And then I wrote...

... that my holiday reading included a charge that he has refused to enforce laws which are necessary for the public good.
That he has forbidden states to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance unless they agree with his views.
That he has refused to pass laws that would accommodate large sections of the population unless those persons surrender their right to representation, which is a right formidable to tyrants only.
That he has repeatedly ignored opposition opinions that he is invading individual rights of citizens.
That he has worked his will on justices of the courts.
That he has erected a multitude of new subordinate officials and they in turn have unleashed swarms of individuals whose purpose is to harass citizens and thereby insure their own substance.
That he has combined with foreign nations to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by legislative action, yet guaranteeing his approval to pretended actions.
That he has imposed additional taxes without public consent.
That he has encouraged domestic insurrection by groups whose aim is destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
Almost sounds like a news release from the Republican National Committee or a screed from some ultra-conservative attacking President Obama, doesn’t it?
In fact, it is a paraphrase using modern language of portions of the Declaration of Independence, and the “he” targeted was King George of England, of which the forming United States was a colony.
I read the entire document as printed. I’m not sure I had ever done that before. Enlightening.
I am not a big fan of soccer. So, even though my Fourth of July weekend patriotism made me hope for a U.S. women’s victory over Japan, I was not eager to watch two hours of zero-zero tie only to see free kicks from the close-in line decide the winner. But I was listening to a Cubs game which was only one to nothing after two hours, not much more exciting, so I flipped over to the Fox Sports channel to confirm my soccer fears. That station is lousy on Mediacom (so is Ch. 9, by the way!) so when the score seemed to read four goals for the U.S. by half-time, I figured it had to be the lousy reception on that channel which made it difficult to read. But then the announcer mentioned the score, and sure enough, the rout was on.
I had just finished reading a book about the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima and about how many Marines were killed and mutilated by the Japanese soldiers, and so was not feeling good about the Japanese. Then I noticed the copious tears and sobbing among the members of the losing Japanese soccer team, and my anger eased.
Sports can do that.