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Alexander H Stephens Cornerstone Speech
Alexander H Stephens - Cornerstone Speech
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Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention:— I appear before you on this occasion upon your own invitation, representing the government of the Confederate States. My mission was at your instance, in compliance with a resolution inviting that government to send a commissioner here. The powers by which I am accredited were, I presume, communicated to you by your Executive yesterday; and I have simply in this interview, in accordance with your request, to state to you very freely, candidly, and frankly, what are the wishes and objects of our government in sending me here. I will premise by stating with equal candor and frankness that the communication from this Convention to our government inviting this conference, was received with a great deal of gratification.
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I presume that no event since the separation of the more Southern States from the late Union, has occurred to give such unbounded pleasure to the whole Southern people, as the news that the Old Dominion had thrown her fortunes with ours.
We had thought, from the beginning, that this result would ultimately be inevitable. Individually, you will allow me to say I had not the slightest doubt upon the subject, and I feel extremely gratified that my anticipations have been so early realized. When the communication was received that Virginia had seceded, and wished a conference with our government, there was not the slightest hesitation. The telegraph announced it at 2 o'clock, P. M., and by 8 in the evening I was on my way here.
It is true your resolution simply indicated a wish to form an alliance with the present Confederate States, in the present emergency, in the midst of the present perils which surround you and us alike. The condition of this body is not unknown to our government. The circumstances under which you are assembled, and the limitations of the powers under which you act, are very well known at Montgomery. We know the condition on which your Ordinance of Secession was necessarily passed—that it was, under the circumstances, properly subjected to the popular ratification of your people. Embarrassments, it was known, therefore, might attend any alliance that may be made; but the great question, looking to existing, present perils, and the dangers which instantly press upon you and us alike, was how best to meet these; how best to provide for today, leaving the troubles and embarrassments of future contingencies to be provided for as they may arise. An immediate alliance to the extent of your powers was by our government thought best. It was taken for granted that such, also, was your opinion. This seems to be too apparent to admit of doubt. The only question is as to details. Common dangers require common and united action. A war is upon us—upon you and the Confederate States alike. The extent of this war no human being at this moment can foresee. Whether it be short or prolonged; whether it will be bloody and waged on the part of our enemies, with a view to subjugation and extermination, are matters of uncertainty. In this free conference I may be permitted to give you my individual opinion on these points, for what it is worth. We can lose nothing by looking dangers full in the face, however great; we may thereby be the better enabled to meet them. My own opinion, then, is, that it is to be a war for our subjugation and the extermination, if possible, of the whole fabric of our civil and social institutions. This is my view of its probable ultimate range; and that it will require all the resources of money and men of the Southern people to maintain their cause successfully, unless, fortunately, by immediate and prompt action, such a decisive blow shall be given, on our part, as will turn the tide of victory in our favor at the outset, and show our full power to sustain independence. In this way it may be a war of short duration; but this is rather a hope than an expectation.
As to the ultimate result—whether long or short, whether waged on a small or extensive scale—I do not permit myself to entertain a doubt. We have the means—the men, and those resources which will command the money. All will be put forth, if necessary. Still the issue of this war, as of all wars, as well as the destinies of the nation, we should not forget, are in the hands of the Great Sovereign of the universe. In Him and the justice of our cause, and our own exertions, our trust and confidence of success should be placed. Our enemies may rely upon their superiority of numbers, but the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong; but it is with God who gives the victory to the right. The war has not been of our seeking. We have done all that we could to avoid it. We feel assured of the righteousness of our cause, and that "thrice armed is he who hath his quarrel just." We have committed no wrong on those who force the war on us; we have made no aggression on them or theirs; we have merely claimed and exercised the right of all free and independent States to govern ourselves as we please, and according to our own wishes, without interfering with or in any way molesting the other sovereign and independent States that formed the old Union. With those States we were united under a compact known as the Constitution, that imposed obligations upon all the States. These obligations, on the part of the Southern States, have been faithfully performed, while on the part of a large number of the Northern States, they were openly and avowedly disregarded. The breach of faith was on their part. In the judgment of our people the only hope for safety was in a resumption of their delegated powers. Having resumed the powers delegated to the general government—a right which Virginia distinctly reserved to herself in the adoption of the Federal Constitution—there is no power on earth that can rightfully call in question our acts as free, sovereign, and independent States, so far as the old Union is concerned. Even in the opinion of Mr. Webster, the great Northern expounder of the Constitution, when the Northern States refused to fulfill their obligations under the Constitution, it was no longer binding upon the Southern States.
But this is a digression. It was only intended to impress the rightfulness of our cause. The matter now before us is the formation of a new alliance that will better secure our rights and our safety—the first object of every State and community.
The importance of a union or an alliance of some sort on the part of your Commonwealth with the present Confederate States South, in this conflict for our common rights, I need not discuss before this intelligent body. Any one State, acting in its own capacity, without concert with other States, would be powerless, or at least could not exert its power efficiently. The cause of Virginia, and I will go further, the cause of Maryland, and even the cause of Delaware, and of all the States with institutions similar to ours, is the cause of the Confederate States—the cause of each, the interests of each, the safety of each is the same; and the destiny of each, if they could all but be brought to realize the dancers, would be the same. Therefore, where there is a common danger; where there is a common interest; where there is a common safety; where there is a common destiny, there ought to be a common and united effort.
This is the view entertained by our government, and hence the invitation of the commonwealth of Virginia was responded to so promptly.
There are various reasons that I might present to enforce the importance of such a policy, if I were aware of there being the slightest necessity for it; but I am not. Indeed, I am speaking without knowing anything of the individual sentiments of the members of the Convention; and it may be that what I am now stating to the Convention as very important to them and to us, is a subject upon which there is no difference of opinion. The truth of the general propositions thus cursorily stated, seems to me to be so self-evident, that I feel it hardly necessary to argue them before you. I will, however, add a few things, briefly.
First, as to the ends or objects of the alliance. To me it seems very important that your military should at least be in co-operation with, if not under the direction of the Confederate States government. We will necessarily have a large amount of forces in the field. When I left Montgomery there was 50,000 troops ordered out; 15,000 of them were then under arms, and most of them are perhaps under arms by this time From information received from the Executive to-day, it appears that the President of the Confederacy has ordered out thirteen more regiments since I left. That will be about 12,000 more troops. North Carolina may be considered as co-operating with us now, though this large force [72,000] does not embrace any from that State. Tennessee also has tendered 5000, with an assurance from distinguished gentlemen from that State to our government, on Tuesday of last week, that soon after the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, 15,000 had tendered their services, and that, if necessary, 50,000 would be forthcoming. So large a number, however, would not be called for from there.
Kentucky, also, has a large body of men, who will be mustered into our service should the exigency arise. It may be that some of those troops may be discharged, and their places supplied by others; but 100,000 men will perhaps be in the field in less than three months. That is not counting Virginia. You, of course, will have a large force. All these forces should co-operate to be efficient; and while I don't claim to be a military man, it seems to me to be clear, on general rational principles, that all the forces—those of the Confederate States, those of Virginia, as well as those of the border States that are not yet out of the Union—should be under one head, as also all the military operations of the country directed to the same ends. It is generally admitted that, in the execution of laws, it is essential that there should be one head; but more important than in the usual execution of laws is it that military operations should be under one head. In physical economy all the parts and functions in each organism, to be efficient, are under the control of one head, one animating, moving spirit, with one sensorium, one mind, one directing will. In military matters, looking to the same ends and objects, there should be one head. It is probable Virginia will be the main theatre, to a great extent, of the pending conflict. Maryland may be, perhaps—we don't know; but the line of Virginia, your great waters on the North, necessarily make you, in this conflict, the theatre of large and extensive military operations, if not the scene of the bloodiest conflicts that this continent has ever yet witnessed. You will, necessarily, therefore, look to the Southern confederacy immediately for aid, even whether you become a member of it or not. I will state here, however, before passing any further, that we are looking to this, your ultimate union with us, as a fixed fact; and the unanimous desire of every branch of our government is, that, just as speedily as possible, you will thus link your fortunes with ours. Your cause is ours, your future will be ours; and your destiny must be ours.
But my mission relates to the intermediate time; to such alliance as may be necessary for the next twenty or forty days before action can be taken by the people in their sovereign capacity at the ballot-box. In the meantime, between now and then, the salus populi must be the rule of your action as the custodians of popular rights. Your duty to yourselves and your homes, is to look immediately to the pressing wants of your people, and, in the meantime, make such preparations as are necessary to meet this extraordinary exigency. Is it not essential that there should be concert and united action under one head? Now, what can Virginia do under a military organization distinct from that of the Confederate States? How can she act in concert with her allies, or those willing to help her without some compact or agreement? Troops from the South are already on the way here. Two regiments from South Carolina will, perhaps, be here within the next 24 hours. Forces have been ordered from Louisiana, and are coming immediately to your assistance. Ought there not to be some understanding as to how they shall be received and how directed? Would it not be better that these troops, as well as your whole military operations, should be under the control and supervision of our government? To me it seems essential for efficient action. These suggestions are thrown out for the consideration of the Convention.
There are other considerations which I might also present. I know the condition of your State in financial matters only to a limited extent. I know the vast resources of Virginia, and I know that her people, with the patriotism that has ever distinguished them, would never permit her cause to suffer for lack of means at any cost or sacrifice. But have you the means now at command? Arms must be had, munitions of war must be procured, men must be sent immediately to the field—these must be clothed and fed as well as armed. All this will require money. "Money is the sinew of war." Where money cannot be had, credit may answer. But money or credit, which will command it, is essential. On the financial point, so far as it relates to the Confederate States, I may state here, that our Congress authorized a loan of fifteen millions at its last session.
The Secretary of the Treasury advertised for five millions. The loan was taken the day I left Montgomery. There were two days for its subscription. When I left, news had already reached by telegraph from the cities that seven millions of the loan of five that had been offered had been taken. The subscriptions in the interior towns had not been heard from, but it was believed that the whole amount would not fall far short of nine or ten millions—double the amount offered. This shows how our credit stands—the money thus raised is now at the disposal of our government; and it was believed that if an offer for the other five millions should be made, making the whole fifteen millions, it would be subscribed in ten days. Our people, from South Carolina to the Rio Grande, are in this movement heart and soul; and every dollar that can be raised will be used for the defence of the country in this emergency. No serious difficulty is apprehended as to our ability to raise the necessary means. In the State of Georgia, before we entered into an alliance with the other States, apprehensions were felt as to our available means. Georgia ordered a loan on her own account, of one million of dollars. This was promptly raised or provided for in our own State. What amount it will require to put your State in proper defence and to meet the invasion that may be looked for is a matter for your own considerate attention—and also whether the State at this time could, without a sacrifice of her credit, raise the requisite amount.
An army of not less than 50,000 men will doubtless be required in your State. On this point your distinguished commander-in-chief, just duly installed into office, can of course give better information than any conjecture of mine. But whether a small or large force shall be required, it may be considered as certain that many millions will be required to cover the expense. Whether you have the means to do this, is a matter for you to consider.
Again: if you had the means, another question is, would it be right for Virginia, on her own account, to make this heavy expenditure in this enterprise? Because you stand on the border, it is not our desire that you should fight our battles. We don't wish you alone to fight these battles, or to bear yourself the expense of defending Virginia. I know that the intimation has been held out in other parts that we were not considering the peculiar circumstances of our brethren on the border States. I give you every assurance that our government feels thoroughly identified with you in interest, and we do not wish your great commonwealth to do more than bear her part in this contest. We know she is willing to do that. So far as the pecuniary matters are concerned then, I simply suggest whether it would not be wise and just and proper that all should share the burden equally —and whether we should not as our fathers did, in the first struggle for independence, look to each other, and bear equally the costs of a common cause? This I present, whether Virginia joins us ultimately or not. But to be entirely frank, I must say that we are looking to a speedy and early union of your State with our confederacy. Hence the greater importance for this immediate and temporary alliance. We want Virginia, the mother of States, as well as of statesmen, to be one of the States of our confederation. We want it because your people are our people—your interests are our interests; nay, more: because of the very prestige of the name of the old commonwealth. We want it, because of the memory of Jefferson, of Madison, and Washington, the father of his country—we want it for all the associations of the past—we want it because the principles in our Constitution, both provisional and permanent, sprung from Virginia. They emanated from your statesmen—they are Virginian throughout—taught by your illustrious sages, and by their instrumentality mainly, were incorporated in the old Constitution. That ancient and sacred instrument has no less of our regard and admiration now than it ever had. We quit the Union, but not the Constitution—this we have preserved. Secession from the old Union on the part of the Confederate States was founded upon the conviction that the time-honored Constitution of our fathers was about to be utterly undermined and destroyed, and that if the present administration at Washington had been permitted to rule over us, in less than four years, perhaps, this inestimable inheritance of liberty, regulated and protected by fundamental law, would have been forever lost. We believe that the movement with us has been the only course to save that great work of Virginia statesmen.
On this point indulge me a moment. Under the latitudinarian construction of the Constitution which prevails at the North, the general idea is maintained that the will of the majority is supreme; and as to Constitutional checks or restraints, they have no just conception of them. The Constitution was, at first, mainly the work of Southern men, and Virginia men at that. The government under it lasted only so long as it was kept in its proper sphere with due regard to its limitations, checks, and balances. This, from the origin of the Government, was effected mainly by Southern statesmen. It was only when all further effort seemed to be hopeless to keep the federal government within its proper sphere of delegated powers, that the Confederate States, each for itself, resumed those powers and looked out for new safeguards for their rights and domestic tranquility. These are found not in abandoning the Constitution, but in adhering only to those who will faithfully sustain it.
We have rescued the Constitution from utter annihilation. This is our conviction, and we believe history will so record the fact. You have seen what we have done. Our Constitution has been published. Perhaps most of you have read it. If not I have a copy here, which is at the service of any who may wish to examine it. It is the old Constitution, with all its essentials and some changes, of which I may speak presently.
It is upon this basis we are looking to your union with us; first, by the adoption of the Provisional Constitution, and then of the permanent one, in such a way as you may consider best, under the limitations of your powers. This I may be pardoned for pressing upon the Convention, and expressing the hope that they may do it, utterly ignoring all past differences of opinion.
In all bodies of men differences of opinion may be expected; but the disagreements and differences with you, as was the case with us, will perhaps be found to relate more as to the mode of action, than to the propriety and necessity of action of some sort. As to differences in the past, on the subject of Union and Secession, let them be buried and forgotten forever.
My position and views upon these questions in the past may be known to you. If not, it may be proper to state, and I feel no reluctance in declaring, in your presence here in the capitol of the old commonwealth of Virginia, that there never breathed a human spirit on the soil of America more strongly and devoutly attached to the Union of our fathers than I. I was, however, in favor of no Union that did not secure perfect equality and protection of all rights guaranteed under the Constitution. I was not insensible of the fact that several of the Northern States had openly repudiated their Constitutional obligations, and that if the principles of the present dominant party should be carried out, ultimate separation was inevitable. But still, I did trust that there was wisdom and patriotism enough at the North, when aroused, to correct the evils, to right the wrongs and to do us justice. I trusted even to the last, for some hopeful reaction in the popular sentiment at the North.
I was attached to the Union, however, not on account of the Union per se, but I was attached to it for what was its soul, its vitality and spirit; these were the living embodiments of the great principles of self-government, springing from the great truth, that the just powers of all governments are derived from the consent of the governed, as it was transmitted to us by our fathers. This is the foundation on which alone all Constitutional liberty is and must be based—and to these principles I am today attached just as ardently as I ever was before, and I now announce to you my solemn conviction that the only hope you have for the preservation of these principles, is by your alliance with those who have rescued, restored, and re-established them in the Constitution of the Confederate States—there is no hope in the States North.
The disagreements that existed in our State as to the course that we should pursue, before the last resort of secession was adopted, were more as to the mode and manner of redress, than as to the cause of the grievance or the existence of the grievance requiring redress. I take this occasion, in passing, to state to you, that in our Convention there was considerable difference of opinion on this view of the subject. It may not be known to you that on that occasion, I disagreed with the majority on the course adopted. My vote was recorded against the secession ordinance in our State. I was for making one more effort, and for getting the whole South united if possible in that effort for redress.
But when the State in her sovereign capacity determined otherwise, my judgment was yielded to hers. My allegiance was due to her. My fortunes were linked with hers; her cause was my cause; and her destiny was my destiny. A large minority in that Convention voted as I did. But after secession was determined on by the majority, a resolution was drawn up to the effect, that whereas the lack of unanimity on the passage of the ordinance, was owing more to a disagreement as to the proper mode at the time for a redress of existing wrongs and threatened wrongs, than as to the fact of the existence of such wrongs as required redress; therefore, after the mode aid manner was adopted by a majority of the Convention, that all of us, as an evidence of our determination to maintain the State in her chosen remedy, should sign the ordinance; and with that determination under that resolution, every member of the Convention, except six, signed it. Those six also declared upon record a like determination on their part. So our State became a unit upon the measure, when it was resolved upon. All anterior differences amongst us were dropped. The cause of Georgia was the cause of us all; and so I trust it will be in Virginia. Let all past differences be forgotten. Whether, if some other course had been adopted, our rights could have ultimately been secured in the old Union, is a problem now that can never be solved. I am free to confess, as I frankly do, that the late indications afford strong evidence that the majority at the North were bent upon our destruction at every cost and every hazard. At all events, we know that our only hope now is in our own strong arms and stout hearts, with unity among ourselves. Our course is adopted. We can take no steps backward. The time for compromise, if it ever existed, is past. Many entertained hopes from the "Peace Congress"—that failed. Even an extension of the Missouri line, which was offered by prominent Southern men, was sullenly rejected. Every indication of Northern sentiment on the part of the dominant party there, since the election last fall, shows that they were and are bent upon carrying out their aggressive and destructive policy against us. This they insidiously expected to succeed in, by relying upon the known strong Union sentiment in the border States. They evidently relied strongly on this in Virginia. Their policy being to divide and conquer. In this, I think, however, they counted without their host.
The people of Virginia may have been attached to the Union; but they are much more attached to their homes, their firesides and all that is dear to freemen —Constitutional liberty.
All hopes of preserving this in the old Union are gone forever. We must for the future look to ourselves. It is cheering to feel conscious that we are not without hope in that quarter. At first, I must confess, that I was not without serious apprehensions on that point. These apprehensions were allayed at Montgomery.
The men who were sent there were not such materials as revolutions usually throw up. They seemed to understand thoroughly the position of affairs—the past, the present, and the future. They duly appreciated the magnitude of the responsibilities resting upon them, and proved themselves, I trust, not only determined to overthrow one government, but capable of building up another. Their work, as I have said, is before you. One leading idea runs through the whole—the preservation of that time-honored Constitutional liberty which they inherited from their fathers.
The first thing was to organize a Provisional Government. This was done by the adoption of the Provisional Constitution. It is to last but one year, and conforms to our ancient usages as nearly as practicable. No changes in essential or fundamental principles. We have but one legislative body. This possesses the powers of the old Senate and House combined; but the rights of the States and the sovereign equality of each is fully recognized—more fully than under the old Constitution, which was the basis of the action of the Convention; for, during the Provisional Government, on all questions in Congress, each State has an equal vote. This Provisional Government was only a temporary arrangement to meet the exigencies until a permanent Constitution could be formed and put into operation. This was really the great work before them.
In this, as in the Provisional Government, the old Constitution of our fathers—the Constitution of Madison and Washington, was their model. I said I might say something touching its provisions. Time will not allow me to go much into details. You will please read and examine it minutely for yourselves. While the old Constitution was the basis and model of its construction, you will find in it several changes and modifications. Some of them important. But of them all I make in passing this general remark—they are all of a conservative character. This is the most striking characteristic of our revolution or change of government thus far, that none of the changes introduced are of a radical or downward tendency.
But all the changes—every one of them—are upon what is called the conservative side. Now, this I ask your special attention to. It is an important fact. I wish you specially to mark it, for I know that efforts has been made to create prejudice against our movement by telling the conservative men of the country that it sprung from some of the hot heads down South, and should not be relied on or trusted. But take the Constitution and read it, and you will find that every change in it from the old Constitution is conservative. In many respects it is all improvement upon the Constitution of our fathers. It has such improvements as the experience of seventy years showed were required. In this particular our revolution thus far is distinguished from popular revolutions in the history of the world. In it are settled many of the vexed questions which disturbed us in the old Confederacy. A few of these may be mentioned—such as that no money shall be appropriated from the common treasury for internal improvement; leaving all such matters for the local and State authorities. The tariff question is also settled. The presidential term is extended, and no re-election allowed. This will relieve the country of those periodical agitations from which sprang so much mischief in the old government. If history shall record the truth in reference to our past system of government, it will be written of us that one of the greatest evils in the old government was the scramble for public offices—connected with the Presidential election. This evil is entirely obviated under the Constitution which we have adopted.
Many other improvements, as I think, could be mentioned, but it is unnecessary. I have barely alluded to the subject to show you that we do not invite you to any wild scheme of revolution. We invite Virginia to join us in perpetuating the principles upon which she has ever stood—the only hope of constitutional liberty in the world, as I now seriously apprehend. If it fails with us, where else can we see hope? But for the South, what would have become of the principles of Jefferson, Madison, and Washington, as embodied in the old Constitution long ago? Whatever the United States Government has done in advancement of civilization, by solving the great principles of self-government by the people, through representatives clothed with delegated powers, is due mainly to the South. The achievement has been by Southern statesmen. The honor and glory of the Western Republic, to which the eyes of the world has been directed for years, was the work mainly of Southern men, and my judgment is, if you will pardon its expression, that just so soon as the South is entirely separated from the North, and the government at Washington has no longer the advice and counsel of your statesmen and the men of the South, they will go into confusion and anarchy speedily. It gives me no pleasure to think so. It would be to our advantage, as well as theirs, for them, as we can no longer live in safety and peace under the same Constitution, to go on and be prosperous, and leave us to do the same. But my conviction is that they will not. They do not understand Constitutional liberty. It is an exotic in their clime. It is a plant of Southern growth. I have, however, no war to make on their institutions. They seem to think them better than ours, and, not satisfied with this, they war upon ours. Now, the true policy of both sides, should be to let each other alone. Let both try their systems, not in war, but in friendly rivalship. Hence it is from no unkind feelings toward them or their institutions, that I express the opinion I do. I believe that our institutions are by far the best. My judgment is that theirs will be a failure. I would give them every opportunity to try them thoroughly by themselves, and for themselves. I simply give my view of what I believe to be the prospect on both sides, as well as the true policy of both; but I seriously doubt whether the rivalry which I would fain indulge the hope of seeing carried out, will be engaged in. War is what they are bent on in the start. Where this will end, time alone can determine. What I have ventured to say of the probable future of the North, is founded upon the experience and associations of many years with their public men in Washington. They do not seem to understand the nature or workings of a federative system. They have but slender conceptions of limited powers. Their ideas run into consolidation.
Whilst I was in Congress I knew of but few men there from the North who ever made a Constitutional argument on any question. They seemed to consider themselves as clothed with unlimited power. Mr. Webster was one of these distinguished few. Though he generally differed from Southern men on points of Constitutional power, yet he argued his side with great ability. Mr. Douglas is also another distinguished exception to the general remark. One or two others might be named as exceptions to the rule, but the great majority, the almost entire Representation from the North in Congress, both in the House and Senate, seemed really to have no correct idea of the nature of the government they were engaged in carrying on. They looked upon it simply as a government of majorities.
They did not seem to understand that it was a government that bound majorities by constitutional restraints. Now, nothing is more fixed or certain than that constitutional liberty can be maintained only by a rigid adherence to fundamental principles. Government is a science—the Northern mind seems disinclined to that sort of study. Excuse this digression. It may not, however, be altogether inappropriate to the occasion—all things being duly considered. It springs from no disposition on my part wantonly to disparage Northern character. It is intended rather to show where our future safety and security lies. We have our destiny under Providence in our own hands, and we must work it out the best we can. All we ask of our late confederates is to let us alone. But, be this as it may, we shall, I trust, be equal to the future and our mission, whether they choose to pursue toward us a peace or a war policy.
With union, harmony, concert of action and patriotism, our ultimate success in establishing or rather perpetuating a stable and good government on our ancient republican model need not be feared.
One good and wise feature in our new or revised Constitution is, that we have put to rest the vexed question of slavery forever, so far as the Confederate legislative halls are concerned. On this subject, from which sprung the immediate cause of our late troubles and threatened dangers, you will indulge me in a few remarks as not irrelevant to the occasion. The condition of the negro race amongst us presents a peculiar phase of republican civilization and constitutional liberty. To some, the problem seems hard to understand. The difficulty is in theory, not in practical demonstration; that works well enough—theories in government, as in all things else, must yield to facts. No truth is clearer than that the best form or system of government for any people or society is that which secures the greatest amount of happiness, not to the greatest number, but to all the constituent elements of that society, community or State. If our system does not accomplish this; if it is not the best for the negro as well as for the white man; for the inferior as well as the superior race, it is wrong in principle. But if it does, or is capable of doing this, then it is right, and can never be successfully assailed by reason or logic. That the negroes with us, under masters who care for, provide for and protect them, are better off, and enjoy more of the blessings of good government than their race does in any other part of the world, statistics abundantly prove. As a race, the African is inferior to the white man. Subordination to the white man is his normal condition. He is not his equal by nature, and cannot be made so by human laws or human institutions. Our system, therefore, so far as regards this inferior race, rests upon this great immutable law of nature. It is founded not upon wrong or injustice, but upon the eternal fitness of things. Hence, its harmonious working for the benefit and advantage of both. Why one race was made inferior to another, is not for us to inquire. The statesman and the Christian, as well as the philosopher, must take things as they find them, and do the best he can with them as he finds them.
The great truth, I repeat, upon which our system rests, is the inferiority of the African. The enemies of our institutions ignore this truth. They set out with the assumption that the races are equal; that the negro is equal to the white man. If their premises were correct, their conclusions would be legitimate. But their premises being false, their conclusions are false also. Most of that fanatical spirit at the North on this subject, which in its zeal without knowledge, would upturn our society and lay waste our fair country, springs from this false reasoning. Hence so much misapplied sympathy for fancied wrongs and sufferings. These wrongs and sufferings exist only in their heated imaginations. There can be no wrong where there is no violation of nature's laws. We have heard much of the higher law. I believe myself in the higher law. We stand upon that higher law. I would defend and support no Constitution that is against the higher law. I mean by that the law of nature and of God. Human Constitutions and human laws that are made against the law of nature or of God, ought to be overturned; and if Seward was right the Constitution which he was sworn to support, and is now requiring others to swear to support, ought to have been overthrown long ago. It ought never to have been made. But in point of fact it is he and his associates in this crusade against us, who are warring against the higher law—we stand upon the laws of the Creator, upon the highest of all laws. It is the fanatics of the North, who are warring against the decrees of God Almighty, in their attempts to make things equal which he made unequal. My assurance of ultimate success in this controversy is strong from the conviction, that we stand upon the right. Some years ago in the Hall of the House of Representatives, a very prominent gentleman from Ohio, announced with a great deal of effect, that we at the South would be obliged to yield upon this question of slavery, because we warred against a principle; and that it was as impossible to war successfully against principle in politics as it was in mechanics. The principle, said he, would ultimately prevail. He announced this with imposing effect, and endeavored to maintain that we were contending against the great principle of equality in holding our fellow men. in the unnatural condition of bondage. In reply, I stated to him, that I admitted his proposition as he announced it, that it was impossible to war successfully against a principle in mechanics and the same was true in politics—the principle would certainly prevail—and from that stand point I had come to the conclusion that we of the South would ultimately succeed, and the North would be compelled to yield their ideas upon this subject. For it was they who were contending against a principle and not we. It was they who were trying to make the black man a white man, or his equal, which was nearly the same thing. The controlling laws of nature regulate the difference between them as absolutely as the laws of gravitation control whatever comes within their action—and until he could change the laws of gravitation, or any other law of nature, he could never make the negro a white man or his equal. No human efforts or human laws can change the leopard's spots or the Ethiopian's skin. These are the works of Providence—in whose hands are the fortunes of men as well as the destiny of nations and the distinctions of races.
On this subject a change is evidently going on in the intellectual world—in the republic of thinkers. The British West India experiment has done much to produce this change. All theories on the problem of human society must in the end yield to facts—just as all theories and speculations in other departments of science must yield to the same sure and unerring test. The changes of sentiment upon the subject of negro subordination have been great already, for this is the proper term to designate his condition with us. That they will continue as truth progresses, there can be no doubt. All new truths progress slowly. With us this change of view and sentiment has been wonderful. There has been almost a complete revolution within the last half century. It was a question little understood by the eminent statesmen of the South seventy years ago. This is no disparagement to their wisdom or ability. They were occupied in the solution of other great new truths upon which rested the first great principles of self-government by the governing race. These principles they solved and established. They met and proved themselves equal to the exigencies of their day and generation that was enough to fill the measure of their fame. Each generation in the eternal progress of all things connected with existence, must meet new questions, new problems, new phases of even old subjects, and it will be enough for the men of each generation, if they prove themselves equal to the requirement of the times in which they live. As our fathers were equal to all the questions of their day, so may their sons be at this and all succeeding times. This is the point to which our attention should be chiefly directed.
In our Constitution, provision is made for the admission of other States into the confederacy; but none can be admitted without first adopting our Constitution, and, consequently, none can be admitted who does not first adopt the fundamental principles on which our social and domestic institutions rest—thereby removing forever from our public or confederate councils that question which gave rise to so much disturbance in the old government.
I have, perhaps, detained you much longer than I ought to have done, and upon matters, perhaps, which you may consider not very pertinent to the object of my mission. This you will please excuse. As I said in the outset, I appeared before you upon your invitation and was rather at a loss what to say, until I knew more of your own objects and wishes—and without, therefore, trespassing further upon your time and patience, in conclusion, I will barely add, by way of recapitulation, the main object, then, I had in view in coming before you today, was simply to announce that our Government hailed with joy the news of your secession from the old Government, and a desire on your part to form an alliance with us. Our Government is very desirous that your ancient commonwealth shall become a member of our confederacy. Your interests and ours are the same; your safety the same, and your ultimate destiny must be the same. We are looking to your union with us as a certainty. But, in the meantime—before that union can be perfected by the action of your people, we think a temporary alliance or Convention of the highest importance to meet the exigencies of the day and the hour. The enemy is now on your border—almost at your door—he must be met. This can best be done by having your military operations under the common head at Montgomery—or it may be at Richmond. For, while I have no authority to speak on that subject, I feel at perfect liberty to say; that it is quite within the range of probability that, if such an alliance is made as seems to me ought to be made, the seat of our Government will, within a few weeks, be moved to this place. There is no permanent location at Montgomery —and should Virginia become, as it probably will, the theatre of the war, the whole may be transferred here—then all your military operations with ours will be under a common head. Your distinguished commander-in-chief, [General Lee], will, doubtless, have such a position as his great military talents and merits deserve. Whether in the Confederate Army proper, or in the State service, will, I doubt not, depend upon his own choice. The great object is to have perfect union, harmony, and co-operation under one head. We think also that it is better for you, in a financial point of view, to unite with us immediately. Besides this, we want your members at Montgomery. We want the voice of Virginia in our Confederate councils.
On this point, I would suggest to you that this Convention immediately, if you think you have got the power, appoint delegates to our Provisional Congress. My opinion is you have got the power. You may have to refer back to your constituents whatever change you make in your federal relations and in your State Constitution; but in all other matters you have plenary power. You certainly have full power to send delegates to the Provisional Congress.
Is it not expedient that you should send members immediately to the Congress that is to assemble at Montgomery next week? If you think it is necessary that this matter should be decided by the people, I would wait, even though perils threatened, before I would infringe upon the rights of the people. But at all events, I wish you to understand that we expect you to join us just as soon as you can. If you see fit to make an alliance offensive and defensive, we will have our military here just as soon after the alliance is concluded as possible. We want you to join us permanently by the adoption of the permanent Constitution, which will go into operation next winter, and of course it will be important to you in regard to the elections, that you change your fundamental law so far as relates to the election of members to the Southern Congress under that Constitution.
I must apologize to you for trespassing so long upon your patience. I have said so much in a desultory way that I have, I fear, overlooked or omitted some things that would have been more appropriate if I had known more of the temper and views of your body. But this is a time for free conference and consultation upon the general state of public affairs. It is from this conviction that I have addressed you as I have. You are now in possession of my views very fully and frankly. It may be that something may occur that may render it proper for me to appear before you again. In any discussions that may grow out of what I have submitted, I hold myself in readiness to confer with you; and if this body should decide to form any alliance, or treaty that may be thought proper, such as I have intimated, I will be found ready to meet them or any number that may be appointed to negotiate with me on the subject. I am alone, and have no associate; but any number that may be thought best on your part to meet me can be appointed.
If you desire to hear from me on any other point, most cheerfully I will be at your command.
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Corrie MacLaggan is the Tribune's managing editor. Previously, the Austin native worked as a national correspondent for Reuters, writing and editing stories about Texas and nearby states and overseeing a network of freelance writers. Before joining Reuters, she covered Texas government and politics for the Austin American-Statesman, writing about everything from gubernatorial races to food stamp application backlogs. She spent her first year at the Statesman writing for the newspaper's weekly Spanish-language publication. She has also worked in Mexico City, where she wrote for publications including the Miami Herald's Mexico edition, Latin Trade magazine and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Her first reporting job was at the El Paso Times. Corrie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and Spanish.
This year, new laws went into effect in Texas that do everything from lowering fees for handgun licenses to requiring seat belts on new school buses. Learn more about the state's newest laws.
State laws that went into effect in September do everything from lowering fees for handgun licenses to taking on cyberbullying. Read our "Now on the Books" series about 16 new laws that affect Texans' lives.
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: State lawmakers vow to champion a hurricane protection system for the Texas coast, Vista Ridge pipeline opponents win a small victory and an interview with water rights expert Charles Porter.
In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: Thousands of STAAR exams are affected by a computer glitch, a study shows grades improve with 20 more minutes of sleep, and a Q&A with Tracy Weeden, president and CEO of Neuhaus Education Center.
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: Abused children in Texas are being left longer in psychiatric facilities, prices for some of the country's top drugs have increased more than 100 percent in recent years and an interview with David Earnest, a professor at Texas A&M University.
Here is the full text of the prepared inaugural remarks by Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Former President George H.W. Bush received visitors on Christmas Day at a Houston hospital and will remain there Thursday evening, according to a statement from his spokesman.
For those infatuated with Texas government and politics, 2014 was a blockbuster year. Hear it directly from the source: Here are our reporters' favorite stories of the year.
Former President George H.W. Bush will remain at a Houston hospital Wednesday night "as a precaution," a spokesman said.
In Leon Toubin's dreams, Jewish life would again be vibrant in Brenham, where he cares for the synagogue where generations of his family worshipped. But Jews are not moving to Brenham, so Toubin has arranged to move Texas' oldest Orthodox synagogue to Austin.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott says in new, Spanish-language ads that businesses are leaving California for Texas, where regulations are reasonable and taxes are low.
A new online ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott focuses on the importance of education. "As a student, I know that education has value," one Texan says in the ad.


Founded in the fall of 2017, Flax Sleep is the brainchild of three Vancouver women with an entrepreneurial spirit and common love of a good night's sleep. The brand's collection of French linen sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases are ethically manufactured with a portion of all proceeds donated to providing a safe place to sleep for women and children in need.
Who are you and what do you design?
We are Anna Heyd, Oana Papuc and Vivian McCormick the women behind Flax Sleep a 100% French Linen bedding brand.
Tell us about your journey as a brand.
We starting Flax Sleep when we ourselves were looking for simple, timeless linen bedding for our homes at a reasonable price. We could not find anything in the Canadian market that satisfied our needs. So, we started on the Flax Sleep journey just a little over a year ago and have been putting linen bedding in people's homes across the country and beyond since April.
If you could choose one word to describe your collect what would it be?
From the things we love. From one another. From our ongoing quest for rest and wellness.
Starting your own business is a big risk in itself. Putting your ideas out there in hopes the world likes them as much as you do feels really risky. So far both friends, family and strangers have been really excited about what we are doing, which is a really amazing feeling.
Is there a designer or brand with whom you'd love to collaborate?
We have been so fortunate already to collaborate with amazing brands and designers in our early days. We hope to continue working with inspiring collaborators who value sleep and wellness as much as we do.
So many things. Letting people across the country realize the benefits linen bedding has on their sleep. We also plan to expand our product line beyond bedding into sleepwear, home essentials and more.


text:
import datetime
from . import timezone
import logging

timesheet_logger = logging.getLogger("timesheetlog")

def start_end_this_week():
    now_time = datetime.datetime.now()
    today_date = datetime.datetime(now_time.year, now_time.month, now_time.day)
    start_day = today_date + datetime.timedelta(days=(0 - today_date.weekday()))
    end_day = today_date + datetime.timedelta(days=(7 - today_date.weekday() - 1))
    tz_time_list = timezone.convert_to_bjtz([start_day, end_day])
    timesheet_logger.debug(today_date)
    timesheet_logger.debug(start_day)
    timesheet_logger.debug(end_day)
    timesheet_logger.debug(today_date.weekday())
    return tz_time_list[0], tz_time_list[1]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


JeepForum.com > Models > Jeep Grand Cherokee & Commander Forums > ZJ Grand Cherokee Forum > 96 ZJ Trunk stuck shut!
Future Mods: lift, tires, etc.
Guys, my trunk is stuck closed and for the life of me, I cannot get this thing open! I have read and read how to get this thing open but I just can't get it! anyone ever had this happen?
Try to push down/ forward really hard on the tailgate while trying to open the latch.
There is an adjustable arm inside the door the attached to the handle, It comes loose over time.
To fix it, you need to get the panel off and readjust it.
The rod pointing up on the right has zip ties on it to keep the worn out keeper from slipping in the lever that releases the hatch latch.
Do not try remove the rear door car.
From inside the vehicle, peel off the carpet of the rear door card.
Then use a hole saw to drill out near the door latch a 1.5 inch hole.
Then use some welding wire to hook open the latch mechanism.
You can use contact spray to re-attach the carpet seemlessly.
93 ZJ 5.2, 3.58 stroked. 242 swap. 2.5" lift. dozens of mods.
Some people claim you can hit it beside the latch. I only dented mine a bit and got a sore hand. The "drive down a bumpy road" method worked for me.
You can't remove the panel with the hatch closed, IIRC. At least not very easily and without causing damage (which you may not care about).
On mine, the arm hadn't come loose, it was simply a build-up of dirt/dust in the factory-applied grease had turned it into a sticky wax-like substance. Cleaned it off and it worked fine dry. Did put new grease on it though.
And I think I did wire it too, just in case, instead of zip ties.
Recovery: I have the tow truck number on my cell phone.
Mine sticks from time to time. I pull out on the handle and pop it on the left side of the handle with my hand and it submits.
You need to learn the secret ZJ handshake.
You want to push in on the door with your right hand, just to the right of the latch. Just as you reach max pressure with your right hand, lift the latch with your left hand, then release your right hand and the door will pop open.
Fix the deal in Goldwing's pic above while you still can. It becomes much more difficult to fix if you can't get the door open like this.
GOLDWING and 1shotleft like this.
I literally did this job yesterday. No need to cut, drill, or destroy anything, rig up wire handles, or hit/bump it in the right spot. Open the window. Remove the overhead light and rear pillars trim pieces (not necessary but makes the job incredibly easier if you can), then as many screws as you can find from the liftgate panel. There's 12 screws you'll need to remove from the panel, 2 in each vertical arm, 1 just below each arm on the outside, 4 under the window, and the 2 in the bottom corners of the carpet area (look for holes), all accessible with a regular screwdriver. You can't get the liftgate panel completely off because of the 2 screws currently captured between the bottom of the gate and the striker plate trim panel, but removing all the rest of them will allow you to wedge the top open enough to where you can slip your hand down, peel back the rubber sheet covering the opening, and pull up on the threaded rod linkage. That'll pop the gate latch open. Once opened, remove the last 2 screws from the bottom of the liftgate panel and take it off. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and remove the threaded rod from the claw bracket, and bend the two retaining tabs (on the left side of the claw) back out a bit. They've gotten deformed over time from all the pushing and pulling when you lock and unlock your jeep, which allows the rod to slip up a few threads and doesn't allow the linkage to pull up enough on the latch. Brush away any rust with a wire brush, lube the heck out of everything, then cycle the linkage manually until you think it's smooth enough, then lube it and cycle it again a few more times just for good measure. With the linkage in the unlocked position (like it is in Goldwing's pic above) pull up slightly on the threaded rod then clip it back into the claw bracket. There should be very little vertical play in the linkage. This will give you plenty of pull length and still allow enough clearance to latch properly. If you're going to use zip ties to secure it further, make sure they only go around the threaded rod and the RIGHT SIDE of the claw bracket, not around the retaining/pressure tabs on the left, similar to the lower tie (the one that was installed first) on Goldwing's pic, so the tie doesn't pull the rod away from the claws. Tighten up the nut that secures the handle. Hit your door locks a few dozen times to make sure everything works properly and doesn't bind, adjust as necessary.
Last edited by DjZJ; Today at 09:09 AM. Reason: Forgot about 2 screw locations.
Barricade Garage just did a video on you tube about this. Search for it, this stupid forum won't let me post YT links .
The fix in that video requires breaking off the screws embedded in the plastic of the license plate panel. If you pause the video at 1:20, you'll notice divots on the back side of the panel, to the left and right sides of the license plate screw holes. Those line up with what look like standoffs attached to the lift gate in the next scene @ 1:22. Those "standoffs" are the screws that used to be attached to the panel. When he removes the panel, you can see what looks like RTV or similar gasket/adhesive material hanging off the side, which would now be the only thing holding it on. I know he says his arms are too big to gets them down between the lift gate panel and the lift gate itself, but I'm a 6'5, 300+lb ex defensive lineman and I did it, so unless he's literally just a giant forearm, it's doable. These jeeps rattle themselves apart over time enough as it is, no sense in speeding up the process by unnecessarily breaking things.


Hungary is facing "many interconnected human rights challenges," including laws targeting civic groups, backsliding on women's rights and the systematic detention of asylum-seekers, the Council of Europe's human rights chief said Monday.
Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, who visited Hungary last week, also expressed concerns about the independence of Hungary's media and judiciary.
"The space for the work of NGOs, human rights defenders and journalists critical of the government has become very narrow and restricted," Mijatovic said in a statement, calling on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government to "reverse its worrying course" on human rights.
Orban's government said Mijatovic's criticism was "not unexpected" and called it a "political attack" related to Hungary's "zero tolerance" position on immigration. It said it expected further criticism ahead of the European Parliament election in May.
Last year Hungary approved jail sentences for people convicted of aiding asylum-seekers and put taxes on grants or contributions from foreign sources.
On women's rights, she noted that 28 percent of Hungarian women age 15 or over have experienced physical or sexual violence.
"There is an urgent need to raise awareness of violence against women in Hungary," Mijatovic said, urging the government to ratify the Istanbul Convention on combating domestic violence, while acknowledging that the country was expanding support services to address the problem.


I am like a kid when it comes to finding something, anything, growing on our hillside or near the creek. Each find is a special treat for me. All but one (the last one) of these grow wild here and I assume they are wildflowers. The last one is a plant that has amazed me in that it has lasted through subzero temps, but this year it amazed me by blooming for the first time. Who knew? A tropical looking plant that survives harsh winters but never dies back? No idea what it is.
Sunshine is bursting out all over!
Something I miss about doing soft glass is the vividness of the colors. Boro tends to be so much more earthy. While there are crayon-like colors in boro rod they tend, for the most part, to be either difficult to work in small scale due to boiling issues, or thin out too much making them appear translucent. This can work for me with some effects, but when I want bold, bright colors nothing does it for me like soft glass.
I hope when the studio is finally set up again that I will have two torch stations, one for soft glass (whose color palette has grown exponentially since I stopped using it) and one for borosilicate. For now I'll just have to enjoy the vivid summer colors in my garden (at least those that have survived the tornado teeth of Mr. Jax.


Check out the interview with Links exclusively on Skilly Magazine Online.
I really don't have a method for real, that is profitable while enduring the day-to-day lifestyle of The Struggle; and because of that, the majority of my marketing & promotion are all done from in-house. I'm just always hearing, "A'yo, you've got it man, you just gotta be heard" so I've been researching and saving up to go with a few companies of my interest. For my next project, T.S.I.O., I'm working with "PresstownMedia" & "LandmarkEvents" are handling my promotion and marketing campaign, so I'm excited to see the outcome of the nice deliverables coming my way at the end of it.
To me, the greatest challenge in this ever so changing business is trying to keep your sound pure without the contamination of what is temporarily trending and soon to die out during this transition of where hiphop is really going, in turn preparing for longevity in this business. You will hear more 'no's' than 'yes's' simply because you have to be what's selling, and if you're not what's selling, what are you going to do to begin selling? When what's in style is not yours', what do you have to do to make it yours? You know, I stay asking myself what I am NOT doing, rather than what I am doing wrong, then I adjust.
Well, let me first take a breath…alright. I've moved around the world my entire life, 10+ different states, 2-3 countries for different reasons. My foundation seemed to have begun here in Orlando for the past 6.5-7 years and this has become home for me, so let me first speak on ours here. I mistakenly don't immerse myself in the music scene as much as I should because of my situation of 'the struggle' with trying to survive, finishing school and staying focused at the same time. I really had the time to put in that area, so I put what time I did have into my craft. Minus that, the few artists that I have heard of making noise for the city are artists from out west like Woop, Skull Boy, Dee Boi, just to name a few. Because of the saturation of wannabe's and pretenders, it's hard to run into an artist who is actually willing to invest in themselves like time and money, to the proper way to ensure that they themselves are serious about having longevity in their career. Hip Hop has become such a diverse culture, which is one of the things I like the most about it. I like how open & available it is to make a name on this platform if you have a good product, talent, & proper planning. I wanna share my voice in becoming a voice on the music scene coming out of Orlando.
I honestly feel that future of music is going through a transition since the birth of incorporating music with technology. I feel like we are in the middle of an evolution and honestly speaking, for myself, I find it hard adjusting to and labeling myself as a part of this community that is in the forefront of what is popping at the moment. Not knocking the kids new swag an' shyt, I just know that when I sit back and compare what I grew up on towards what's 'in' now, I'm old-school and can't get with what's trending. Touche'.
The instrumental, then the rest follows. Music is a Universal language, so whatever the beat is telling me to write about, I tap into my emotions and ponder on my personal experienced and how I felt. But you know, I really wish I had the formula to get me in the mood to write my next hit, but I guess that's the excitement of it, I don't know. I just know it's going to be good because it's going to be real. Music is my safe haven where I can vent and express how I really feel without any feedback, passing of judgment, opinions, or misunderstanding. I can be 100% me while being a voice for others. Like Bob Marley said, "One good thing about music is when he hits you feel no pain".
Well, let me piggyback off the response to the last question and say that it differs with me. I let the beat create the atmosphere, then I just go with the flow and listen to what the beat is telling me to say. Then I put my personal experience on whatever the topic is. That's when the true emotions simply flow from the pin to the pad. I may start w/the hook first, then began on Bar 9 or 13 of Verse One and bounce around as it hits me. I think a little while, but it works for me.
I think that the key elements that make a song great would be that it's an 'Original Piece' of art with a great chorus that people can remember & sing along with. It should also include an unique & easy rememberable bridge. The flow of the song should be to be dynamically stretched with much emotion that can be universally relatable, in some form or another.


text:
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DELFI ENCulture
Lithuanian prosecutor wants Labour Party's founder in prison for 6 years
Prosecutor Saulius Verseckas of the Lithuanian Prosecutor General's Office said at the Court of Appeals on Thursday that the Labour Party's founder MEP Viktor Uspaskich should be sentenced to six years, while MP Vytautas Gapšys and Marina Liutkevičienė should receive respective conditional sentences of 18 months and one year.
Viktor Uspaskich
© DELFI / Mindaugas Ažušilis
Verseckas also suggested that the Labour Party should be imposed a fine of about 376,000 euros.
In July 2013, a Vilnius court sentenced Uspaskich to four years in prison for bookkeeping fraud, while MP Vitalija Vonžutaitė was sentenced to three years. MP Vytautas Gapšys was imposed a fine of over 10,000 euros and the party's former bookkeeper Marina Liutkevičienė received a sentence of one year in prison.
Charges against the Labour Party as a legal entity were dropped after it merged with a sister party, effectively forming a new entity.
An appeal against the verdict was filed with the Court of Appeals, and the ruling will not take effect until the Court of Appeals hands down its verdict in the case.
Lithuanian politician's defence in bookkeeping fraud case: I don't know how to keep books
After hearing the six-year sentence proposed by state prosecutor in the bookkeeping fraud case, the Lithuanian Labour Party's founder MEP Viktor Uspaskich has accused State Prosecutor Saulius Verseckas of following someone's orders.
"I totally disagree with the charges. This is an order that the prosecutor is following in a diligent manner," Uspaskich told BNS at the Court of Appeals, refusing to specify the persons who gave Verseckas orders.
The politician claimed the case lacked evidence to prove his guilt.
"I do not fear the prison, I fear that everything is done without any evidence on the table," said Uspaskich.
Lithuanian MEP Viktor Uspaskich , the founder of the Labour Party who is accused of bookkeeping...
Lukiskes prison in Vilnius gears up for popular Netflix's series
The 4th season of the Netflix drama Stranger Things will be shot in Vilnius , with preparations...
Lukiškės Prison: bringing the past into the future
The prison complex in Lukiškės has always been a multifunctional space. At the time of its...
Lithuanian actor and director Sabulis dies
Lithuanian theater and movie actor Remigijus Sabulis has died at the age of 65, his colleague...
Gaon and Gimbutiene anniversaries put on UNESCO list
The anniversaries of two people from Lithuania have been put on the UNESCO list of anniversaries for...
Lutheran church rebuilding project will be granted special status in Klaipeda
The project aimed at rebuilding St John's Church with its tower in the Lithuanian coastal city of...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Uber patch?
Uber patch bird list
ND&B publications
We come to the end of February, two months into the 2019 Surrey v Northumberland patch challenge. Although hard work, the month has seen some rewarding birding, with the following species new for the year: Black-throated Diver (Holmethorpe), Jack Snipe (Holmethorpe), Treecreeper, Hawfinch (Headley Heath, Juniper Top, Juniper Bottom), Peregrine, Lesser Redpoll, Goshawk (undisclosed), Common Crossbill (Ranmore Common), Firecrest (Ranmore Common). The Black-throated Diver (above) was the biggest surprise, only my second record for the Uber-patch. From a personal point of view it was fantastic to once again see Hawfinches in the same areas over which they swarmed last winter. So, the scores-on-the-doors are: Uber patch Jan-Feb total: 101 species ( 47.41% of personal historic total) Mini über patch Jan-Feb total: 72 species ( 55.38% of personal historic total) I'm sure that my virtual friend Stewart will respond with a fine selection of his own from the month. This is
When I visited Ranmore Common at the start of the month there was four inches of snow laying on the ground and barely a bird stirred in the woodland. Today could not have contrasted more. This abnormal spell of weather continues, bestowing upon the morning unbroken sunshine and dream-like warmth. A soporific calm coated the woodland, barely a twig, bud or catkin quivered and all around, joining in with the celebration of tranquility, was birdsong. In amongst the songs of the expected tits and Nuthatches were some welcome additions - Crossbills, Firecrests and Siskins. The western valley slope at Bagden Wood was most productive, with one very noisy Crossbill singing almost non-stop for a good 10 minutes, whilst the Holly undergrowth back towards the top road was best for Firecrest. An early afternoon patrol at the bottom of Denbigh's Hillside did not produce as many butterflies as I had hoped, but in a normal February a count of 9 Brimstone, 2 Peacock and a Red Admiral (above,
It is worth reminding ourselves that today's date is February 26th. The temperature in west Wales (Porthmadog) has been recorded at 20.8C (that's 69.4F in old money) - a new UK February record high. Closer to home it has been 20.7C in Teddington. In such warm temperatures and under clear blue skies and unbroken sunshine I have been wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. Comfortably. Because the number of Brimstone butterflies flying through and hanging about in our Banstead garden had been high, I thought I'd take a slow walk around the neighbouring streets - a vaguely circular walk of 90 minutes with no repetition of the route. I just strolled and counted butterflies. The results, for today's date, are staggering. FIVE species (I've seen two on the same date in February before, but never more). 38 individuals! They were: Brimstone (32), Comma (2), Small Tortoiseshell (2, one on winter flowering heather, above), Red Admiral (1) and Peacock (1). Needless t
This Yew has been teetering on the edge of collapse for some time now, the soil beneath its roots having been eroded by the River Mole. Sometime over the past few weeks it went beyond the tipping point, and now it lies across the water, ripped and bloodied. I always think there is something sad, but noble, when an old tree bows out. For those of you that don't follow the 'birding scene', an ultra-rare Tengmalm's Owl has been found on Shetland. This has unleashed the normal rum cast of twitchers to bunk off work take a hasty holiday and (largely) head north. The owl has been roosting in the conifers of a private garden. The owl has also, at times, been playing hide-and-seek. But there has been some kerfuffle. What has got the goat of many commentators on Twitter is that, in desperation, some people have been venturing inside the small plantation and have even been attempting (at times successfully) to spotlight the owl when it got dark. This doesn't surprise
I've seen quite a few references to our current mild - nay, warm - and sunny weather being nothing more than an anomaly and that we will soon be back in the real world (cloud, chill, sleet, ice). Maybe that is so. But in the meantime let's just enjoy the 'false spring' while it is with us. Lap up the insects and enjoy the bird song. The Yellowhammer at Canons Farm (above) was certainly getting in the mood. This time last year the 'Beast from the East' was about to sweep across us - has a year really passed since then?
We are all guilty of it. Each Spring - or in the case of 2019, this February - we go bananas over the appearance of our first Brimstone butterfly. There is a shared nationwide convulsion formed of tweets, posts and photographs, all singing the praises or showing off the butter yellow of Gonepteryx rhamni . It clearly has a deep-seated meaning, not dissimilar to the arrival of the Northern Wheatear, that pin-up bird of the summer migrants. Both species are colourful and charismatic. Both will snuggle up close to us humans, seemingly at peace with our close attention. The importance of their appearance in the 21st century has most probably been watered down somewhat. To people who were eaking out their food stores and living in harsher conditions, these harbingers of warmer days were almost literally lifesavers. That it doesn't mean so much to most of us, in the mollycoddled modern day, is unsurprising, although for some it is still an event that elicits joy. Joy that another wint
My first telescope was a Nickel Supra. It was draw-pull, had a zoom magnification between 15-60x and came in a tube-shaped leather carrying case. In 1977, when I handed over my £100 to the sales assistant at Vic Oddens (London Bridge) and was handed the optic, I couldn't have been prouder. It was shit. That might be a bit unfair, as all scopes back then suffer in comparison to what we are spoilt with today. When I purchased the Nickel Supra it seemed to be a choice between that and a Hertel and Reuss. Both were of a similar standard and same price bracket, but the Nickel Supra just shaded it for me as it looked sleeker and sounded modern. Scope ownership amongst the majority of birders boiled down to either possessing a Nickel/Hertel or an older, more ancient brass draw-pull, as likely to have been a relic from the 1939-45 war. All of these scopes necessitated having to pull out the tubes (normally a collapsable set of three) and rest the unwieldy contraption on a wall, fence
On the edge of Ranmore Common, at the very bottom of Denbigh's Hillside, you will find this charming wooden carving. It depicts the life cycle of the rare Adonis Blue butterfly, a species that can be readily found on the chalky slopes above. It was created by local artist Iain Hamilton Crafer, from a two tonne piece of felled oak. Below is a detail from the sculpture of an ant tending a caterpillar. On chalk downland it is usually the Red Ant that 'looks after' the caterpillar, offering it protection from predators in return for a fix of honeydew that is secreted by the larvae. If you would like to see the butterfly for real - and not just a giant wooden facsimile - go along on a warm day in May when the first brood should be on the wing. The food plant of the caterpillar is Horseshoe Vetch, so you will often see the adult butterflies flying around this flower which is easily found across the open grassland. It was a good day to be out. Despite a bit of a breez
"Savage nations, uneducated people and children have a great predilection for vivid colours" Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, 1810 That quote appears in Kassia St.Clair's wonderful book 'The Secret of Colour'. What does that therefore say about me and my artwork?...
There was a good tweet posted on Twitter yesterday, basically suggesting that photographs of birds placed in their habitat are far more pleasing than a close-up shot of the species. I couldn't agree more! Now, it could be that I agree with this sentiment because it is easier for me to obtain decent 'bird/habitat' images with a bridge camera (as with the migrant Whinchat shown above) than it is to get feather-by-feather detail - however, there is something undeniably satisfying with a picture where the bird is just a part of the composition. It somehow breathes. By the way, have you noticed how quite a few people are now referring to the taking of a photograph as a 'capture' and using it in verb form too? Not to keen on that myself.
This glorious weather unearths hidden wonders - some the fields of Canons Farm are covered with spider's webs, only appreciable when viewed against the strong, low sunlight. I have absolutely no idea which species produces such a web. Want another Stonechat image? I thought so...
The signs were all present and correct to suggest that Spring is on the way - the first day of 2019 bestowed with genuine warmth; at least 4 Brimstones on the wing close to home by mid-morning; that earliest of passage migrants, the Stonechat, appearing locally; very high Common Buzzards passing straight through the air space; and a suite of insects busily nectaring on hellebores, Christmas Box and early flowering heathers. Days like these warm the soul.
A strange day. I was out birding for most of it and for the majority of the time struggled to see very much at all - few thrushes, paltry numbers of finches, same old, same old. The woodland did have more song than of late, in particular Great and Marsh Tits, but it was hardly a cacophony. But having said that, there were some great moments... Best of all was a happy reconnection with my favourite bird, the Hawfinch. A flock of eight were being faithful to the treetops that run along the road between Headley Heath and High Ashurst. I last saw them moving towards Box Hill; a noisy Raven was hanging around the fields close to Nohome Farm on Walton Downs; and last but by no means least, two Barn Owls were hunting together over the fields of Canons Farm. One even landed on a fence post just 25m away from me. My fumbled attempt to take a photograph would have made the final cut of any Laurel and Hardy film. Botanical infusion came courtesy of a fair amount of Grey Field Speedwell (ab
It's a given that, when advancing in years, your eyesight and hearing will reduce in its effectiveness. I can certainly vouch for both - the increasing difficulty in following a small bird in flight as it travels over (or through) vegetation - or the ability to pick up certain bird calls, in my case Tree Pipits. I am just grateful that crest calls and Grasshopper Warblers still register in my hearing range. What I have had to accept recently is that I am not the sprightly chap that I once was. Let's take climbing fences for example... OK, maybe climbing a fence shouldn't be something that a birder does anyway, as the said fence has been erected to keep them out, down to maintaining the land owner's privacy or to keep livestock in place (and so there is likely to be animals on other side of the fence). But sometimes these fences are there because 'they're just there'. It seems to be a modern disease this erection of fencing all over the place. But I digre
It would have been rude not to pay my further respects to the Holmethorpe Black-throated Diver, which is now in its third day of residence on Mercer's Lake. It stayed close to the south-western corner this afternoon and spent quite a bit of time quietly floating just off-shore. Other highlights included a Kingfisher, one Jack Snipe, 16 Common Snipe and the mixed gull roost that, although numbering c2000 gulls (almost half and half Herring and Black-headed) did not include the second-winter Glaucous. It was also great to catch up with long-time Holmethorpe stalwart Dennis Moore - long time no see!
Gordon Hay started birding at Holmethorpe Sand Pits back at the end of the 1980s. It was a different place to what it is today - the only appreciable waterbodies were to be found at Mercer's and Glebe Lakes, sand was still being commercially extracted (from where Spynes Mere and Mercer's West are today), and access across the Moors was unrestricted. It is fair to say that the site had just come off of the back of a 'golden period', when extensive workings had created a mosaic of pools which provided rich pickings for the small band of birders. Mercer's had then been subsequently flooded and the sand extraction reduced. Gordon found an area where the birding was on the wane. Although never the sole birder, for much of his 30+ years covering the site, he has been the only ever-present and the most frequent - and the most frequent by some way - in fact almost daily, and at times several times a day. He has had great successes, finding Hoopoe, Red-rumped Swallow, Y
Ranmore Common yesterday morning. Four inches of snow had fallen overnight. A Christmas Card cliche of snow and crystal-clear light, the ice crystals sending sparks of brilliance into the air. The stillness was eerie, the only sound being the pattering of the melting snow as it fell from the trees and onto the white cushion below. And that was the only sound. No birds. No birds at all. I walked for miles along the woodland rides, through dense forest and across clearings. Silence. I stopped and scanned tree tops, across wooded valleys, looking for the tell-tale signs of birds on the move, of feeding flocks. Nothing. In three hours, within the wood, I recorded a handful (c20) of mixed tits, two Nuthatches, four Goldfinches and seven Siskins. And a few Robins - we need them in the snow to keep up the Christmas theme, don't we... It wasn't much better overhead, with just a single Red Kite, a Common Buzzard and a few Wood Pigeons and corvids. This lack of birds is replicat
Here in Surrey, as promised, the snow arrived overnight, with only about an inch covering the higher ground in the Banstead area. I foolishly arrived at Canons Farm before dawn in the hope that the weather would have stirred up a few birds, but after three hours I conceded defeat - there was absolutely nothing on the move. The wintering Barn Owl was out hunting until 07.40hrs before it safely went to roost, and up to 40 Fieldfare were loafing around gardens on the edge of the farm. A check on Burgh Heath pond (frozen) could only muster up a Grey Heron. I regularly check this small waterbody in the hope of a Water Rail, but it is usually down to a handful of Moorhens and the odd Coot to give me my rail fix.


One if Powdered and fully concentrated.
The Liquid version is still incredibly sweet and comes with a drops counter cause you will literally just use 2/4 drops to sweeten a huge cup of tea for instance.
The powdered version is the pure thing but because of that it might be harder to use and dose: it will always be too much. You'd need a scale for micrograms to use it, even when you bake and use the equivalent of cups of sugar. However it comes in 100g pouches which are much more than the equivalent for the liquid version, for an even cheaper price.
100ml of Liquid Sucralose are as sweet as 3g of the pure sucralose powder!
which suddenly makes the powdered version the best deal. However the trick about dosage remain but here's the point of this entire post: WE CAN MAKE LIQUID SUCRALOSE FROM POWDER OURSELVES!
Measure 3g of sucralose in the jug.
Pour 100ml boiling water and stir until the sucralose powder dissolves completely.
What I've read about sucralose is that it kills the healthy gut bacteria. This is due to a bit of chlorine that is attached to the rest of the sucralose molecular that becomes a free chlorine during the digestion process. I'm surprised you use it.


Elijah was suffering from physical exhaustion and emotional depression. His present habitat (a dark cold cave) had afflicted him with a serious bout of tunnel vision. He felt that God's cause was dead and that he was the only mourner at the funeral. God had to remind him that there was a silent army of 7,000 God-fearing men and women who had untarnished records of service in the royal order of the unbended knee. Elijah needed to understand that God's work was advancing despite how things looked. He also let Elijah know that there was not only more work for him to do, but that a second generation prophet was waiting in the wings ready to pick up the torch and carry on the commission.
It is unquestionably true that sincere religious devotion has fallen out of vogue in the most visible circles. It has been pretty easy in recent years to get spiritual tunnel vision if we allow ourselves to walk by sight. Even Snow recognizes and reports in his column, "The common lot of religious activists, both liberal and conservative, embraces a Christianity that believes in the teaching of Jesus Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin." We do have a political and academic environment that has accepted post-modernistic view and offers cultural protection and respectability while debunking the Christian faith. Anyone who prays and believes the Bible with conviction is compared to an atavistic weirdo caught up in a dangerous cult, and for the good of society ought to be kept on a very short leash.
Nevertheless, God has to keep reminding us that you can't set any of your spiritual gauges by the image makers, pollsters, and spin doctors that hold center stage in this present world. If you do, you will head for the hills, find a nice dark cave, and end up with a perverted perspective on what God is doing in the world.
There are still tens of millions of Americans to whom religion is not merely a tonic, but is the essence of life and truth. There are still millions who dare to lift up a standard in their community and sphere of influence. The salt and light is still working. God's kingdom is still being advanced! Though I've never banked revival in the church on what happens in Washington, it is refreshing to know that even there, in the capital of the Free World, we have a President who speaks the name of God with plain reverence rather than out of political calculation.
The unfolding days will give us plenty of things to get our head down about. But for now, there is something that you can get your head up about. There are still millions who belong to the royal order of the unbended knee. Millions who pray daily, believe the Word of God, and dare to live out their convictions in the market place of this present world. It might just be that you need to get out of your cave, stand shoulder to shoulder with those who haven't "bowed the knee or kissed the image," and let them know that you are there, too. Who knows? This may be the ripest hour we've ever known for revival.


Recently Star Wars: The Old Republic official website has expressed welcome to players about Knights of the Fallen Empire Early Access. Senior Producer has released a public letter and said that it is indeed his pleasure to greet you to Early Access for Knights in combat from the Fallen Empire Digital Expansion. Since Knights of the Fallen Empire Early Access Available now, players must long for large amount of SWTOR Credits in game, do not worry, IGXE.com selling the SWTOR Credits as usual. You're the first group to formally start this epic new adventure, enjoy, and could the Pressure be around you!
Early Access is really a special reward for individuals' customers who have been as excited once we have to do with this new expansion that signals coming back to the BioWare story-telling roots. Admission to Early Access was introduced whenever we introduced the brand new Digital Expansion and it was an incentive for those Customers who have been positively activated from this summer through early October. Throughout all of individuals several weeks, active Customers also gained other unique rewards including the opportunity to have Nico Okarr as the Companion in-game! The SWTOR team expresses their thanks to the players for support and anticipates hearing players' feedback around the epic new adventure introduced with Knights in combat from the Fallen Empire. SWTOR Credits price usually will increase when game is arising.
For individuals who aren't a part of Early Access, get excited, when you are still getting use of a few of the exciting game improvements which come included in the update. You'll immediately observe that beginning today, October 20th, we've made large changes towards the game play around the core mobile phone industry's in addition to Crafting, Combat, the Cartel Market, and much more!
For individuals jumping in to the nine episodic Sections of Knights in combat from the Fallen Empire, today, your character becomes the Outlander, an experienced from the Great Galactic War. Regardless if you are creating a new level 60, or ongoing to experience your overall character, you'll attempt a legendary story-driven adventure in which you options matter and also have effect on the way your story evolves.
Knights in combat from the Fallen Empire is really a much deeper and much more personal story coming back to the BioWare motion picture storytelling roots. Hopefully that everyone loves this particular story around we loved creating it. For the team, this expansion was inspired by everyone, our gamers. It's about the hero's journey and also the challenges that people face whenever we put down with that path. You had better to buy SWTOR Credits to well play the game.
The Senior Producer of SWTOR said that On top of that SWTOR team have more great The Exorcist tales to inform within the Old Republic so stayed updated.


text:
Q: Using an X509 certificate from an Azure Blob and using it in an Azure website I read another post about this, I try the answers but I am having errors running in azure, running locally it's OK.
I cant find the solution, to use a certificate.p12 from file.
I have the error in  ObjCert.Import(certData) when I run in Azure, not in local.
Thanks!
X509Certificate2 objCert = new X509Certificate2();

            string accountName = "xxxxxstorage";
            string accountKey = "qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqjt8DGAI6aBoBzdwwwwwwwwwwwwwzZg==";

            StorageCredentials creds = new StorageCredentials(accountName, accountKey);
            CloudStorageAccount account = new CloudStorageAccount(creds, useHttps: true);
            // Create the blob client.
            CloudBlobClient blobClient = account.CreateCloudBlobClient();
            CloudBlobContainer container = blobClient.GetContainerReference("certificate");
            CloudBlockBlob blockBlob = container.GetBlockBlobReference("Certificate.p12");
            byte[] certData;
            // Save blob contents to a memorystream.
            using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
            {
                blockBlob.DownloadToStream(stream);
                certData = stream.ToArray();
            }
            objCert.Import(certData);

A: I solve it
Replacing:
objCert.Import(certData)

by
X509Certificate2 selfSignedCert = new X509Certificate2(certData, "", X509KeyStorageFlags.MachineKeySet);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"Can I combine quantum physics and a story of overcoming adverse circumstances into a talk that will inspire you and maybe cook your noodle just a little? And more importantly, should I?"
I got a whole lot of "YES" in reply. Challenge accepted.
I attended another TEDx event, this time in Overland Park. I heard fun stuff from Wes Jackson, who is a proponent of perennial farming (great article in National Geographic here—why no one is picking up his torch and spreading that idea bigger and louder is beyond me) and whose speaking style just cracked me up, it was that awesome; Eduardo Dolhun, a doctor all about getting rid of diarrhea globally with Drip Drop (a noble cause, really), Richard Gordon, who deals with artificial intelligence, cyber security, etc., in mind-boggling ways; and others. Each person had their own story to tell, in their own way. What makes one great would be disastrous for another person to emulate.
I have my own story to tell, in my own way. And it's on my bucket list to be a TED speaker. I know that someday I can pull those two topics together. Maybe next year, 2013 since 13 is my lucky number.
p.s. Your good juju today: What's your story? What is stopping you from telling it?


This style of housing started to become known as conventional when it became the widespread industry standard decades ago. Hens are housed together in cages with small social groups of five or six. Conventional cages, while providing for the hens' well-being, are to be phased out by the industry over the next 20 years to be replaced with housing that offers enrichments like perches and nesting areas.
The hens have equal access to food and water 24 hours a day, and due to the smaller size of the groups, the pecking order is kept to a minimum.
First and foremost, the smaller social groups in conventional housing reduce behavioural issues and injuries from pecking, and this system produces the cleanest eggs. The conventional system doesn't allow for hens to perch or nest.
The eggs immediately roll down onto a conveyor belt for collection. This method keeps the eggs much cleaner than other systems. These belts carry the eggs to a centralized collection area where the eggs are packed wide-end up to keep the yolk centred.
Hens lay their eggs in response to daylight, which traditionally meant that egg laying was a seasonal occurrence from spring to autumn. In 1938, a researcher at the University of Guelph discovered that electric light creates an optimum length of day for year-round laying. In most hen barns, the lights will be kept on 14-16 hours a day to simulate spring.