150 Years Ago: July 4 At Vicksburg And Gettysburg

Many momentous events in American history have occurred on July 4. The first announcement of the Declaration of Independence was just one of many.

July 4, 1826: former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on that day;
July 4, 1831: former President James Madison died;
July 4, 1863: Confederate forces surrendered at Vicksburg, ending a long siege and putting the Union in command of the entire length of the Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half and isolating the West;
July 4, 1863: Confederate forces at Gettysburg under command of Robert E. Lee begin a long retreat that was to end nearly two years later at Appomattox.

July 4, 1943: Task Group 36.1 moves into position for assault on New Georgia, Solomons Islands the following day, beginning in earnest the long retreat of Japanese forces that was to end two years later in Tokyo Bay.

Today's New York Times prints a thoughtful essay by Paul Krugman, entitled e pluribus unum. I recommend the essay, though I have a slightly different take on some of Krugman's thoughts.

"Is America in 2013," Krugman asks, "in any meaningful sense, the same country that declared independence in 1776?" Krugman's answer is "yes."

My answer is "maybe."

Krugman emphasizes on the one hand how different the country is now from 1776:
"America in 1776," he points out,  "was a rural land, mainly composed of small farmers and, in the South, somewhat bigger farmers with slaves. And the free population consisted of, well, WASPs: almost all came from northwestern Europe, 65 percent came from Britain, and 98 percent were Protestants."

Ethnically, he emphasizes, "we are...very different from the founders. Only a minority of today’s Americans are descended from the WASPs and slaves of 1776. The rest are the descendants of successive waves of immigration: first from Ireland and Germany, then from Southern and Eastern Europe, now from Latin America and Asia. We’re no longer an Anglo-Saxon nation; we’re only around half-Protestant; and we’re increasingly nonwhite."

I am one of that diminishing minority of Americans descended from the WASPS of 1776. All of my ancestors were here by then.

Before I buy into Krugman's assurances that "we are still the same country that declared independence all those years ago," I feel compelled to point out that from the beginning of our history, Americans have had vastly different visions of what the country is and should be.

From 1789 until 1865, there was a clear conflict between the vision of 1776 ("all men are created equal") and the vision of the Constitutional Convention, which facilitated slavery and other serious constraints on liberty. Even so, the Constitution gave lip service to "form a more perfect union" and "secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address rescued the vision of 1776 from obscurity. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments went far toward incorporating that vision as an integral element of the Constitution.

A good thing to remember in this Sesquicentennial year of America's Civil War.

We remain a Democracy. Securing the blessings of liberty is still up to us.  



 

Pamlico County Municipal Elections

Municipal elections in North Carolina occur in November of every odd-numbered year. In case you missed it, 2013 is an odd number.

So you don't have to worry about the election for four more months, right?

Not exactly. As Town Dock reminds us this morning, if you want to run for municipal office, you need to file your candidacy during the filing period beginning noon Friday, July 5, 2013 and ending at noon July 19.

Even if you don't want to run for office but would like to see some new office holders, talk to others about running. Encourage them.

It matters.

Court Hearing(s) Update: July 8 Schedule

We've been a bit busy moving back into our hurricane damaged home Unfinished but livable), so I have made few posts. Here's what's new:

Town of Oriental has filed a motion to dismiss my appeal of the closing of South Avenue: On calendar for Pamlico County Court House at 2:00 pm July 8;
Kirby Smith, attorney retained to pursue my appeal of the order Judge Alford entered April 10 granting Town's motion to dismiss my appeal of closing of Avenue A, has filed a motion for a stay: On calendar for Pamlico County Court House at 2:00 pm July 8;
I have filed a motion for a temporary injunction against further actions by Town transferring rights of way to Chris Fulcher or anyone else until after completion of appellate process;
Town of Oriental has filed a motion against me alleging that I violated Rule 11 of North Carolina Civil Procedures and seeking sanctions: On calendar for Pamlico County Court House at 2:00 pm July 8.

Busy Monday at court next week.

Hearing On Town Of Oriental Motion To Dismiss: Cox v. Oriental

I just received notice from the Town's attorneys putting a hearing on the calendar for their motion to dismiss.

The hearing will be July 8 at 2:00 PM or as soon thereafter as possible. It will be held in the Pamlico County Court House. More detail later.

The Sequester - Destructive And Dumb

Have I mentioned before how destructive and stupid the sequester is?

We are seeing the total failure of government. People are being hurt. The economy is being hurt.

I say again: We don't have a deficit problem - we have a jobs problem! The federal government should spend more money, not less, until employment returns.

Do you want to know just exactly what and who is being harmed by the sequester? Check out Jared Bernstein's blog here.

On Weather

Mark Twain once observed that everybody talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it.

About three o'clock this morning, the rain began to fall. It came in waves.

When I got up at 6:00, I checked the weather forecast on Town Dock, as I usually do. I found the probability of precipitation to be 7%. It is now twenty minutes after 8:00, and the rain is still pouring down. It is thundering as well.

Something seems to be amiss.

When I was ten years old, people explained any unusual or unwanted weather as being "because of those atomic bomb tests."

Today we know better.

New Web Site About Suit Against Town Of Oriental

Readers may have noticed I haven't said much lately about the suit I filed against the Town of Oriental.

Mostly, I want the complaint to be processed in the courts. That's the only institution that can undo the Town's actions.

In the meantime, there has been a lot of information and misinformation about what I am doing and why I am doing it.

Here is a web site, ncpublictrust.org, that explains what is at stake. Take a look. If you have any questions, you can comment on this blog or send an e-mail to info@ncpublictrust.org. 

The site will be updated as new information becomes available.

Oriental Town Budget

Last Monday, the Town Board held a public hearing on the budget for 2013-2014. Not many members of the public attended the 5:30 meeting, and there were few public comments. It took only a few minutes for the Town Board to approve the budget ordinance for the coming year.

Earlier this Spring, as reported in Town Dock, the Board considered a proposal to raise taxes to cover expenses resulting from my suit against the Town. Town Dock explained: "There will not be an increase in property taxes, even though, this spring, Commissioners had bounced that idea around for a week or two. Town Manager Bob Maxbauer claimed a tax hike was necessary to pay the town’s attorneys to fight lawsuits over the South Avenue and Avenue A rights of way. (Resident Dave Cox has sued the Town, saying towns can’t exchange or sell rights of way, as Oriental did in the Chris Fulcher land swap.

"Maxbauer wanted the Board to raise taxes 3 cents for every $100 valuation which would have brought in $63,000 – even though the Town’s attorney has estimated the cost of the lawsuit and appeal could run between $20,000 and $50,000. Commissioner Sherrill Styron said at one budget meeting that he wanted at least a penny tax to “make David Cox look bad” but in the end, the Board declined, in this election year, to raise the property tax at all."

I assume that Sherrill Styron's remark about raising taxes to make me look bad was offered in jest.