Trouble was brewing aboard the good ship Mayflower. She had been blown off course by storms, so instead of arriving at the northern part of Virginia Colony (modern day New York) they found themselves off Cape Cod. Attempts to sail south almost met with disaster due to the notorious shoals off the Cape. Winter was coming on, and worse than that, the crew was running out of beer (Stop laughing... It's true. You'd opt for beer too if you knew what could be swimming around in stored water back then.) It was decided to make the best of where they were. Being outside the jurisdiction of their charter, some of the men onboard, especially the "Strangers" (those not of the Pilgrims' faith) figured this meant that each man could do as he pleases, and "... would use their own liberty, for none had power to command them" according to William Bradford. In other words, they were for anarchy, and what social theorists call a "state of nature." After some intense lobbying, Bradford, John Carver and other leaders - perhaps assisted by some strong-arming from Myles Standish - managed to convince most of the men to sign what has come down to us as the Mayflower Compact, wherein they agreed to:

Covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and in Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by virtue hereof do enact, constitute and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General Good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.

Thus was born the tradition of the New England town meeting, which survives to this day. When Norman Rockwell painted his famous Freedom of Speech, he chose as his subject a man dressed in work clothes, dissenting from a proposition at a town meeting, while his neighbors respectfully hear him out. (Having participated in several of these, I can tell you that, while they weren't always respectful, they sure as hell could be entertaining.)

Notice the limitations on strict majority rule. 14th Amendment jurisprudence has given us a good grip on equal protection, but isn't the word "just" so elastic as to be meaningless? Not to them. Remember our stop at the Magna Carta. By this time it, and the principles in it,were starting to become venerated as secular scripture. Englishmen were beginning to consider themselves as having rights beyond the reach of any king or government.

After 150 years or so of enjoying this self-government, due to the "Tea Party" and other disruptions, Boston Harbor was closed, the town occupied again by Redcoats, and the Massachusetts charter was revoked, placing the colony under direct crown rule. The local militia in the towns around Boston made ready. It used to be that every school kid knew what happened next:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled

Here once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

(Yeah, yeah, I know... they didn't have any flags that day and the first shots were exchanged in Lexington a few hours earlier... Sit down.)

Decades later and old militia captain was being interviewed, and was asked why he turned out with his musket on that long ago April morning. Was it the stamp act? The tea tax? Some grand enlightenment view of the rights of man? No. "Young man," he said, "what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: We had always governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn't mean that we should."

Each spring, I wait for the tree pollen to finish up its annual pollution and then open up the windows and dust off the winter stench that had invaded my home for the past few months. Then I dust off the lawnmower in preparation of four (or five or so) months of beheading dandelions. The bees come out and start buzzing around the back door, having mid-air collisions with the red wasps and yellow jackets. Whiffle bats are great for those critters. Nailing one of those pests in mid-air has a certain sound and feel to it that I imagine is only surpassed by that of a clean, 'sweet-spot' home run stroke. Anyway.The lizards are everywhere, and then the feral cats start skulking around the periphery, taunting my dogs or having late-night fights in the woods beyond, complete with some of the absolute worst noises ever imagined. But at least all that stuff stays outside.

For one military veteran, 'Spring Cleaning' has taken on a new meaning. Here's the basic story: an active duty military member deploys to Afghanistan and has a friend looking after his house while he's gone. Friend enlists the help of some degenerates to fix the place up. When the work (if any was even done) is finished, said degenerates promptly move into the house, claim it like a dog does a bush, and then stay there, drinking water from buckets because you can't get the city water turned on without a lease. The owner of the home says the squatters don't have permission to stay and wants them out. However, the home owner is in Hawaii now. Not exactly a short drive to check on the house.

Luckily, it looks like the squatters are moving out, and with the help of some veteran's groups. This news will probably come as a huge relief for the home owner.

Aside from being a philanthropic house-sitter, this Ortiz fella is apparently also a pit-bull connoisseur with a long rap sheet(shocker) who wears Bob Marley shirts of vibrant colors, no doubt intended to really bring out his eyes and make those neck and face tats 'pop' with Lady-Gagaesque gusto. Who wouldn't want such an upstanding, trustworthycitizen guarding their personal wares?

Anyway, it looks like this situation is working out for the best now, so that's the main point. And I'll stop complaining about all the flying, stinging insects at my house.

At least for now.

Pat Tillman could have made great money playing professional football. Instead, he chose to serve his country, and gave the ultimate sacrifice 10 years ago to the day. Don't know who he was? Start here.

RIP, and thank you, Pat.

Last week a "truce" was struck between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces. The deal seemed to favor what Russia wants anyway, so it doesn't really look like much of a deal. Furthermore, those pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine didn't waste any time in not honoring the agreement. And the rhetoric on both sides has been bold, chest-thumping style stuff, but while Russia seems to keep getting their way, the US responds with... Joe Biden and more talk. Granted, we are sending more troops to eastern Europe, but if we're really concerned about the numbers of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border then the 600 troops to Estonia, et. al. doesn't seem to match all the hype. I'm not even saying we need to intervene militarily - above my pay grade, for sure. But it seems like this is all dog-and-pony; all bark and no bite.

Why say anything about it if we're not going to do anything? Not that I think I have the answers. I simply have lots of questions.

Maybe this is just the new era of diplomacy? Forget talking softly and carrying big sticks, no more Detente, bye-bye, peace through strength, hasta la vista, RESET, it's looking like the era of More Flexibility.