Constitution Day 2013

Constitution Day 2013275Friday evening we attended the annual Famous Marching Presidents Constitution Day pre-parade party at the Connors’ home in Nevada City. As usual, it was a festive event featuring a pot luck buffet fit for a king president, and an opportunity to visit with old friends and new faces. The Chief Executives have been a regular feature of the procession for over a quarter of a century now, and the parade itself is closing in on its fiftieth anniversary in a few years.

Of course, the parade has invaded the Crabb home long before September. My lovin’ spouse, Mary Ann, and her cohorts in the Merry Widow Society are also featured in the yearly constitutional, and they have been preparing their entry for the last two months. I’d tell you about it, but their plan is a closely guarded secret. Any slip of the tongue would result in a trip to the woodshed, or maybe the Moscow airport, so don’t look for any revelations on Wikileaks. All I will say is they will be…colorful.

In these tumultuous political times, the constitution is more important than ever. Go out, participate, enjoy. Be damn thankful we still have one to celebrate.

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16 Responses to Constitution Day 2013

  1. Greg Goodknight says:

    The Widow’s “Carmen Miranda Rights” theme was a masterstroke.

    • Greg Goodknight says:

      Somewhere, in a Fabulous Furry Freak Bros. comix there’s an explanation about what Fat Freddy’s cat is doing when asleep but his legs are twitching… “Dancing the Fandango with Carmen Miranda!”.

      Do remember, the “Miranda rights” aren’t granted by the Miranda reading and the right to remain silent is always in place. Here’s a former defense attorney turned law school professor on why you should never talk. Even if you’re completely innocent of everything:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

      Why remain silent even if you are innocent? The prof mentions how one guy told police where he had been, and it was truthful and it was exculpatory. However, an acquaintance of the guy testified they saw him elsewhere, and his truthful mention of where he had been was found to be evidence of lying of where he was and evidence of his guilt. So, you can be truthful and innocent and it can still bite you.

      I was on a jury recently and had to find a guy guilty on two misdemeanor counts related to drunk driving. His interview started with a question, “Have you been drinking?” and he said no. Bad choice; you can remain silent but a lie can be used by a jury (according to the instructions given the jury) as evidence of guilt. There was enough other evidence but the lie hurt his chance for the jury finding a reasonable doubt.

  2. rl crabb says:

    I see Big Daddy Jeff is now dissing the parade for being too political. Constitution? Politics? What possible connection could there be? How about the local film festival that happened to coincide with the parade? No politics there? (And after the parade I talked to several people who walked out of the festival-sponsored comedy show due to the overabundance of expletives. Where’s the outrage, Jeff?)
    I particularly enjoyed JP’s statement that he knows more about the 1st amendment than anybody. He knows more about anything than anybody. Just ask him.
    http://sierrafoothillsreport.com/2013/09/10/have-political-activists-hijacked-our-small-town-parades/

  3. Todd Juvinall says:

    How can a “journalist” look in the mirror and write such an uninformed piece about the parade. politics and the Constitution? Amazing. I think the on;y thing I saw in the comments was all the commenters were dissing his stupidity. I even agreed with Ben Emery’s comments there. OMG!

  4. PeteK says:

    The parades in this town have just become too mean spirited…From both sides of the troth. From the time I was a kid I loved and looked forward to going, now I turn my head(in disgust usually) and get out of town for the day.

  5. Robert Lovejoy says:

    I enjoyed Pelline’s comments. I bet he loves all this attention even more. As the words flow off Pelline’s fingertips, the word “we” is used often. We this and we that. Correction is needed right here and now. There is no “we” when Pelline goes off. A proper noun would be “I” believe this and that. Not we, but he. Unless he considers himself half the dynamic duo, the latter word would make it “we” when he speaks for himself.

    I think Pelline’s biggest beef is that there were just too many grey headed folks at the parade. Old people somehow equates to conservatives, which we are told are out of touch with the Purple State of Nevada City. Conservatives are evil, decaying dinosaurs that must be silenced. Heaven forbid that oldest median age population of any County in the Golden State is Nevada County. Heaven forbid that there is no diversity here either. Too many white people and white people tend to be more on the conservative side. Especially all those old white people.

    They even had some white people protesting the plans to get into another war at the parade. Saw it in Pelline’s highly spoke of The Union. Only a racist would ever criticize a Black President. Those 60 or so protestors were white and racists. They should be more moderate. Too many white people and too many racists protesting a Black President and too many conservatives here. What are “we” going to do with all the Purple People Eaters that are blocking progress?

    • Chris Peterson says:

      Yeah, things were so much nicer when you could drag your knuckles in public without being ostracized. Must make for some lively discussions on the church steps after praying to the Prince of Peace for an hour or so.

      Damn those inclusive peaceniks for focusing on the action rather than the color of the guy’s skin calling for it!

  6. rl crabb says:

    This is what passes for free speech in America these days. It’s free, as long as you agree with my agenda… http://www.salon.com/2013/09/13/cuny_students_vow_to_push_petraeus_off_campus/

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