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Show Saturday, July 5, 2008 DAILY HERALD AS BITORIALS EDITORIAL BOARD Craig Dennis, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Jim Tynen, Editorial Page Editor RICH LOWRY Washington's army embodied cause w The A revolution always faces ecades later the at least two threats Declaration of from its Independence outright enemies and from its was canonized friends, who often betray it and seize power for themselves. As as American scripture," the important as any of Washington's vinegary historian Walter military successes was the exwrites of the nation's ample he set in dealing with the deContinental Congress and founding document, "but in 1776 it was generally read once in spite all the frustrations getting dearmy camps, taverns, and village his Army paid and equipped cheered, and forgotgreens ferring to civil authority. As the ten." French author Chevalier de Its fate might have been to said during the Revolution, be forgotten forevermore, if it "This is the seventh year that he has commanded the army and he weren't for George Washington and his Continental has obeyed Congress: more need not be said." Army. When our great Our nation adventure in liberty still When at the end of seemed an impossible the war, a colonel sent was born on Washington a letter risk, they were the embodiment and vindicathe shoulders suggesting he become tors of the Declaration. king, Washington of an army, Our nation was born wrote back a stern on the shoulders of an rebuke. The brilliant whose army, whose exertions Washington biographer and principled patrioexertions and Richard Brookhiser tism gave the famous whose latest book is principled parchment its life. "George Washington Besides the Continenon Leadership" notes patriotism tal Congress which that Washington asked for written confirmahardly covered itself gave the in glory the Army tion from his aides that Declaration his reply had been sent, was our first national D Chas-tellu- institution. It joined L -- tezTkPHAR r: r :r x r - ...m'm tJU mg!&w&JBm: c"" .. c:: - .j : Runnin 0" on empty the only time he made such a request during its life. together well-ma- n nered Virginians, quarrelsome Yankees and backcountry riflemen in an incubator of the nation. Independence from Britain was hardly a unanimous proposition. John Adams thought a third of the country supported it, a third opposed and a third was neutral. It was on the Army that independence would stand or fall, and Gen. Washington's strategic imperative was always to preserve the Army to preserve the nation. He knew if he kept the Army alive, eventually the British would tire. And keep it alive he did, though sometimes by the barest of margins. After the war, Washington marveled that "such a force as Great Britain has employed for eight years in this country could be baffled in their plan of subjugating it, by numbers infinitely less, composed of men oftentimes half starved, always in rags, without pay." Washington gathered around him an officer corps he called his military family. They were talented and devoted to him and more importantly to the principles of the cause. Washington's chief of staff Alexander Hamilton insisted that the rights of man "are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of the divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power." ' the war. Of course, when the war ended, he resigned his command and returned to Mount Vernon. Upon hearing the news, an astonished King George III said, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." Before he did, Washington had a last instance of drama with his Army. Camped in Newburgh, N.Y., at the end of the war in 1783, the Army grew restive because Congress was tardy in paying it. Insurrection was in the air. In a tense meeting with his officers, Washington told them that in rejecting rebellion, "You will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled patriotism and patient virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings; And you will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion of Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to Mankind, 'had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attain- -- WW I DEPENDENCE YjL "When people run out of rebate money for gasoline and W food, they will be in trouble. This tepid, limping economy will be with us for a while. We're not crashing and burning; it's just not an economy that's going anywhere." Joe Naroff of Naroff Economic Associates in 0 ' Holland, Pa. "That's unsustainable. At some point the math begins to not work." Stephen Reich, of the University of South Florida, on an estimate that the averfamily now would age two-ca- r spend about $6,200 a year to gas up its vehicles. fife. " ing.' The day wasn't wanting, nor were the men in arms who vindicated the Declaration. I Rich Lowry. editor of the National Review, writes for King Features Syndicate. Beehives & Buffalo Chips Beehive to Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch for keeping up their push to end a foolish congressional moratorium on the nation's vast oil shale wealth. "It is irresponsible, it is malicious, for us not to proceed to open it up," Bennett said at a Tuesday press conference at the state Capitol. Hear, hear. But how high will oil have to go before congressional Democrats hear? Buffalo Chip to the Utah Division of Securities for lousy performance. A legislative audit found that the agency was riddled with personnel conflicts, often failed to follow procedures and policies, managed cases poorly and possibly was overzealous, creating at least the impression of unfairness. It needs a credibility overhaul. -- '9k Beehives to Sens. Ben jamin Cardin, MBlfe ba-si- DOONESBURY THMdU.00 MA Buffalo Chip to a Sandy man who failed to take c precautions for a hike in American Fork Canyon. Adam Koritz, 28, went for a hike Monday morning, but the presence of bears and some bad weather left him stranded when night fell. "He had no food, no water, no extra clothing, no shelter, no lights," one rescuer said. Mitigating factor: He had told his parents of his plans, so they were eventually able to summon help. and Lamar Alexander. for planning to introduce a bill to ban foreign nuclear waste from being imported into the United States. It's rare that a Beehive goes to but they deserve it because their measure targets efforts by Utah's EnergySolutions to use its Tooele County landfill for waste from Italy's defunct nuclear reactors and maybe other foreign waste in the future. 5MH6 BY COSTCO. 6GTSOMB CHARCOAL FCHT0M6HT... sow AS Garry Trudeau gnmmy.com MALLARD FILLMORE Bruce Tinsley WHLSYOUXBAT IT, COULD YOU KK UP50MS MACAW cneese,u.r AHvMAY-B- e SOME PKKLSSf Atfatf IT. |