that's some good copy, tommy.

On independence day 1998, i was hanging out with prince in nyc when my mom called from florida, where her then-current, then-living beau had pointed out to her that the nytimes wisely always puts a facsimile of the declaration of independence on the back of one of the paper's sections on july 4. moms reiterated what a timeless piece of writing it is, and suggested that princey and i give it a read. we did so, and considered ourselves all the better for it.

i never got along with the beau, but he was wise himself, i'll give him that. the declaration is a fine piece of writing. tot. timeless.

right now, i think america is failing BIG TIME, in so many ways, but c'mon, i wouldnt rather live anywhere else; she still really is the best.

it is not for the reason above that i suggest everyone give the dec another read. it's for the eloquence itself, and for the transcendent reasoning. (but obv., in this context, it was fairly compulsory for me to opine on the state of our union.)

so without further ado, here it is. if nothing else, read the first paragraph: highly classy and powerful. the man could really turn a phrase.

also, here's a bit of background from the same site.

btw, the pic is actually the emblem of a fine musical.