Happy Independence Day from Capt. America and the Mad Duo

Written by Swingin' Dick.

Enjoy your Independence Day; if you have the time and the inclination, do a little reading. The guys who wrote our Declaration of Independence had some damn insightful things to say, and a lot of 'em suffered for having the guys to say it.

"...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..."

The full transcript is here. Remember, as you're barbecuing and shooting off fireworks, you're not enjoying the '4th of July'. You're celebrating Independence Day, with all of the somber trappings that entail. Make sure you keep the serious aspects in mind while you're enjoying the fun side of things!

We figured we'd close by sharing a couple of pictures of our favorite hero (yes, he could whup Batman, deal with it) by one of our friends. Chris is involved in the tactical industry and is a professional graphic designer-artist-type-guy (we're not sure exactly what the right title is, particularly since neither of us can do much more than scrawl a stick figure in crayon, and Slim has trouble even doing that!). He's done work for a number of places and been featured in places like Imagine FX and Creative Quarterly. Please do us the very kind favor of checking out his website, http://www.chrisbmurray.com/. If not he's going to sulk and draw graffiti involving yours truly and damn peace symbols and you KNOW we can't have THAT shit!

Out here, have a great holiday.

The Mad Duo