wish • West Virginia • Seneca 2 • Wisconsin • The Bill of Rights Band • Linda Schaars Barnes • Dr. Jay & Sabrina Gold • Angie Hougas • Bobbie Krinsky • John Nichols of The Nation • Aisha Robertson • Joseph Rogozinski • Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive, Inc. • Karen & Rodney Stevenson • John E. Szewczyk • Craig Trewartha • Peter R. Whitis • Wyoming • Barbara L. Bryan • Leroy Casterline • Armed Forces • Thomas F. Scaletta, Jr. • Federated States of Micronesia • Richard Landon
The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights offer protection and remedies for government assaults on civil liberties–but only if they are enforced. Demand that your representatives uphold their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution. Join with others in your community and around the country in supporting the People’s Campaign For the Constitution: www.constitutioncampaign.org
Tax-deductible contributions for the campaign can be made to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee in the amount of: | $50 | $100 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $500 | $1,000 | $2,500 online at www.bordc.org or mailed to: 8 Bridge Street, Suite A, Northampton, MA 01060
“A Declaration for Our Times” was written by Christopher Pyle, with his apologies to Thomas Jefferson. Design (as printed in NYT) by Emily G. Lewis.