By Nick Paleologos
Two hundred and fifty years ago this summer, we declared our independence from Great Britain. We were so furious at the increasingly crazy behavior of the “Mad King” that out of a “decent respect for the opinions of mankind” we asked Thomas Jefferson to compose a list of the grievances that drove us to the separation. Here are just a few of the charges Jefferson leveled at King George III.
*He has obstructed the administration of justice.
*He has made judges dependent on his will alone.
*He has sent swarms of officers to harass our people.
*He has cut off our trade with all parts of the world.
*He has imposed taxes on us without our consent.
*He has deprived us of a trial by jury and transported us overseas for pretended offenses.
*He has destroyed the lives of our people.
*He has incited domestic insurrections.
*His every act of cruelty and deceit defines him as a tyrant, unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
That was 250 years ago.
This consequential anniversary of Jefferson’s greatest gift to America – an occasion for joyous celebration – has instead become a solemn summer of reflection during which his masterpiece is in dire need of an update. Sadly, the list of Jefferson’s grievances must now be expanded to include the deplorable offences of our own Mad King, Donald J. Trump.
*He has enriched himself and his family by accepting billions of dollars from foreign countries, multi-national corporations, their CEOs, and countless, unrepentant, convicted fraudsters -- who he has also pardoned.
*He has appointed judges who have ruled that: corporations are people, money is speech, abortion is murder, discrimination is legal, and the president is above the law.
*He has sent federal troops into American cities where they wreaked havoc and murdered two innocent citizens - who he then defamed.
*He has shielded pedophiles and their accomplices from accountability while dismissing the righteous demands of their abused victims.
*He has turned the Justice Department against his political opponents with countless, meritless and malicious prosecutions.
*He has bulldozed the White House.
*He has pardoned 1,600 convicted insurrectionists.
*He has “nullified” the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.
*He has imposed arbitrary tariffs without congressional approval.
*He has betrayed a brave American ally after it was brutally invaded by Russia.
*He has publicly and unapologetically disparaged our most loyal allies.
*He has threatened to “take over” Gaza, Greenland, Canada, Venezuela, Cuba, and to “destroy” Iranian civilization.
*He has murdered unarmed non-combatants on the open seas and killed 160 innocent children in an Iranian girls’ school.
*He has fired thousands of decent civil servants and crippled key public agencies.
*He has defied lawful orders from federal courts.
*He has ruthlessly attacked the press, media, colleges, law firms, and judges.
*He has forced his name and face upon our currency and public buildings.
*He has polluted the public discourse with a stream of endless, irresponsible, defamatory, and incendiary lies, and with juvenile overnight social media posts which are utterly unbecoming of the leader of a great nation.
Therefore, in honor of the sacred text we celebrate this summer, there is no more appropriate tribute we can offer than to remember and revive Jefferson’s righteous indignation and rededicate ourselves to the principles he codified.
As the Founders did then, we must once again appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for the virtue of our intention to permanently sever all political connections to this current president and to the malignant philosophy he so proudly espouses. To this worthy end, we mutually pledge our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
