No, Magna Carta is not the melted rock that comes out of volcanoes, but it is a bedrock of Western society and a major ingredient in the documents that formed the foundation of the United States of America. If you don’t know what Magna Carta is, or even if you do know what it is, then go here and read. This year is its 800th birthday. It wouldn’t be a bad time to also read the documents our founding fathers crafted to form this nation (you know – Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights), and to ponder whether, and how far, our government has strayed from the guarantees they vested in the citizens of this nation. These documents are supposed to protect us from a government that has become too powerful for our own good. That rumbling you’ve been hearing in the background is our Founding Fathers spinning in their graves wondering when we’re going to notice. Liberals, of course, would be quick to point out that it wasn’t the citizens who made the King sign Magna Carta for the benefit the lower and middle classes but, rather, the barons for the benefit of the rich folks.