Nicolas Poussin A Dance to the Music of Time 1634-36
https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/2073483665712308279?s=20
“Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too — great enough to give fame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a… pic.twitter.com/xTetx8Udxs
— Benjamin Domenech (@bdomenech) July 4, 2026
Under President Trump’s leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability. There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S… pic.twitter.com/4dvhML2f7h
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 4, 2026
https://twitter.com/HomanNews/status/2073500616148554089?s=20 https://twitter.com/VividProwess/status/2073580119453520007?s=20My brother posts this every year in the family chat on the 4th. Still hilarious. pic.twitter.com/7QPweajTse
— Royally Sage (@sage1411) July 4, 2026
European Parliament Moves to Ban Far-Right German AfD Party's EU Coalition
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 4, 2026
The Parliament is considering a move that could deregister the AfD-led Europe of Sovereign Nations party and strip it of EU funding for alleged violations of core values.https://t.co/8zu5nEdlcy
“Mamdani has built nothing. He is a taker, never a maker..”
• Elon Decimates Mamdani’s Speech – DeSantis Drops in Off the Top Rope (Arama)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech for our nation’s 250th birthday has gotten a lot of well-deserved criticism. It was pretty awful on the whole. But there was one particular part on Friday that got a lot of attention, in which he lambasted America, attacked Elon Musk, and demonized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Read more …
JUST IN: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani used America’s 250th anniversary to sharply criticize the country, accusing the U.S. of allowing children to go hungry while billionaires and “oligarchs” gain more power.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 3, 2026
He said America’s wealth was built by working people with “calloused,… pic.twitter.com/p7Ayuza5je
The swipe against Musk was particularly nasty, saying children go hungry while the world’s first trillionaire (Musk) “hungers for more.” In that you can see the evil of the radical left – to demonize the people who are actually achieving and whipping up envy and class warfare. But Elon Musk responded, decimating Mamdani with one simple fact.
Mamdani has built nothing. He is a taker, never a maker.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2026“Mamdani has built nothing. He is a taker, never a maker,” Musk declared.
Bingo. Mamdani is basically a nepo baby who had wealthy parents and went to an expensive private school, whose work history could be described as “light,” at best. He worked briefly as a “foreclosure counselor” for an advocacy organization whose purpose was “organizing and advocating for systemic changes.” Oh, and he was a “rapper” before he went into politics. It’s sort of laughable for Mamdani to talk about “calloused hands,” given his work history. But it’s symptomatic of the champagne socialists we’ve seen.
Mamdani isn’t even worthy of mentioning Musk’s name, given all that Musk has achieved with all of his companies. He creates wealth, employs more than 160,000 employees, and contributes things no one else can, such as with SpaceX and Neuralink. His real “crime”? He supports President Donald Trump. Notice you don’t hear any of these leftists coming for Reid Hoffman or George Soros, the guys who contribute to Democrats. That’s the real problem here. The Democrats think they have the right to seize money from Musk because how dare he be so rich? Regardless of whether they are, themselves, rich.
But Elon wasn’t the only one who found some problems with what Mamdani said. So did Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). He laid a big smackdown on Mamdani for being “regressive.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2073215994848481717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2073215994848481717%7Ctwgr%5Ea9971bbcfd2070ef5673c0b8d869eac483b51928%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fnick-arama%2F2026%2F07%2F04%2Felon-musk-decimates-mamdani-250-speech-with-a-simple-fact-then-ron-desantis-drops-in-from-top-rope-n2204002
“When I see the Mamdanis of the world, they’re basically offering these ideas, they claim they’re progressive. They’re really regressive. They are things that the founding fathers rejected,” DeSantis declared, talking about how rights come from God and how these ideas fly in the face of the principles of limited government on which our country was founded. The governor added: “Their ideas have failed throughout history. And we have a chance now with 250 to look back and say — we’re inheritors of an awfully good legacy. We got lucky to have the Founding Fathers pledge their lives, fortune, and sacred honor the way they did when they did it!”
“That’s what makes the lack of comment from “leaders” on the left about the goose-steppers taking over so curious.”
• The Obamas and Clintons on the Monsters Taking Over Their Party (Derek Hunter)
As the Nazis took over Germany, they were a minority party that no one really took all that seriously. Hitler was crazy, but his ramblings weren’t thought of by most Germans or the political establishment as foreshadowing. People today forget they were not a majority, as history tends to obscure reality for the sensational. Communists in Russia and China (or anywhere they destroyed, really) were a minority, too. But you should never underestimate the ability of a distinct minority to bring about massive devastation, as once radicals gain power they tend to wipe out their opposition and move quickly to consolidate control.Read more …
That’s what makes the lack of comment from “leaders” on the left about the goose-steppers taking over so curious. There are a few people commenting – Rahm Emanuel has said some common-sense things, mostly about the messaging and issues these nuts are focused on – but the people who really matter on the left are silent. Where are Bill and Hillary Clinton or Barack and Michelle Obama?Bill Clinton famously had his “Sister Souljah moment,” when the rapper opined that maybe black people should take a break from killing each other and kill white people for a while. She meant it as a commentary on how the media didn’t really pay attention to the scourge of black men killing other black men, something still true today (including to “Black Lives Matter”); she just did it in a way that could easily be taken out of context and exploited by an opportunist politician.
Enter Bill Clinton. He criticized Souljah for her rhetoric and gained a lot of positive media coverage in the 1992 election. It was dishonest because, well, did I mention it was Bill Clinton? It did, however, prove that Clinton could speak out against things other people in his party were doing. While Hillary, Barack and Michelle never really spoke out against their party, the concept is obviously one that applies to them too.
As the communist element of the left worms its way through the party, you’d think Democrats would care – you’d think they would be concerned with an anti-American element of their party seizing power. Granted, they may not care about the policies – there’s such a fine line between what socialists, fascists and communists want to do that it doesn’t really matter; the blood starts flowing over who gets to lead and what to do with the people who won’t obey.
The electability of Democrats is on the line. If these people don’t care about the country, which we all knew they didn’t, it’s one thing; but we know they care about their party. The American public will not vote for communists. Well, most of the American people will not vote for communists. Sadly, there is a growing percentage of the public who have no memory of the Cold War and the horrors of communism, who’ve also been “educated” by a bunch of granola-crunching leftists with every flag ever created hanging in their classroom except the American flag. These people’s understanding of communism is on paper, all theoretical, and they are convinced it will work.
Hey, I wouldn’t care if these people left the country and started their Utopia on some island somewhere – as they murdered each other for power and eventually starved to death, I’d watch the livestream – but they’re looking to do it here. With that, I have a problem. You’d think the people who stand to be eaten first when the liberal mob comes to dine on the rich might, if only for that reason, try to head that off at the pass. You’d be wrong. Just like you’d be wrong if you thought they’d speak out about their party heading down a path of either violence or electoral defeat.
Maybe they don’t care because they’ve made their fortunes and Secret Service protection affords them a sense of immortality, or maybe they are down with what the new emerging leaders in their party are looking to do. But one thing is certain: they don’t care. If they’d cared, they would’ve said something by now. If they cared, they would say something now. It’s all well and good if the damage is confined to the Democrat Party, because who cares, right? But these radicals are looking to destroy the country as well, which you’d think might bother people who’ve led incredible lives because of the country’s existence. If you’d thought that, you’d be wrong.
“.. the constitutional system referenced by Mr. Newsom makes a federal wealth tax unconstitutional.”
• No, The Framers Would Have Hated the Billionaire Tax (Turley)
Was James Madison the Zohran Mamdani of his time? Gavin Newsom appears to think so. In joining the growing number of Democratic leaders supporting a wealth tax, the California governor claimed that the U.S. Constitution and our Founders were all about wealth distribution: “The system America’s founders built,” he said, “was designed to prevent the concentration of power in a few hands, but we have allowed that concentration to happen anyway, slowly, in plain sight, over decades.”Read more …
The only problem with this argument is that it is utterly and demonstrably false. The Madisonian democracy is designed to avoid the concentration of political power, not the concentration of wealth. The Founders were great believers in capitalism and the free market. In my recent book, “Rage and the Republic,” I discuss the economic philosophy of the Founders in exploring the history and future of this unique republic. This isn’t simply the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence but also the anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations,” which the Founders embraced.Many of the Founders were themselves quite wealthy, including banker Robert Morris Jr., who was known as the “Financier of the Revolution” and would be a billionaire today. Our revolution was the first true Enlightenment revolution, heavily influenced by writers such as John Locke, who believed in a natural right to property. That right came not from the government, but from God, and “excludes the common right of other Men.”
That Lockean principle was manifest in George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was a basis for the Declaration of Independence. It extolled “the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” James Madison drafted protections from government seizure of property, including the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which requires compensation for any property taken by the government. The Constitution not only protects property, but was later amended to allow for income taxes rather than wealth taxes.
Far from supporting a wealth tax, the constitutional system referenced by Mr. Newsom makes a federal wealth tax unconstitutional. Mr. Newsom’s recent endorsement of a national wealth tax was likely meant to blunt the outrage over his opposition to the resolution to create a state Billionaires’ Tax on the coming November ballot.
California has reportedly lost trillions of dollars in the exodus of billionaires and other wealthy taxpayers fleeing the high taxes and class politics of the state. Mr. Newsom knows that this draining of wealth spells doom for his state, which is already grappling with a massive, growing deficit. He offered a curious argument for opposing the state wealth tax: “You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do.”
The argument suggested that most citizens are effectively a captive population to be culled by California leaders, dupes who are unable to escape a state with a deadly combination of some of the highest taxes and highest living costs in the nation. Unions and others pushed the Billionaire Tax to avoid budget cuts and fund the state’s runaway expenditures, from pension funds to projects such as the infamous high-speed train to nowhere. To deal with California’s reverse Gold Rush, drafters made the proposed Billionaire Tax retroactive to claw back money from those who have escaped.
The national Billionaire Tax pushed by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) seeks to cut off any escape for the wealthy short of leaving the country. When she ran for president, Ms. Warren warned the wealthy that she was coming for “your Rembrandts, your stock portfolio, your diamonds and your yachts.” Of course, this assumes that the wealthy would be little more than passive prey in a hunt by the Internal Revenue Service. That is precisely what socialists thought in France decades ago, before an exodus from the country that, along with other socialist policies, brought it to near economic ruin. It was later rescinded.
Nevertheless, wealth taxes make for great politics. What is concerning is that, in addition to a wealth tax, Democratic leaders like Ms. Warren are pledging to pack the Supreme Court if they retake power. A packed court with an insistent liberal majority would let the Democrats push through measures that would otherwise be declared unconstitutional, including a wealth tax.
Congress could then gradually lower the level of wealth needed to trigger the tax, opening up the homes and estates of citizens as an untapped reservoir of money for the taking. “You’re next” could then apply not just to office holders but to property owners in a push to redistribute wealth. That strategy may well unfold in coming years, but it will be the realization of a Mamdanian, not a Madisonian, system.
“Set your air to 78 degrees? Bless your hearts New York City!! American energy should be so strong and plentiful that you never have to set it above 70 if you don’t feel like it.”
“Jimmy Carter’s turn down your thermostat and put on a sweater,” Holmes said about Mandani’s idea. “American dream.”
• Mamdani’s Thermostat Moment Draws Conservative Backlash (JTN)
New York democratic-socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdi’s suggestion that city residents turn up their thermostats to 78 degrees during the heatwave this July 4 holiday weekend to help conserve energy has drawn sharp criticism from essentially every corner of the conservative movement – with some members even going so far as to compare the mayor’s comment to Democrat President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 “sweater speech.”Read more …
“New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool,” Mamdani wrote Wednesday on the social platform X. “Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can.” He also wrote: “A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let’s ease demand – and get through the heat – together.” The backlash was quick and came from everybody from former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to at least six former (and perhaps future) Republican presidential candidates, to GOP Reps. Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are, respectively, either leaving Congress in the next several months or left in the past several months.Gingrich, a Georgia Republican, suggested Thursday on X that Mamdani’s idea reflects “the reality of big government socialism’s inability to solve problems.”He also wrote: “Telling New Yorkers to set their air conditioning at 78 degrees is an open admission of the failure of the left to provide enough inexpensive electricity that people can be comfortable even in hot weather.” Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, said Mamdani’s request is “proof that communism is (unfortunately) alive and well.”
Said Greene: “This is the worst campaign ad for the Democrats. Set your air to 78 degrees? Bless your hearts New York City!! American energy should be so strong and plentiful that you never have to set it above 70 if you don’t feel like it.” Even Dave Portney, a media personality who founded Barstool Sports in 2003 and endorsed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in 2024, got into the act, posting on social media, “78 degrees??? Welcome to communism people! Hope you enjoy.”
While they focused on attacking Mamdani, Josh Holmes, chief of staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell when he was Senate Republican leader, and others recalled the Carter speech, which the president delivered while wearing a sweater and sitting by the White House Library fireplace. Carter, a Democrat, asked Americans in the televised speech to conserve energy by lowering their thermostats to 65°F during the day and 55°F at night in winter. Later that summer, he urged them to set their cooling systems to 78°F.
“Jimmy Carter’s turn down your thermostat and put on a sweater,” Holmes said about Mandani’s idea. “American dream.” A couple of years ago, The Washington Post recalled the moment with a story headlined: “Jimmy Carter wore a sweater – and ignited years of Republican backlash.” The conservative- and libertarian-minded Bill of Rights Institute once called Carter’s decision, about two weeks into his presidency, to first tackle energy, as part of a large attempt to fix an overall struggling U.S. economy, a “costly mistake.”
“.. a generation graduating without a working knowledge of the country they’re inheriting.”
“We’ve gotten much more proficient at telling the negative stories and forgotten to tell many of the positive stories.”
• The Most Important Initiative to Save Our Country’s Future (Margolis)
America’s 250th birthday is here, and so much that has led up to this moment has made it clear we have a lot of work to do to restore pride in this country… for those on the left. And an answer is underway. The Department of Education and the America First Policy Institute launched the America 250 Civics Education Coalition to address a problem most Americans already suspected: kids don’t understand how their own country works. The coalition partnered with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and officially launched on Sept. 17, Constitution Day, the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing in 1787.Read more …
National Assessment of Educational Progress data show that only 23% of eighth graders scored at or above proficiency in civics. That’s a generation graduating without a working knowledge of the country they’re inheriting. It’s no wonder socialism is becoming so popular among young people. They don’t understand why our system is superior. “One of the first things we did was kind of a diagnostic on where we are in civic education, and that was kind of the sobering news,” Michael Shires, vice chair of education opportunity, higher education and senior policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, told The Center Square. “The numbers would say that we’re not doing a very good job of passing that along to the next generation.”Shires has a theory for how this happened. “A big part of how we got here is we just stopped telling the stories of what was good about America,” Shires said. “We’ve gotten much more proficient at telling the negative stories and forgotten to tell many of the positive stories.” So the coalition is telling those stories again, at scale. Under the motto “Know America. Love America,” the group has run more than 100 events, including K-12 teacher summits, student competitions, lectures, classroom resources, and a 50-state “Trail to Independence Tour,” tracing how each state joined the Union. Recent polling shows the share of Democrats who say they’re “extremely” or “very” proud to be American cratered from 85% in January 2001 to just 29% in 2026. Republicans held steady at 90% across those same 25 years.
This can be fixed.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the mission comes down to something simple. “Every young American understands the beauty of our nation and is equipped with the civic knowledge required to contribute meaningfully to its future,” she said.
The coalition includes dozens of organizations working with the Department of Education, among them First Liberty Institute and Turning Point USA. First Liberty Institute President Kelly Shackelford told The Center Square just how deep the knowledge gap runs. “There are so many polls, for instance, like 71% of Americans don’t even know what the three branches of government are,” Shackelford said. “And one of the more disturbing polls is that a large percentage of the students don’t even love their country. And it’s because they don’t know what their country is.”
Shires doesn’t want the 250th anniversary to be a one-off celebration. “We don’t want July 5 to be the end of this conversation,” he said. And despite the noise on cable news and social media, Shires said Americans still feel good about where they live. “Despite what you see in the news headlines and the networks and the social media and everything else, for most people in their lives, they’re excited that they’re in America, that it’s a place where they can thrive and make their own choices and pursue their dreams,” he said.
Initiatives such as this can deprogram young people who have been brainwashed to hate our country. Let’s hope it expands and continues.
“Their homes burned, their land ransacked. Every last pound and shilling to their name poured into the patriot struggle. Some would die as paupers. But that was a price that each and every one of them was willing to pay.”
• This Rubio Video Might Be the Most Patriotic Thing You See All Year (Margolis)
America turned 250 years old this week, and of course, the left’s knight in socialist armor had something to say. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked the occasion with an insulting America 250 address he delivered from George Washington’s actual desk. He used the moment to describe his own country as an “arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal.” He accused federal agents of “terrorizing our streets” and warned that the nation’s founding ideals “are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them.”Read more …
That he made such a speech at the desk of George Washington is such an insult. In his speech, he framed his own government as an authoritarian regime that needs to be endured. Make no mistake about it, that is not patriotism, no matter what flowery language he used.President Donald Trump took a sharply different approach at Mount Rushmore on Friday. He spoke of American exceptionalism, something that the likes of Mamdani don’t believe in. He also warned of “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land” and didn’t soften the message for anyone. “Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,” Trump said. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11.” He drew the line without apology. “You can be loyal to Karl Marx, or you can be loyal to America,” Trump said. “You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.”
Another message you need to hear came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who posted a video Saturday, narrated in his own voice, laying out exactly why this country is worth loving without qualification. “250 years ago today, a small band of men gathered in Philadelphia and declared war on the most powerful empire on the earth,” Rubio said. “They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of their posterity.”
“Many of them would lose everything in the Revolution,” Rubio continued. “Their homes burned, their land ransacked. Every last pound and shilling to their name poured into the patriot struggle. Some would die as paupers. But that was a price that each and every one of them was willing to pay.” He then tied the founders to something larger than themselves. “America has never been merely a proposition,” Rubio said. “It has always been a real and living civilization. A unique and distinctive people unlike any other nation or people in the history of the world.”
He continued, “America is an exceptional nation because Americans are an exceptional people. We are a people born on the edge of the known world. We are a frontier nation. From the hardy pioneers on the Oregon Trail to astronauts transcending the limits of Earth itself, America made the frontier a principle of national life. The men who built our country were heroes, among the greatest and most noble that the world has ever seen.”
Rubio closed his video with a line every American should be able to say without flinching. “This is the greatest nation on Earth,” he said. “That has been true for 250 years. And with God’s grace, it will be true for the next 250 as well.” That’s the difference between a party that has stopped loving this country and an administration still willing to say so out loud. Mamdani wants Americans to see their nation as an arena where the powerful crush the weak. Rubio wants Americans to see it as the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever produced.
Because it is.
For 250 years, America has been the greatest nation on Earth — and with God’s grace, it will be for 250 more.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 4, 2026
Happy Independence Day! pic.twitter.com/2X31hwk7BxThis country has had 250 years to prove itself, and it’s earned the right to be proud of what it has built. Never apologize for loving America, and never apologize for being proud of everything it has accomplished.
The American was the first man not beholden in some way to one sort of king or another.
• “What Then Is The American, This New Man?” (Turley)
Across the country today, Americans are celebrating a common article of faith: the belief that a free people can govern themselves under rights given to them not by the government but by their creator.Read more …
Two hundred fifty years ago, the Republic was founded as the first major Enlightenment Revolution. The Enlightenment had started roughly 100 years earlier. Many in Europe had long argued for a society based on the writings of figures like John Locke. But it would happen thousands of miles away, among a collection of colonies where a people came together and put those principles to the test. They believed that they were entitled to rights of free speech, free exercise, and property as human beings, not as subjects.We became the fascination of Europe among writers and intellectuals who could not understand how the world’s first Enlightenment Revolution could be brought about by a people with little connection to each other or the land; with no calcified class structure or fixed institutions. It led one Frenchman, who wrote under the name John Hector St. John, to ask, “What then is the American, this new man?” In my book, Rage and the Republic, I ask whether we can answer that question today. Who were we then, and who are we now?
In 1776, two revolutions were developing in America and in France. One would become the world’s oldest and most successful republic The other, in France, would become “the Terror,” in which tens of thousands would die on guillotines and in the streets. The true miracle of Philadelphia was the creation of a system that could harness the self-destructive powers of a democracy. The framers, and particularly James Madison, would create a constitutional system that forced moderation and compromise through checks and balances.
Many wanted a less restrained democratic system, but the Framers understood that such systems stretching back to ancient Athens had become little more than what Benjamin Rush called a “mobocracy.” In France, such voices prevailed. They unleashed a blood-letting that would ultimately even devour the Jacobins themselves. They first turned on the wealth and aristocrats, then on the priests and then each other. It would lead French journalist Jacques Mallet du Pan to write that “like Saturn, the Revolution devours its children.”
Those voices are with us today. Many, including Democratic and socialist leaders, are denouncing the Declaration and the Constitution as tools of repression. This week, various Democrats went public to call for radical revolutionary changes or criticize our founding. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used an occasion with newly admitted citizens to trash the country, oligarchs, ICE, and our “arena of supremacy.”
Socialist Mamdani described a virtual hellscape of a country run by “oligarchs who buy elections” as “children go to sleep hungry.” He added, “We see monopolies that dominate every industry, and oligarchs who buy elections. We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans.”
Mamdani mocked the narrative of the republic, telling the new citizens that “the irony is that the story of America has so often been written by those who were told by others with power and influence and wealth that they were anything but exceptional.” Others joined the celebrations with their own condemnations. Pennsylvania socialist Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, has joined the chorus of critics.
Speaking at “America at 250 — Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth” in Philadelphia, the unopposed Rabb lashed out at a country built on “stolen land and stolen labor.” He also mocked the “lofty” “screeds” that “were notoriously catering to a performative aspect of collective genius that purposely erased indigenous and black peoples.” He denounced this country as based on harmful “myths” supporting white supremacy and fascism: “Fascism is not new. These systems of harm are built into the very fabric of this nation.”
Others, such as former MSNBC host Joy Reid, declared that black Americans don’t celebrate the Fourth. Reid dismissed celebrating what she called “MAGA America” which she described as “sad, pathetic, boring.” Others, like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), used the anniversary to praise Cuba as the true model of success (something Mamdani had also done in his inaugural address). Blue states — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Pennsylvania—declined to participate in the 250th anniversary celebrations on the Mall.
In Massachusetts, a historic church ended its long-standing celebration of the Fourth of July to focus on the “on-going process within the congregation to better understand our own whiteness.” This is the home of John Adams and other patriots. Adams wrote his wife Abigail that this day would be “celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”
We are seeing not a constitutional crisis but a crisis of faith. Polls show that fewer than half of Democrats are now proud to be Americans. For many of us, this day remains, as Adams described it, that day of deliverance. These are revolutionary times, but we remain a revolutionary people who believe that free speech and other rights belong to us as human beings. Our belief in individual rights and the free market built the greatest engine of prosperity and freedom in the history of the world. Many of these critics cite our flaws, including slavery, in a country based on inalienable rights. But what the framers gave us was a system that allows an imperfect people to form a “more perfect union.”
It was here that citizens could pursue their own manifest destiny. It is here that a black minister could speak on our National Mall about his unrealized dream and galvanize a nation to fight for the civil rights of every American.
It is here that an African American, and the child of a Kenyan, could become president.
It is here that the son of Vietnamese immigrants could rise this year to be Navy Secretary.
It is here that a black child growing up in a home with a dirt floor and no plumbing could become one of the longest-serving justices of the Supreme Court.
It is here that a people could survive economic meltdowns, global wars, and natural disasters, based on the simple belief that we share a common article of faith: “E pluribus unum” — “out of many, one.”
“What, then, is this American?” Look around you.
“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
• America at 250: Restoring America’s Greatness (Victor Joecks)
The pages of tomorrow’s history are written by today’s decisions. History is littered with failed republics and democracies. The Roman Republic became the Roman Empire. Democracy in ancient Greece turned into an aristocracy. This didn’t just happen in ancient history. In 1961, a new constitution in Venezuela divided the government into three branches. But in 1999, Hugo Chavez swept to power and rewrote the country’s constitution. He eventually became a dictator.Read more …
The Founding Fathers were well aware of the fleeting nature of our form of government. In 1787, Elizabeth Willing Powell asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” For context, in Federalist 39, former President James Madison defined a republic as “a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior.”The term “democratic republic” references the role that popular elections play in selecting some of our leaders. But the Founding Fathers held a much dimmer view of democracy by itself. In Federalist 10, Madison observed that democracies “have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” Even as America celebrates her 250th birthday, there are plenty of reasons to wonder about the country’s future. America has abandoned her Christian heritage. Government-funded schools teach children to hate America and Western Civilization more broadly.
Birth rates have generally been below replacement level for decades. You can see the fruit of those trends. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democrat congressional nominee from New York City, founded a group that seeks “the total eradication of Western Civilization.” Chants of “Death to America” have rung out on college campuses and the streets of New York City. Muslims are openly plotting to turn America into a Muslim country. But concerning trends are not outcomes. Americans still have the freedom and ability to change course. The most important thing is for America to return to her Christian roots. Listen to our Founding Fathers, not the misinformation taught in most modern history classes.
“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?” Thomas Jefferson wrote. A version of that quote is on the Jefferson Memorial. “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports,” George Washington said in his farewell address. “In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”
You can’t force people to become Christians. But students should learn historical truths, not skewed leftist narratives. Institutions should also elevate and honor other pillars of America’s past — like the ideas of Western Civilization and the family. Part of this requires political action. You can’t win the war of ideas when the government subsidizes the losing side. America needs leaders who will act vigorously to defend America’s values. That includes deporting immigrants who hate America.
“The Russian president has congratulated Donald Trump and the American people on 250 years of independence..”
• Russia and US Bear ‘Special Responsibility’ For Global Security – Putin (RT)
Russia and the United States bear a “special responsibility” for maintaining global security, President Vladimir Putin has said while congratulating his counterpart Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence. In a letter published by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin wished Trump and his family “health, well-being and success,” and the American people “happiness and prosperity,” while describing the signing of the US Declaration of Independence as “an important milestone in world history.”Read more …
He also emphasized the countries’ shared history and special responsibilities as nuclear powers. “We were allies in two world wars, together freed humanity from the horrors of Nazism, and later played an important role in laying the foundations of the modern world order. Today, Russia and the United States, as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, bear a special responsibility for ensuring global security and stability,” the message reads. Putin also recalled that Russia had supported the North American colonists in their struggle for independence from Britain 250 years ago.During the American Revolutionary War, Empress Catherine the Great refused Britain’s requests to send Russian troops to fight the colonists and later established the League of Armed Neutrality, which challenged London’s naval blockade and was widely seen as favoring the American cause. Since Trump returned to office last year, Moscow and Washington have renewed high-level contacts after years of strained relations. Putin and Trump met in person last August and have held several phone calls discussing the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East, and broader bilateral ties. However, several outstanding issues, including Ukraine-related sanctions and diplomatic property disputes, have not yet been resolved.
The US and Russian leaders spoke for nearly 1.5 hours ..
• Trump Calls Putin on US Independence Day (RT)
US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine conflict, the situation around Iran, and the prospects for restoring bilateral ties, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said. The conversation took place on Saturday, as the United States marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. According to Ushakov, Putin personally congratulated Trump and the American people on reaching the milestone, after sending a formal message to the White House a day earlier. The call lasted one hour and 25 minutes, Ushakov said, describing it as “businesslike and highly constructive.”Read more …Ukraine conflict
Putin briefed Trump on what Ushakov described as the real situation on the ground in Ukraine, saying Russian forces were advancing along the entire line of contact and taking “one settlement after another.” Putin described the liberation of Konstantinovka, a key Ukrainian stronghold, as an important step toward establishing full control over the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Kremlin aide said Moscow expects the remaining fortified areas still held by Kiev’s forces to be taken as well.Putin reiterated Moscow’s preference for a political and diplomatic settlement, provided that Russia’s core positions are taken into account. At the same time, he accused Kiev and its European backers of seeking to prolong and escalate the conflict, including through “terrorism against civilians.” Trump, according to Ushakov, again confirmed his readiness to help bring the hostilities to an end and seek a peaceful settlement. He also argued that ending the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible could unlock “enormous prospects” for mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and the US, the Kremlin aide said.
Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will continue mediation efforts and are ready to visit Moscow “at a convenient time,” Ushakov added. The two leaders also discussed the situation around Iran, where a public farewell ceremony is being held for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Putin expressed hope that the negotiation process based on the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran would help produce mutually acceptable, long-term solutions to key issues, Ushakov said. The Russian president also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to provide practical assistance to efforts aimed at de-escalation and stabilizing the region.
Trump thanked Russia for what he described as its balanced position and constructive proposals, according to the Kremlin aide. Turning to bilateral ties, the presidents emphasized the importance of continuing contacts, including with regards to military-political and economic issues. The leaders also pointed to the upcoming launch of a joint Russian-American crew to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome as a symbolic example of cooperation between the two powers.
The two presidents stressed the importance of preserving the shared pages of Russian-American history. Putin reminded Trump of Russia’s contribution to the emergence of American statehood, while both leaders highlighted the alliance between Moscow and Washington during World War II. Trump mentioned that he personally admires St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, while Putin wished the US success in hosting the ongoing FIFA World Cup, citing Russia’s own experience as host in 2018.
What’s next?
According to Ushakov, Moscow initiated the previous phone call on June 14, Trump’s 80th birthday, while this time it was the American side that proposed speaking on the day of the 250th anniversary of US independence. The presidents agreed to remain in contact and hold another call in the near future, according to Ushakov. Putin also reminded Trump that he has a standing invitation to visit Moscow.
Standing invitation.
• Putin Invites Trump To Visit Russia In ‘Constructive’ July 4th Phone Call (ZH)
A nearly 90-minute phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin on July 4th could signal shifting White House priorities, as it tries to find permanent offramp and settlement in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, but also as the Ukraine war seems to be fast heating up again. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in comments made public Sunday that Trump offered Putin to help find a solution to the war in Ukraine. “The American president once again confirmed his readiness to work towards a rapid end to the fighting and find solutions to overcome the crisis,” Ushakov said of Trump’s call. He called conversation “business-like and quite constructive.”Read more …
The spokesman further stated that Russia sought “a political-diplomatic resolution of the conflict, with due account of Russia’s fundamental approach.” But Ushakov also lashed out at the Zelensky government, accusing it and its European allies of “counting on extending and even escalating the conflict, and on terrorism against civilians.” This referred to the fact that Ukraine’s repeat drone strikes deep inside Russian territory have severely damaged energy infrastructure, as well as hit residential buildings and areas, resulting in casualties.Ushakov further described that in the call Putin “depicted the real situation on the battlefield where the Russian armed forces are confidently advancing, liberating one locality after another.” Putin had also apparently renewed his initial Alaska Summit invitation for Trump to visit Russia, where further bilateral dialogue can take place, Axios noted. Trump on Saturday had also held a call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, who later said on Telegram the talk was “very good”. Zelensky stated that “There is a real prospect to end this war and American resolve will have a crucial meaning.”
Zelensky and Trump are expected to continue the discussion at the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, set for July 7-8. Zelensky had further taken the opportunity to highlight some of the latest weapons support from Washington: “We are grateful to the United States for all the assistance we have received – from Javelins and Patriots to political support – and we deeply value that America stands by us in defending our independence. I am grateful to every American heart that cares about the future of Ukraine, Europe, and everyone around the world for whom freedom matters,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Trump and congratulated him for the U.S. 250 independence day. The Kremlin says the call lasted an hour and a half. Putin invited Trump to visit Russia https://t.co/ZOfR0tE4fv
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 4, 2026Currently each warring side disputes the degree to which Russian forces are advancing. Supporters on either side have even been issuing contradictory battlefield maps, and the fog of war is thick.
“Our troops are advancing,” Peskov continued. “No one here should have any doubt that our military is proceeding systematically, and we are seeing concrete results.”
• Russia’s Buffer Zone On Ukrainian Border ‘Expanding’ (ZH)
Russia has announced that one key measure that will be taken in response to Ukraine’s ramped-up drone attacks on Russian territory, including last month’s major strikes on the Moscow area, is the significant expansion of the border ‘buffer zone’ between the waring countries. “A security buffer zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is conditioned by the aggressive nature of the Kiev regime and the Russian military is engaged in this process systematically reaching the appropriate progress,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.Read more …
In essence this is the Kremlin saying that Russian forces plan to permanently take over territory deeper into Ukraine. “Based on the aggressive nature of the Kiev regime and in order to insure the safety of our citizens, we are setting up a security zone, or the so-called, buffer zone,” Peskov continued. “This buffer zone is being created systematically. We do register significant results regarding the terms of our troops’ advancing.” “There area should be no in no one doubts that it would will be serve to extend the necessary area ensuring our security,” he added.“Our troops are advancing,” Peskov continued. “No one here should have any doubt that our military is proceeding systematically, and we are seeing concrete results.” He cited the taking of Konstantinovka: “This is a milestone, it is the most important step towards taking the common fortified area of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk,” he claimed according to TASS. President Putin has of late been taking steps to strongly signal he’s committed as ever to completing the war aims of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ – despite reports of nationwide fuel shortages, and also a full-blown gasoline supply crisis in Crimea.
The Kremlin released footage on Friday evening of the 73-year old Russian leader visiting an auxiliary command post to meet with the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Putin wore a military uniform, which Russian state sources described as a sign of his resolve to “finish off the terrorist neo-Nazi vermin”. [English-language RT’s response: “…seems to desire for that security zone to begin on the Polish border.”
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Frussias-buffer-zone-ukrainian-border-expanding-result-worsening-drone-attacks-kremlinPutin: "The more strikes the enemy attempts to carry out on our civilian facilities, the larger the security zone we will have to create in adjacent territories."
— Chikhi Cato (@husseinMBChB) July 4, 2026
Sadly, the current Kiev regime seems to desire for that security zone to begin on the Polish border.…The scene appeared aimed primarily at the West, which has been questioning Moscow’s resolve due to the now frequent Ukrainian drone hits on sensitive energy infrastructure.President Trump has also lately appeared to pivot back to wanting the resolve the Ukraine conflict, while still seeking permanent offramp regarding to the Iran war crisis.
“Trump is said to have told Netanyahu “you’re fucking crazy’” while demanding Lebanon truce: “I’m saving your ass..”
• Trump: ‘Netanyahu Knows Who The Boss Is’ After Phone Call (ZH)
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could meet as early as next week after the US leader returns from the annual NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. That’s what Trump told Axios on Saturday after a Friday phone call, wherein the Israeli PM congratulated the American leader on the 250th Independence Day of the United States. Trump said something very interesting in the wake of the call: “We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” he told Axios. US-Israel relations have been deeply strained of late, given deep Israeli reluctance on the US-Iran MoU signing, as well as the US-mediated ceasefire in Lebanon.Read more …
Israel fears that the end result to a hasty peace could be a nuclear-armed Iran, and some Israeli leaders have gone so far as to say military action must not stop until there’s true regime change. “During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States,” Netanyahu’s office said of the Saturday call. On the issue of controversy over the US-Israel relationship and the push to launch Operation Epic Fury, Axios provides the following: “Many of Trump’s closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything,” a U.S. official said. Trump lashed out at Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon in a phone call last month, calling the prime minister “crazy” and accusing him of ingratitude. The tensions have deepened a broader Republican schism over Israel and the war, with MAGA influencers like Tucker Carlson accusing Trump of being beholden to Netanyahu. Indeed there seems of late a concerted White House effort to dispel this narrative. It seems that Trump is at least now more conscientious about it, given he’s publicly seeking to assure Americans that Bibi “knows who the boss is.”
A prior Trump-Bibi call in June didn’t go so well. At that time reports based on US officials indicated that President Trump ripped into Netanyahu, cussing at him and the president essentially ‘steamrolled’ him – angry over breaking the Lebanon truce and demanding that Israel’s military not attack Beirut. Trump is said to have told Netanyahu “you’re fucking crazy’” while demanding Lebanon truce: “I’m saving your ass,” he also reportedly said. Israeli officials have sought to downplay these negative reports…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports of a growing rift with U.S. President Donald Trump, calling their relationship “excellent.”
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 5, 2026
Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu said the two have occasional “tactical disagreements,” but added, “In 99% of cases we see eye…Since then, the US has essentially forced Israel to acknowledge the Lebanon ceasefire – though it should be noted that the IDF occupation has been allowed to continue in southern Lebanon – and direct exchanges of missile fire between Tehran and Tel Aviv has been silenced.
” calling the targeted media “trustworthy” is a misnomer when people have already abandoned it.”
• UK Government’s SHOCKING Bid to RIG YouTube Algorithm (MN)
In a brazen move that reeks of authoritarian control, the UK government is pushing plans to seize influence over YouTube’s recommendation system. Their goal is to prioritise content from the BBC, and other state backed propaganda machines, while burying independent journalists and creators who dare challenge the official narrative.Read more …
This isn’t subtle nudging – it’s direct engineered suppression, which they’re dressing up as “protecting democracy” from so-called disinformation. As public trust in legacy media plummets, the establishment’s response is to rig the game rather than earn back credibility. YouTube itself has warned creators about the proposals. The platform alerted users that new rules could force it to give privileged positioning to approved outlets, limiting growth for everyone else and reshaping what millions see daily. Independent voices who built audiences by speaking truth to power now face algorithmic exile.
Look at this appalling state censorship.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 5, 2026
Labour now want to seize control of YouTube's algorithm.
They want YouTube to artificially boost the BBC and Channel 4's content, and suffocate independent journalists and producers.
The BBC has been biased to pro-mass migration,… pic.twitter.com/QbwrRNjkSoGB News’ Alex Armstrong labelled the move “an act of pure tyranny, designed to control you, your family and your friends on an industrial scale.” The Free Speech Union described the move as “beyond dystopian.”
This is beyond dystopian. https://t.co/fnaA4FOm5A
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) July 5, 2026People fled to platforms like YouTube and X precisely because of the BBC’s documented biases on mass migration, Net Zero, and more – biases even internal BBC reports have acknowledged. Now, the government wants to drag that failing model into your feed by law. Technology and free speech lawyer Preston Byrne slammed it as the British government seeking to “influence and control the marketplace of ideas.” Lord Toby Young highlighted the absurdity in The Spectator: calling the targeted media “trustworthy” is a misnomer when people have already abandoned it. Forcing platforms to promote it won’t restore trust – it will confirm the desperation.
In my latest @Spectator column, I ridicule the Government's Media Green Paper and its proposal that social media platforms should be forced to boost 'trusted' media sources, like the BBC.
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) July 4, 2026
"Isn't it a bit of a misnomer to describe the media content the government wants people to…The Free Speech Union also linked the development to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s exit from X, where she cited threats to democracy all while her department advances state-favoured content rules. It’s the same playbook we’ve seen over and over: label dissent as dangerous, then legislate your preferred sources into prominence. The Mercian News pointed out the BBC’s own admission that only around 30% of the public trusts national news organisations, with over 50% trusting social media more. Forcing exposure won’t fix that – it exposes the contempt for audience choice.
The BBC is so trusted that the government has to use the law to force you to pay for it and now has to use the law to force you to watch it. https://t.co/BAmXtFGZce
— The Mercian (@TheMercianNews) July 5, 2026Even some on the left, like the Labour Digital Rights Network, have criticised the hypocrisy of engineering a sanitised internet while claiming to fight Big Tech.
“The carousel of six prime ministers in recent years proves something is “very broken” about UK politics, according to the US vice president”.
• British People Are ‘Crying Out’ For Change – Vance (RT)
The constant churn of British prime ministers shows that the UK political system is badly failing the public, US Vice President J.D. Vance has said, warning that ordinary people are “crying out” for real change. Britain’s problem is bigger than any single leader, as the succession of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer points to deep dysfunction in a system that is no longer delivering for the public, Vance suggested in an interview with The Sunday Times.Read more …
“What I see is six prime ministers in the last few years. What that says to me is that something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change,” Vance said. He added that the country has “been failed by its leadership for a long time” and “can do a lot more than it’s currently doing.” Starmer announced last month that he would step down as prime minister and Labour leader after less than two years in power, following a revolt inside his own party. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is widely expected to replace him after winning a by-election in Makerfield.Vance said he did not know much about Burnham personally, but stressed that Washington would work with whoever leads one of America’s “closest and most important allies.” The vice president’s comments, published on the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence from Britain, come after months of unusually blunt criticism of London from Washington. US President Donald Trump recently said Starmer had “failed badly” on migration and energy. Earlier this year, he said Starmer was “not Winston Churchill,” as relations soured over London’s hesitation to support the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Vance was especially outspoken when he condemned the brutal stabbing of British teenager Henry Nowak last month, arguing that it would not have happened had European elites “stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants.” Downing Street responded by accusing foreign politicians of trying to “interfere” in British democracy and “stir up division.”
The vice president rejected the idea that such criticism amounted to hostility toward Britain, insisting that “it comes from a perspective of love and admiration… even though sometimes what we say is provocative.” Vance made a similar argument at the Munich Security Conference last year, when he accused European governments of opening the “floodgates” to migrants while restricting free speech and hollowing out democratic norms.
https://twitter.com/dejanirasilveir/status/2073500480408273067?s=20s
https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2073844219114868872?s=20 https://twitter.com/MAGA__Patriot/status/2073501649486721409?s=20 https://twitter.com/StooliesClub/status/2073461323770614218?s=20For you viewing pleasure this 4th of July…
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 4, 2026
The White House posted a series of short mini stories of American Hero’s. I just put them all into one giant compilation for your viewing entertainment.
These videos should be made available to all school age children.
Remember who… pic.twitter.com/F805LlKTqQ
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