It was disappointing that not every committee member supported this straightforward declaration that is fundamental to who we are as a nation, but it was an important moment for members to be on record to show where they stand on the issue of religious freedom.
British politicians in the deck are headed by David Cameron, the Tory leader, who is quoted as saying: "I did lots of things before I came in to politics which I shouldn't have done," and the former Europe minister Caroline Flint, with the more straightforward declaration: "I took cannabis 20 years ago".
For all its modesty, the ceremony was an unusually straightforward declaration of British confidence, in its founding principles and its institutions.
"The triumph of this bloody terrorist, war-criminal and butcher is a straightforward declaration of war," echoed the organ of Syria's Baath Party.
The title of Maroon 5's fourth album is a straightforward declaration: owing to 8m sales of the 2011 single Moves Like Jagger, plus leader Adam Levine's stint as a judge on the US edition of The Voice, the public have seen rather a lot of this band lately.
And while I personally share DeLong's perspective on basic economic realities, any straightforward declaration from an expert on how the future will unfold (including from DeLong's intellectual stablemate, Paul Krugman, who as far as I can tell has never ever been really wrong about economics or, remarkably, politics) should be met with a dose of skepticism.
Diep Tran, the chef and owner of Good Girl Dinette — a winsome spot in Los Angeles with a straightforward declaration of culinary intent: "American diner meets Vietnamese comfort food" — was the first to sing the praises to me of Red Boat, a brand of nuoc mam nhi, or first press, "extra virgin" fish sauce from the island of Phu Quoc.
M. Venizelos' speech was delivered in measured terms, and, while avoiding making any straightforward declaration, he recognized, in fact, that Greece and Crete are henceforth united.
Yet, even his actions were not a straightforward declaration of White House support for Brown.
The 46-year-old singer goes all in in the R&B track, forgoing euphemism for straightforward declarations of his desire to get down with his woman "with the lights on".
