Posted on 11/06/2011 6:42:22 AM PST by Libloather
Declaration of Independence Was 'Illegal,' Grounds for Treason, British Lawyers Say
Published October 20, 2011 | FoxNews.com
The Declaration of Independence was “illegal” and “treasonable,” according to a team of British lawyers, the BBC reports.
The assertion was made at a debate in Philadelphia between British and American lawyers over the legitimacy of the United States of America.
At the debate, pitting British barristers against American attorneys, lawyers for the former colonial power argued that America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776 “was not only illegal, but actually treasonable,” according to the BBC.
The lawyers representing the British team decided that the Americans had no legal grounds for secession. "[President Abraham] Lincoln made the case against secession and he was right."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“A team of British lawyers has now concluded that the Declaration of Independence was illegal, and the American colonies had no right to secede from England. Well, you thought our court system was backed up.” – Jay Leno
This is news?
The British clearly thought so at the tiem, and the Americans realized it as well.
There must not be any celebrities behaving poorly today.
And then the Treaty of Paris made it all legal!
Next on the docket - India, Malaysia and China.
Of course it was.
Why do you think Benjamin Franklin said “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately”?
If it was illegal for the southern states to secede then it was illegal for the colonies to do so.
Yeah. I think they fought a war over that -- or something.
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:
In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas , which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’). (I love that one)
Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ‘’like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u’’ and the elimination of ‘-ize.’ ‘ (I love that one too)
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.)
8.You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America . Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
The American people won our Independence following the defeat of the British empire during the revolutionary war.
Treason!What crap.You can’t get more of a death sentence then by fighting against your adversary.
The bunch in power are acting as if the TEA party movement is treason - how long before they declare elections are treason?
Legal arguments did not work for Santa Anna either in 1836.
Some arguments are only settled with blood and steel. This one certainly was.
English lawyers go soak your wig.
Don’t tell me. They have stuffed up their own country so bad they want yours back!
Mel
We already beat you blokes twice and also saved your rotten teeth twice. Would you like to go toe to toe for round 3? Becasue we can get rid of a lot of rag head muzzies at the same time, thus saving your sorry asses again.
“Why do you think Benjamin Franklin said “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately”?
Ummm...........Thomas Paine?
All revolutions are not legal under the old laws.
Under current rules, King George III would be a target.
Duh.
Molon labe.
Yes, and the similarities don't end there. In both cases, after a protracted war to determine the outcome, the defeated side signed a treaty acknowledging and accepting the winning sides terms.
———Would you like to go toe-——
One peaceable recourse would be to round up all the American Lawyers and send them to London To argue the case.
Ooops......once again I speak first and only check afterwards. You are correct, Sir.
One of these days I’m gonna learn....but it’ll probably be too late.......
Duh! That’s why it’s called the American Revolution.
Well DUH...
Why did the “conspirators” meet in secret?
Cornwallis: "D'oh!"
They need to go check their Londonstan masters before voicing anything.
I believe that this became a moot point in 1776...
Waaaay too much time on their hands.
The legal basis for the independence of the United States in international law is not the Declaration of Independence; it's the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
"Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can."
And the writers of the Declaration clearly articulated the closing arguments.
King George abdicated.
"He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us."
Case closed.
Well if the Brits want to try our current commander in chief, go ahead! Better yet, the Brits can claim him as a commonwealth subject.
When the British surrendered - they made American independence an accomplished fact. They Treaty Of Paris gave recognition to American sovereignty. In the end, the special relationship endured because both sides were equals.
Exactly. But in one case, the oppressor was defeated and the other war ended with the oppressor consolidating power by force. The civil war ended any facade of the US Constitution having any real power to limit the “Federal” government.
Just so we know " Who are real enemies are."
This FEMA guy thinks our Founding Fathers were terrorists!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGZjR9NIHJk
Can they bail us out? A bit under $15 TRILLION could do it - for now. Additional stimulus may be required in the near future.
Seditious too.
There is one vital difference between the two cases. The colonies won.
"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason". Ovid
WANNA FIGHT ABOUT IT!?!?!?
(think twice cause we kicked a lot of butt over the centuries and ain't done yet—still gotta finish that “Crusade thing” against the evil Islamists yet.)
Having lived in the UK, in Norfolk (pronounced "Naw-F**k by the locals), I have to ask you for some assistance. Is "Water" pronounced "Wah-er" and is the number "33" pronounced "firty-free?" Also, is it proper use the phrase "aye, mate" and to end each sentence with "wot" or "wot-eh?"
I welcome your most esteemed instruction for us poor, backwards savages.
“If this be treason, make the most of it!”
CA....
All the founders knew it at the time. They stood to lose huge fortunes and their lives. Immortalized by Franklin: “We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately” at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Ben Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
>>>In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately
Excellent point. By electing incompetent people like Ubama Bin Laden and a corrupt Congress, the American people have proven that they are incapable of self-government. America is now broke, and unemployment is very high. If America is recolonized by Britain, American finances will improve, because the British are better at financial management than Americans.
Americans should admit that they have failed to govern themselves, and beg the British to take them back. Canada, which recognizes the Queen as Head of State, did not suffer from a Mortgage crisis, and they are not being burdened with huge debt that will burden future generations. Canada did not steal money from their taxpayers, in order to bail out failing banks. Canada does not have 15 percent of their population on food stamps. See: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/11/01/some-15-of-u-s-uses-food-stamps/
America has lost its way, and the founding fathers are rolling over in their graves. America should bring back the British. It would also be cool to have Prince William as our King in waiting.
I didn’t see your retraction, my apologies.
1812-2012.....
We strike right into London....Burn London Bridge, Loot Downing Street, trash their museums...
F the Queen.
Our payback for 1812 was the Lend Lease Act, along with thousands of Merchant Marines, sailors...not to mention Omaha and Utah Beach.
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