[Pharmboy]

Yes...but of course...they will go to any extreme to make the central government more important. Her thesis makes NO sense from a grammatical point of view, nor from an historical one. They were declaring their independence as free men from an oppressive government, why on God's green Earth would they emphasize happiness tied to government?

But nowhere is this discussed in this article. I urge my Freeper friends to please read the whole thing.

HAPPY FOURTH AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

[Pharmboy]

Revisionist history ping to the list.

The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list

[IronJack]

This reminds me of the people who spend lifetimes parsing every word and sentence in the Bible. I would suggest that it is a much more worthwhile exercise to focus on the intent rather than the punctuation. And Jefferson’s intent is clear: governments are formed by men to serve them. Men are not created to serve government.

[exnavy]

The truth is, individual rights is what the document is about, not expansion of government.

[9422WMR]

It’s Independence Day, which happens to be celebrated on the Fourth of July.

[Pecos]

The author is missing the point that the purpose of the government is to preserve those three rights, not created by government. Its job is not to define additional “rights”.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

I question a different period—the one that started on January 20, 2009, and continues to this day. It is a period marked by the complete incompetence of a Marxist president, and leads one to wonder how the collective psyche of 50 million plus Americans had become so corrupted that Barack Obama could have been reelected.

Oh, and note to NY Times: The Declaration of Independence, however you choose to parse the punctuation, has exactly zero legal ramifications. For that, you would want to go to the other founding document, the one that starts with a “C,” the very document that your beloved president spends every waking hour trying to get around.

[bert]

The revisionist attempt is invalid. The meaning is settled, has been for years.

[miss marmelstein]

Since old Tom was alive and well many years after he got an ink blot on the document, I’m sure he would have clarified.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

If you skip a period, it’s a pregnant pause.

[glennaro]

I have a replica of the Declaration printed in the 1930s that was made from one of the original Dunlap broadsides. Not only is there a period, there is a line after the word "happiness" ... similar to the way Jefferson ended many sentences throughout the original.

Just another example of when you hear the phrase "experts say" or "studies show" you should assume wisely that the debate "is far from over".

[Texas Eagle]

The period creates the impression that the list of self-evident truths ends with the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she says.

No, you idjit, it doesn't. Unless you happen to be a female employee of The New York Times who most likely makes less than her male counterpart. In fact, it creates the reality that the list is just the starting point.

The line in question is prefaced with: "That among these are....

Here. Read it for yourself...

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.

The key word there is "among". That does not imply finality or finiteness. It denotes a starting point.

The fact that the next sentence begins with "That" serves to continue the thought that "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men" is another self-evident truth. Being "self-evident", by definition, means the point does not need to be tortured or massaged by some freedom-hating Libtard who writes for a newspaper that is being read by fewer and fewer people.

[XRdsRev]

Who cares how the draft was punctuated. The only thing that counts is the final document which was the one adopted and signed. The draft is just that, a draft. It carries no official weight whatsoever.

[MamaTexan]

“The logic of the sentence moves from the value of individual rights to the importance of government as a tool for protecting those rights,” Ms. Allen said.

LOL! the only problem being that any attempt to prostitute punctuation (real or imagined) in the Declaration doesn't change what it IS-

A notification that the Rights of Men are derived from the Laws of Nature....not from other men.

Methinks the only 'tool' here is Miz Allen.

[GOPJ]

When the press hates something they present it as ‘confusing’ - only understandable by elites... esoteric....Sorry, I couldn't even make it to the jump...

[GOPJ]

This is the one to read for the 4th of July...

http://www.aspentimes.com/opinion/12063419-113/americans-government-business-law

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3175512/posts

Imagine a Fourth of July tradition like Hollywood’s where each year the Oscars pay homage to fallen stars. Liberty-loving Americans would fete public servants who’ve honored Thomas Jefferson’s rule to “leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.”

Might celebrating trustworthy stewards inspire Americans to Think Again about our Founders’ insights, ingraining a culture that prizes democratic accountability and lawful government, the one that transformed our risky political experiment into history’s freest and most prosperous society?
........................... MORE...
Commenting on Obama’s intentions following his 12 unanimous Supreme Court rebuke for federal-power over-reach, constitutional law professor and Obama voter Jonathan Turley explained that the president “can’t say the solution to gridlock is you simply have to resolve it on my terms.”

Having overthrown King George’s unfair and arbitrary rule, our founders established an America of, by and for the people — not ruling elites — stipulating that presidents “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

Think Again — wouldn’t a shared allegiance to our constitutional order be the best way to realize a more perfect union, for “ourselves and our posterity”?

[Jabba the Nutt]

"“The logic of the sentence moves from the value of individual rights to the importance of government as a tool for protecting those rights,” Ms. Allen said. “You lose that connection when the period gets added.”"

This sounds like a lefty/liberal attempt to re-write history, that Jefferson really, actually wanted Big Government.

You don't lose squat with or without the period. The point is that the role of government is to secure our rights. Basta!!

And they aren't rights to force other people to pay for your "freedom", as the Marxists argue. The big mistake was that Jefferson changed the line from "right to life, liberty and property" to "pursuit of happiness". Jefferson should have left property in and added pursuit of happiness.

[Candor7]

If Only Thomas Jefferson Could Settle the Issue>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He would have a solution quickly, and some where in there would be a musket ball.

[GeronL]

front page??

seriously??

These leftists never stop

[ConorMacNessa]

While she's trying to parse that unambiguous Triad - Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - out of existence, does she have anything to say about the the Litany of grievances against King George set forth in the Declaration?

And another thing - the lefties on the Supreme Court have no difficulty invoking foreign law - which has no authority in America - in their analyses and opinions.

How about invoking and being guided by the Foundation Document of our Republic and its central and most widely known tenet:

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!!!

The founders, our Fathers and our Mothers fought for it and preserved it for us.

Now it is on us to carry on!

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Political Junkie Too]

I bet that soon, the Declaration of Independence will be scrubbed from the internet due to the EU's new law giving people a "right to be forgotten," which requires Google to remove links to information about them. From the article: "It is censoring the internet, giving new tools that help the rich and powerful (and ordinary folk) hide negative information about them, and letting criminals make their histories disappear."

So, is it time for King George III to exercise his right to be forgotten? If so, the Declaration of Independence should be scrubbed, too, right?

-PJ