Full screen recommended.
James Brown, "Living In America"
So, we rise from the rubble...
StatCounter
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Happy 4th of July!
Have a safe and happy 4th of July folks!
Full screen recommended.
John Philip Sousa, "The Stars And Stripes Forever"
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Ray Charles, "America The Beautiful"
"Of The People, By The People, For The People"
Battle of Chancellorsville, 1863
"Of The People, By The People, For The People"
by Bill Bonner
"General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position."
- General Longstreet to General Lee on the eve of Pickett’s Charge
"It’s July the 4th…it is also the 163rd anniversary of the most decisive battle in the War Between the States. It is usually called the “Civil War” but a civil war is one where two groups fight for control of one government, like the English civil war, or the Irish civil war or the many civil wars in China.
The War Between the States was a war with two groups, each with its own government. The southern states wanted to go their own way – much like the Donbas and Luhansk areas of Eastern Ukraine today, who sought their independence after the Maidan coup d’etat in 2014. And like the Kyiv government today, Washington wanted to take the breakaway states back…by force.
The war began when Southerners tried to take possession of a Union-held fort built on an artificial island to protect Charleston, SC. – Fort Sumter. When the Union commander refused to give it up, the Confederates lobbed artillery shells into the fort, until the Yankees surrendered. That incident was probably not significant enough to set off a real war. But war was in the ‘air du temps’ and both sides were ‘gunning up.’ By July, 1861, hotheads on both sides were ready for action. The Northerners invaded Virginia, expecting an easy victory. Washingtonians drove out to Bull Run in their carriages, with picnic baskets, to watch the anticipated rout of the “Johnny Rebs.” It didn’t work out as planned and the gawkers soon hastened back across the Potomac.
But once underway – like an empire, inflation or a love affair – war takes on a life of its own. People lose sight of what they are fighting for and concern themselves only with winning. They use “any means necessary” – murder, mayhem, deceit, invention, starvation, poison…whatever they can come up with – to beat their opponents. Ultimately, the goal is to inflict so much pain on the enemy that he calls it quits. That is why Richard Nixon tried to bomb North Vietnam ‘back to the stone age.’ And it is why George W. Bush hit Iraq with a campaign of ‘shock and awe.’
In order to win the war, the Yankees had to conquer the South. The Confederates would win by not being conquered. But the Yankees had decisive advantages. They had industries that could make weapons and supply their armies. They had a navy that could blockade Southern ports and cripple the Confederate economy. And they had thousands of immigrants—many of them Irishmen who had come to Boston, New York and Philadelphia to escape the famine – whom they could draft into the army.
After two years of warfare, the Confederates had proved their fighting elan. They won battles, often against much superior forces. But each victory brought them closer to defeat. Because the South could not readily replace its fallen soldiers or its lost supplies.
The Battle of Chancellorsville showed Robert E. Lee’s skill as a commander. Military historians call it a ‘perfect battle.’ Union general Joseph Hooker tried to take on Lee’s army from the front and the rear in a ‘double envelopment.’ Lee, outnumbered more than two to one, managed to defeat both of Hooker’s armies. But in the battle, Lee lost his ‘right arm’ – Gen. Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson -- who was accidentally shot by his own troops in the half light of evening.
Lee won a great victory at Chancellorsville. ‘Many more victories like that,’ said an astute observer on his staff, ‘and we will lose the war.’ It was then, in the spring of 1863, that the Confederates decided on a different strategy. They needed some ‘shock and awe’ of their own to bring the Yankees to the bargaining table. And they badly needed supplies. So, they invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, leading to the Battle of Gettysburg.
What the Confederates really needed was Stonewall Jackson. He had spent 10 years teaching tactics at the Virginia Military Institute. He had studied Napoleon’s campaigns, in detail. He had watched, too, as his own troops were able to beat back more powerful Union assaults by taking protected positions and letting the enemy come to them. He had understood how, with improvements in riflery, it was almost impossible for the attacker to dislodge a well-positioned defender.
And yet, at Gettysburg, that is what Lee’s Army tried to do. By July 3rd, the battle had already been going on for three days. The Union army held the high ground. Now, on its own ground, it was the defender, not the attacker. And in the center of its main line was a low stone wall at a place aptly named, “Cemetery Ridge.”
Lee’s most trusted subordinate, Jackson, was dead. General Longstreet argued against attacking the ridge. But he couldn’t dissuade Lee. So, after noon on the 3rd, some 12,500 Confederate soldiers, under General George Pickett tried to take the ridge. They had to cross a large, mostly open area, where they were hit by artillery and rifle fire from several directions. Only a handful of them reached the stone wall, but were soon beaten back. Half of the attackers lay dead on the field. Lee retreated back to Virginia. The war went on for nearly two years more, before the the South, exhausted, finally gave up.
As Lincoln put it, the war was fought so that ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’ But by 1865, the people of the South were ruled by Lincoln’s armies."
"A Patriotism of the Heart"
"A Patriotism of the Heart"
by Brian Maher
"Here is the trouble with America’s jingos, warhawks, drum-beaters, glory hounds, world-improvers, do-gooders and idealists: They are not patriotic. A jolting, nearly scandalous claim, it is true. Do these Americans not cry tears red, white and blue? Do they not yell about American “greatness”... American “exceptionalism”... the “shining city” atop the hill? That and more they do, yes. Yet they are not patriotic. That is the curious case we haul before the jury today.
Yes, we are stepping away from our normal beat of manna and markets… and reflecting upon the virtue of patriotism. (We first doff our cap to the late writer Joseph Sobran, upon whose insights we rely today).
Country or Empire: Famed English writer G.K. Chesterton once denounced Rudyard Kipling’s “lack of patriotism.” The fellow’s lack of patriotism? What did Chesterton mean? Kipling was chief rah-rah man for the British Empire, its loudest bugler. English civilization overtopped all rival powers, he believed - as Everest overtops all rival peaks. And as was proper… Great Britain gave the law in all four corners of Earth.
From Kipling’s story "Regulus", citing Virgil’s "Aeneid": “Roman! let this be your care, this your art; to rule over the nations and impose the ways of peace…” Substitute Britain for Rome, and you have Kipling. Why then did Chesterton deny his patriotism? The reason is subtle. Subtle… yet critical.
“He Admires England, But He Does Not Love Her” Chesterton argued that Kipling admired England because she was powerful. He did not love her because she was England: "He admires England, but he does not love her; for we admire things with reasons, but love them without reasons. He admires England because she is strong, not because she is English."
Now Chesterton. He loved England as England — its customs, its eccentricities, its people. Even, if you can believe it, its “food.” A man loves his mother. It is a wordless love, wide and deep. He requires no reason. He requires no justification. And as he loves his mother, so he loves his country. Be it China, be it Russia, be it Chile, be it Romania… it is all one.
Sobran: "Of course Chesterton was right. You love your country as you love your mother - simply because it is yours, not because of its superiority to others, particularly superiority of power."
A Spacious Patriotism: Does the other fellow believe his own mother towers high over all others? Well, friends, maybe he does believe it. But that in no way irritates, annoys or threatens the other fellow. No harm flows from it. After all... Adults allow children to cherish the fiction that reindeer fly and round men descend chimneys... A husband allows his wife to cherish the fiction that she is a superior cook or automobilist… as a wife allows her husband to cherish the fiction that he is a skillful and formidable lover... or that his bald head is actually ennobling.
These are benevolent fictions conducive to the domestic peace and happiness. In that spirit, the patriot’s attitude toward the foreigner is relaxed. It is accommodative. It is spacious. He understands this fellow’s affection for his country is essentially the affection for his mother. But a Kipling does not love his country as a man loves his mother. His country must show all others its dust. It must outrace them all… else he feels diminished.
The Patriot Loves His Country Regardless: The United States of America stables many such gentlemen. They are dizzied, wobbled, staggered by a higher American vision. Their eyes roll perpetually heavenward. To these fellows, America must always be up to something big in this world.
She must be forever charging up San Juan Hill, going over the top, storming Omaha beach, bearing any burden, paying any price... She must be beating the Russians to the moon, beating the world at basketball, beating democracy into someone’s head. Tall deeds, some of these, and fantastic attainments.
But would the patriot love America less if she fell short of the glory… if her history was a page mostly blank? He would not. It is - after all - his country. And he loves her as he loves his mother. But to that certain species of American, America must dazzle and glitter upon the world’s stage. She must be the “indispensable nation.” If not indispensable… then dispensable. If dispensable, then unworthy of his love. Hence his lack of patriotism. He is Kipling.
The Difference Between the Patriot and the Nationalist: Sobran takes their measure: "Many Americans admire America for being strong, not for being American. For them America has to be “the greatest country on Earth” in order to be worthy of their devotion. If it were only the second greatest, or the 19th greatest, or, heaven forbid, “a third-rate power,” it would be virtually worthless… Maybe the poor Finns or Peruvians love their countries too, but heaven knows why - they have so little to be proud of, so few “reasons.”
And so Sobran trains his cannons on the nationalist ideologue: "The nationalist, who identifies America with abstractions like freedom and democracy, may think it’s precisely America’s mission to spread those abstractions around the world - to impose them by force, if necessary. In his mind, those abstractions are universal ideals... the world must be made “safe for democracy” by “a war to end all wars”... Any country that refuses to Americanize is “anti-American” - or a “rogue nation.” For the nationalist, war is a welcome opportunity to change the world."
We might list some names in point... but our legal counsel is wagging his finger and shaking his head. The patriot and the nationalist babble the same American tongue. The one is therefore mistaken for the other. Yet lean in. Listen closer. You will find they speak alien languages: "Because the patriot and the nationalist often use the same words, they may not realize that they use those words in very different senses. The American patriot assumes that the nationalist loves this country with an affection like his own, failing to perceive that what the nationalist really loves is an abstraction - “national greatness,” or something like that. The American nationalist, on the other hand, is apt to be suspicious of the patriot, accusing him of insufficient zeal, or even “anti-Americanism.”
A Patriotism of the Heart: The patriotism Sobran hymns is a relaxed, natural, healthful patriotism. It is a patriotism of the heart. This patriotism flies no ideological flag, hauls no missionary cargo, steers by no heavenly star. It is the patriotism of the prairie, of the plain, of the lonely jackrabbit crossroad, of the greasy spoon, of the truckstop, of the front porch, of the pool hall... of Main Street. And his fellow countrymen? The patriot takes them as he finds them.
Might they sometimes neglect to wash behind the ears? Might they mistake the salad fork for the dinner fork? Well, sometimes they may. But they are his countrymen… and that is enough. The patriot allows himself to laugh - not at his fellow Americans - but with them.
The nationalist, meantime, does not laugh. He hectors. He preaches. He scolds.
“Patriotism Is Relaxed. Nationalism Is Rigid.” “Patriotism is relaxed,” as Sobran concludes. “Nationalism is rigid.”
We in turn conclude, paraphrasing Chesterton: "The relaxed patriot, the average American, the American who tends to his own business and sweeps his own stoop, the American who loves his country as he loves his mother - this fellow is all right. But the rigid American, the uber American, the zealous American, the American nationalist hot to put the world to rights - the American who admires America for her strength - but fails to love her as herself? This fellow... he’s all wrong."
"Independence Day"
"Independence Day"
Classic Thoughts Re-Written for the Modern Patriot
by Contemplations on the Tree of Woe
"Any man with any measure of heroism in his blood who actually reads the texts and speeches of our Founders cannot help but to feel the call to pick up his musket and fight Britain. Moreover, the tyrannies endured by our ancestors seem almost trivial in comparison to the daily villainies perpetrated on their descendants by those who purport to rule them; shouldn’t the urgency of action be all the greater? And yet…
Perhaps I should clarify: Any man or woman who can actually read the texts and speeches cannot but help to feel the call to action. But today almost no one can actually read them. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech is 11th grade; of the Declaration of Independence, 12th grade; of the U.S. Constitution, 18th grade.
According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 57% of Americans have a reading grade below 9th level, and 13% have a reading grade below 5th level. Only 13% can understand the Declaration or Patrick Henry’s speech, and virtually none can understand the Constitution. And that includes all Americans. Among Generation Z, it’s far worse. They are the least literate generation in American history.
Spend a few minutes on YouTube watching our young people be interviewed on the most basic matters of our history and values. They do not know anything of the good, the true, and the beautiful; and even if they wanted to, they could not learn it because the texts are inaccessible to them. Far too many have been cognitively crippled.
If we are to properly motivate the masses, we must speak the language of the masses. I am called to action. I have spent weeks immersing myself in the Gen Z gathering hall known as “TikTok.” Today, on the 4th of July, I present our finest patriotic texts in a style that will speak to the young men and women of today. Check ‘em out, fam.
"The Declaration of Independence"
"Aight, so check this, when peeps decide to dip from the squad and do their own thing, it's only fair they spit some facts about why they're peacing out. It's just how it is, you know? We all believe some truths are just straight-up, like we're all equal, and our Creator gave us some dope rights, like life, freedom, and chasing what makes us happy.
And if the government isn't vibing with that, then we've got the right to switch it up and set up something new that'll keep us secure. That's just keeping it real. But when a long list of whack stuff happens, it's not about being salty; it's just time to bounce and do what's gotta be done. And that's where we're at with the British Crown. So, here's the tea.
Like, we're not about to ghost without giving the full deets. Let's get into it, shall we? We've been super patient and chill, trying to work stuff out with the British king. But he's been on a total power trip, acting like a toxic friend that just won't quit.
He's put laws on us that are totally unfair, messed with our courts, and has been all up in our business, trying to control our lives and telling us what to do.
And it's not like we haven't tried to talk it out. We've been sending the king all these messages, trying to get him to understand our side of things. But he's been ghosting us, ignoring our probs, and acting like everything's all gucci when it's totally not. It's obvious he's just trying to flex and show his power, and we're over it.
So, we're taking a stand and cutting ties. We're saying 'bye, Felicia' to the king and declaring ourselves as free and independent states. We'll make our own alliances, trade with who we want, and fight our own battles. We're going to stand up for each other and do everything that free countries do because that's what we are.
We're fully aware that this is a major step, so we're not going to do it without some serious thought. We respect the connections we've had with Britain, and we're not looking to cut ties unless it's absolutely necessary. But they've forced our hand, and we need to do what's best for us.
With a clear conscience and with respect to the opinions of humanity, we're putting it all on the line. We're entrusting our cause to the universe and its divine law. We're ready to face the consequences and stand up for what we believe.
In other words, it's on, fam. We're doing this. We're declaring independence.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Do we really need all these troops and warships for a love and reconciliation gig? Haven't we been chill enough to make peace, or do they gotta flex their muscle to win back our vibe? Don't kid yourself, fam. This is all about power and control, the final say for those in the high castle.
I gotta ask, peeps, why all this military showoff if not to make us kneel? What else could it be for? Does Britain have any beef with anyone around here to justify all this military overkill? Nah, bro, there's none. It's all about us. They're prepping these chains the Brit government's been crafting for ages.
What's our move? Do we try to out-talk them? We've been doing that for a solid decade. Got any fresh takes? Nah, nothing. We've explored this from all angles, all for nothing. Do we beg and plead? What else can we say that hasn't been said already?
Please, fam, let's be real. We've done all we could to dodge this incoming storm. We've filed petitions, we've protested, we've pleaded, we've basically thrown ourselves at the king's feet, begging him to stop the savage acts of the government and Parliament. Our pleas have been ignored, our protests only made them more aggressive, our pleas fell on deaf ears, and we've been kicked aside with nothing but contempt. After all this, dreaming of peace and reconciliation is pointless. Hope has left the chat.
If we want freedom, if we intend to keep the valuable privileges we've been fighting for, if we don't plan on ditching this epic fight we've been in, and swore never to quit till we win, we gotta fight!
I say it again, we gotta fight! Calling on our weapons and the big guy upstairs is all we've got left!
They're saying we're weak; can't handle an enemy this tough. But when will we be stronger? Next week? Next year? When we've got no defenses left and a British soldier's snooping around every house? Does doing nothing and procrastinating make us stronger? Will we gain the power to resist by just lying down and hugging false hopes, till our enemies chain us up?
Nah, we're not weak if we use what nature's given us right. Three million folks, armed for the holy cause of freedom, in a country like ours, can't be defeated by whatever our enemies throw at us.
Plus, we won't be fighting alone. There's a just God looking over nations' fates; He'll bring allies to fight with us. The victory ain't just for the strong; it's for the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Plus, we've got no choice. Even if we were cowardly enough to want it, it's too late to back down now. There's no going back unless we surrender and become slaves! Our chains are ready! You can hear 'em in Boston! War's coming and let it come! I say it again, let it come.
We can't sugarcoat this, fam. Some may shout, "Peace, Peace" but there's no peace. War's already here! The next chill from the north will carry the sound of clashing arms! Our brothers are already out there!
Why are we just standing around? What do y'all want? What's the deal? Is life that precious, or peace that cool, that we'd buy it with chains and slavery? Nah, not on my watch, Almighty God! I don't know what others will do; but for me, it's either freedom or it's game over!"
Friday, July 3, 2026
"The Hottest 4th Of July Ever Could Set More Than 300 New Records And The U.S. Wheat Harvest Is Expected To Be The Smallest In 150 Years"
"The Hottest 4th Of July Ever Could Set More Than 300 New Records
And The U.S. Wheat Harvest Is Expected To Be The Smallest In 150 Years"
by Michael Snyder
"It is supposed to be hot on the 4th of July, but it isn’t supposed to be this hot. Temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees above average in much of the eastern half of the country. I warned a few days ago that we were going to experience a “4th of July furnace”, and meteorologists are telling us that hundreds of new records could be established. Unfortunately, this entire summer is going to be extremely hot. The “Godzilla El Niño” that has now begun is going to mean the we will experience unusually hot weather, epic storms and severe droughts in key agricultural areas throughout the second half of this year. And that is really bad news, because it is being projected that the amount of wheat produced in the U.S. this year will be the lowest since 1877.
An absolutely gigantic heat dome is going to relentlessly bake half of the nation over the next few days, and CBS News is reporting that “more than 300 records are expected to be set by Saturday”… This July Fourth could be the hottest on record for millions of Americans as a massive heat wave traps more than half of the United States under a heat dome through the holiday weekend. Dangerously high temperatures continued to ramp up Thursday from the Midwest to the East Coast, forecasters said. Between daily high temperatures and warm overnight lows — which won’t be low enough to offer much relief — more than 300 records are expected to be set by Saturday.
That is nuts. When is the last time that we saw over 300 records get set on the 4th of July? The latest National Weather Service forecast says that in some areas high temperatures will go as high as 105 degrees and the heat index will go as high as 115 degrees…
Click image for larger size.
If you live on the east coast, please take this heat wave very seriously. It is going to be a monster. Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston are all expected to hit triple digits… Washington, D.C., is expected to experience its hottest Fourth of July on record, with temperatures reaching 101 degrees. From Thursday through Saturday, the city is forecast to endure its hottest three-day stretch of the year. Philadelphia could reach 104 degrees on Friday, while New York and Boston are also expected to hit 100 degrees.
I think that it is noteworthy that this will be happening at the exact moment when America’s 250th birthday will be celebrated in our nation’s capital. According to the Washington Post, Washington D.C. will be among “the top 1.1 percent of the planet’s hottest places on Friday”… What does D.C. have in common with desolate stretches of Africa’s Sahara, deserts in the Middle East and China’s Gobi Desert? It has lots of hot air, of course. So much hot air, in fact, that D.C. will find itself in the top 1.1 percent of the planet’s hottest places on Friday, when high temperatures will soar toward 105 degrees.
That is certainly not normal. In New York, mobile medical vans that contain nurses and paramedics will be roaming the city looking for people to help… For the first time, New York City is deploying vans staffed with nurses and paramedics who will hand out water, electrolytes and sunscreen, CBS News New York reported. They will also perform wellness checks, transport people to cooling centers and make in-home visits to vulnerable residents. The city is also opening cooling centers throughout the five boroughs.
This crisis will be a real test for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He is encouraging New Yorkers to set their air conditioning at 78 degrees to help conserve power…"Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ignited a GOP firestorm after urging residents to set their air conditioners to a certain temperature to help prevent strain on the city’s power grid.
It comes as New York City braces for a sweltering Fourth of July weekend with temperatures expected to soar into the triple digits. In a post on X, Mamdani encouraged New Yorkers and business owners to conserve electricity as demand for cooling surges. ‘New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool. Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can.’
Needless to say, this suggestion is not going over very well, and a lot of New Yorkers plan to ignore it entirely. But without a doubt there is going to be enormous stress on our power grids, and an emergency has already been declared for the largest power grid in the country…"With 160 million people in 30 states under alert for extreme temperatures, the U.S. Department of Energy has declared an emergency as a heat wave bears down on a huge part of the nation’s electrical grid.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an Energy Emergency Alert, directing officials of the biggest electrical grid, PJM Interconnections in the Mid-Atlantic region, to take action to prevent blackouts and ensure essential operations like hospitals are fully functioning during the heat wave. “Maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the PJM service territory is non-negotiable,” Wright said in a statement on Tuesday.
When the 4th of July weekend is finally over, the focus will shift to the western half of the nation. A new heat dome is coming, and it will afflict areas that are already being ravaged by drought and wildfires…"A new heat dome will build between the Rockies and the Pacific coast. As the jet stream bulges northward in the West, an area of high pressure will build over the region. The setup will allow temperatures to trend upward initially from several degrees Fahrenheit next week to 10-20 degrees above the 30-year average by the middle of July. The heat dome will bring the highest temperatures of the season so far — even eclipsing the extreme marks set during the spring heat waves in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Palm Springs, California."
When conditions are unusually hot, ticks love it. And we are being told that this tick season “is expected to be worse than usual”…This summer tick season is expected to be worse than usual. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the highest rate of emergency room visits from tick bites since 2017 across most of the country. “It’s definitely concerning to see new ticks in new areas and then diseases that follow,” said Rebecca Osborn, an epidemiologist for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. In a previous article, I discussed the fact that serious diseases that are carried by ticks are spreading like wildfire in many areas of the country.
This year, authorities are particularly concerned about alpha-gal syndrome and the Powassan virus…“So, warmer temperatures can bring ticks into new areas,” Osborn said. One type of tick health officials are keeping an eye out for is the lone star tick. It can carry alpha-gal, which can create a red meat allergy in infected people. They’re also tracking Powassan, a virus that attacks the central nervous system and can lead to memory loss, difficulty speaking and seizures.
Meanwhile, the heat is also having a huge impact on America’s farmers. Earlier today, I was astounded to learn that the amount of wheat that will be harvested in the United States this year is expected to be the lowest since 1877…"America is expected to harvest its lowest acreage of wheat since 1877, due to drought, scorched crops, high input costs and uncertainty in export markets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service released estimates on June 30 that the total area of all wheat planted was 42.7 million acres in 2026, down six percent from the previous year. This was also 1 million acres below the agency’s March forecasts."
In 1877, there were 40 million people living in the United States. Today, there are 342 million people living in the United States. We are supposed to be one of the breadbaskets of the world, but the past 12 months have been extremely warm and exceedingly dry…"Over the past year, the U.S. has experienced unusually warm conditions—May 2025 to April 2026 marked the warmest 12-month period on record for America, according to NOAA, and many of the country’s largest wheat farming states were hit with severe drought. Droughts are known to significantly reduce crop yields as the heat and lack of water can damage crops and stunt their growth.
Romulo Lollato, a wheat specialist at Kansas State University, told news outlet High Plains Journal that a lot of the wheat in Kansas—one of the state’s largest wheat producers, alongside Oklahoma and Texas—was “very short,” which he said was a “sign of drought stress.”
Now a “Super El Niño” is here, and the outlook for the months ahead is not promising at all. For more than a decade I have been warning about so many of the things that are playing out right in front of our eyes right now. We are witnessing a simultaneous confluence of catastrophic events that is unprecedented in our history. A “perfect storm” is now upon us, and it is only going to intensify throughout the remainder of this year and beyond."
"Will America Survive As The Nation Crumbles Economically And Spiritually?"
Jeremiah Babe, 7/3/26
"Will America Survive As The Nation
Crumbles Economically And Spiritually?"
Comments here:
Musical Interlude: 2002, "Kindred Spirits"
Full screen recommended.
2002, "Kindred Spirits"
"Once we sailed upon the seas. Now we sail among the stars. This song was composed as a tribute to our friend, harpist Hilary Stagg, who left us far too soon. Hilary loved the sea and he loved the stars."
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of dust, and energetic light sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of star formation in the Local Group of Galaxies. Known as N11, the region is visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the Milky Way neighbor known as the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC).
The above image was taken for scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and reprocessed for artistry by an amateur to win the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures competition. Although the section imaged above is known as NGC 1763, the entire N11 emission nebula is second in LMC size only to 30 Doradus. Studying the stars in N11 has shown that it actually houses three successive generations of star formation. Compact globules of dark dust housing emerging young stars are also visible around the image.”
"If You Want To SEe..."
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"If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of the prairie or the plain, witness the reaction of a modern suburban family, nearly ready for bed, when the doorbell rings or the door is rattled. They will stop where they stand, or sit bolt upright in their beds, as if a streak of pure lightning has passed through the house. Eyes wide, voices fearful, they will whisper to each other, "There's someone at the door," in a way that might make you believe they have always feared and anticipated this moment - that they have spent their lives being stalked."
- Alice McDermott
"You Don't Realize How Bad It Will Get"
Full screen recommended.
Finance Economist, 7/3/26
"You Don't Realize How Bad It Will Get"
"This winter’s heating bill up 9.2%, averaging $995 is the cheapest one you will ever pay again. Job growth has collapsed to 17,000 a month, a level Brookings says historically signals a labor market already in crisis. ACA health premiums rose 114% on average this year, and health economists are using the phrase “death spiral” without irony. A congressional committee just used the words “full-scale financial crisis” to describe what's happening to home insurance. The Fed chair whose independence protects your mortgage rate loses his job in May 2026. And the government's own fiscal watchdog published a paper called “Break Glass,” admitting in writing that if another shock hits, there is no more room to borrow only cuts. None of this was designed to arrive separately. Lay the dates side by side and you’ll see it: every one of these crises converges in the same six-month window."
Comments here:
o
Ask these people how it is...
Full screen recommended.
"40 Minutes Of People Lining Up At Food Banks All Across America"
by Epic Economist
"Epic Economist examines the growing reliance on food pantries across the United States. 40 minutes of people lining up at food banks all across America, from drive-through pantries to families showing exactly what ends up in the trunk. You'll hear from a mom whose $10 struggle meal keeps climbing, a mid-career professional laid off with a master's degree, and a worker with a steady job who still can't cover groceries. The USDA counted 47.9 million people in food-insecure households, and this video puts faces to that number.What the video covers:
• Real people describing why they turn to food banks despite steady jobs
• Drive-through pantry lines with closed streets and redirected traffic
• Full hauls showing produce, canned goods, meat, milk, and eggs
• How food bank ID cards and check-in lots actually work
• A laid-off professional walking through the shame and stigma of asking for help
• Families stretching pantry food across kids' plates and neighbors.
If this reflects something you or your family are going through, drop a comment and share your go-to struggle meal or your local pantry experience. Subscribe to follow more of these firsthand accounts, and share this video with anyone who thinks food bank lines only reach the bottom of the economy.This compilation covers food insecurity in America, food bank lines, drive-through food pantries, struggle meals, inflation and grocery costs, laid-off workers, food pantry hauls, and families relying on charitable food to get through the month. Epic Economist examines the growing reliance on food pantries across the United States."
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"Everyone Can See How Strange America Is Becoming... And It’s Not Getting Better"
Full screen recommended.
The Unfolded States, 7/3/26
"Everyone Can See How Strange America Is Becoming...
And It’s Not Getting Better"
"Something feels different in America, and most people can feel it even if they cannot fully explain why. From AI traffic cameras and smart TVs tracking behavior to shrinking human interaction and the growing loss of ownership, everyday life is changing in ways that feel subtle, unsettling, and impossible to ignore. This video explores why America feels increasingly strange, and why many believe it is not getting better. We break down the deeper forces driving these changes: the rise of the surveillance state, the expansion of artificial intelligence, the erosion of data privacy, the automation of daily life, and the quiet shift from ownership to permission. This is not about conspiracy theories or fearmongering. It is about understanding how modern systems are reshaping freedom, privacy, and human connection in America, often through convenience rather than force. Is America becoming more dystopian, or are people simply noticing what has been building for years?
Watch until the end and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Which trend concerns you the most: surveillance, AI, automation, or the loss of privacy? Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. The views expressed are based on publicly available information and personal opinions, and may not be accurate or up to date. You should conduct your own research and consult a qualified professional before making any decisions."
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Judge Napolitano, "INTEL Roundtable: Weekly Wrap - 3 July - America's 250th Birthday"
"INTEL Roundtable: Weekly Wrap -
3 July - America's 250th Birthday"
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"Time To Move On..."
“How do the geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us; there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown.”
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
"The Class Reunion, 50 Years Later: Do They Even Remember Each Other?"
Full screen recommended.
"The Class Reunion, 50 Years Later:
Do They Even Remember Each Other?"
"To find where the boys and the girls hid away..." Welcome back to 3/4 Town. Today, the cobblestone streets are filled with the heavy steps of old friends. It’s been half a century, and the class is finally gathering again. Put on your best coat, adjust your collar, and walk with the elders to a reunion 50 years in the making. Watch as they pull out faded photographs of youth, share the longest of embraces, and try to find the boys and girls they used to be beneath the deep wrinkles and gray hair. As they sit around the long table, raising their teacups to the memories and to those who are no longer here, time seems to stop in our miniature village. Through highly detailed claymation and a deeply touching original folk song, this is a story about the beauty of growing old together. The lantern is blown out, the reunion is over, and now... we can sleep."
"How to Find Peace When Everything You Built Starts to Fade"
Full screen recommended.
Native Elder,
"How to Find Peace When
Everything You Built Starts to Fade"
"Time Don't Give A Damn"
Full screen recomended.
Delta King's Blues,
"Time Don't Give A Damn"
"Time keeps movin’… don’t care who you are, what you lost, or what you’re still holdin’ onto. “Time Don’t Give a Damn” is a raw, hard-truth Delta King’s Blues tune about life moving on, scars that stay, and the cold fact that time waits for nobody. A dark, steady acoustic guitar drags the groove like boots walkin’ through years they can’t get back. The harmonica moans deep and restless, sounding like memories chasing a man who can’t outrun the clock. The rhythm rolls slow and unforgiving, built for late-night thoughts and truths that hit harder with age. This is blues about facing time head-on. For those who’ve learned that time heals some things… and leaves the rest behind. Time don’t stop, don’t care, and sure don’t ask permission."
Dan, I Allegedly, "The 'Triple Threat' Nobody Warns You About"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 7/3/26
"The 'Triple Threat' Nobody Warns You About"
"Gold just hit $4,100 an ounce - and Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bank of America are all forecasting it could climb even higher heading into 2027. In this episode of I Allegedly, Dan sits down with Jack Hanney, CEO of Patriot Gold Group, to break down the eerie parallels between today's economy and the 1970s: an oil supply shock (the Strait of Hormuz vs. the 1973 Arab oil embargo), a disappointing June jobs report, rising inflation, and a stock market some economists say is echoing the dot-com bubble. They dig into why the Schiller P/E index is flashing warning signs, why Microsoft just had its worst month since 2000, and what it means for your 401(k) or IRA. Dan and Jack also unpack the "retiree triple threat" - a growing problem where retirees are forced to over-withdraw from retirement accounts just to keep up with the real cost of living, only to get hit with a bigger tax bill the following year. They explain why summer, historically a quiet season for precious metals, may actually be the smartest time to buy gold and silver before the Q4 and Q1 rush.
Whether you're planning for retirement, watching your 401(k) with concern, or just trying to make sense of the headlines, this conversation covers what everyday investors need to know right now about protecting their savings.. Be sure to subscribe to i Allegedly for daily updates on business, finance, the economy, and the biggest stories impacting your money."
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Jim Kunstler, "Burning Down The House"
DSA on the March shoulder to shoulder with the Pride Brigade
"Burning Down The House"
by Jim Kunstler
"I forgot to get napkins. I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me."
- Darializa Avila-Chevalier, primary election winner,
New York’s 13th Congressional District
"Who are all these Democratic Socialists of America, anyway? “We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” one of their spoxes declared on Instagram in 2024. Hmmmm... I wonder if you can be a little more specific. Like, including democracy and socialism, two western civ constructs? Kind of looks like a baby / bathwater situation, followed by burning down the house where the baby lived. Do we get a chance to debate this proposition in the midterm election?
Likewise, a St. Paul, Minnesota, school board member, one Chauntyll Allen offered the following policy recommendation on the We Love Our Dog Park Facebook page:
Click image for larger size.
A bad moon is rising on our nation’s 250th birthday. The country is in a rancid mood. You begin to see what happens when political ideas are carried to their last limits. Question is: does all this add up to a winning party platform? You must suppose that higher-ups in the Democratic Party are asking themselves the question now. What do Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer think when they see these Angels of Death on the march (or in flight) over the midterm battlefield?
Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, and Melat Kiros are going to Congress to link arms with “The Squad” - AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley - and they will bring their cargo of DSA policy ideas with them: racial, gender, and social justice; abolish ICE (no more deporting anybody); defund the police; end incarceration (no more jails); free housing and medical care; green this-n-that; government ownership of business; abolish the Senate and the electoral college; pack the SCOTUS. . . .
The platform apparently has a lot of appeal to a certain demographic —- which, I suspect, includes the many young recent graduates of the diploma mills who are pissed-off that Mr. Trump & Company are methodically shutting down the NGOs that were supposed to furnish these young race-and-gender studies majors with cushy, six-figure jobs doing “activism.” Alas, that pathway is increasingly blocked and the country only needs so many baristas. What to do then? Take it to the limit! Be communists... with all that entails. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine, too.
This new gen of Democratic Socialists is arguably worse than the Confederates of 1861. Those Rebs only wanted to secede from USA and go their own way in one corner of the land. They didn’t want to piss on Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonardo DaVinci, Jane Austen, Margaret Fuller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson as they walked out. The Democratic Socialists of our day are fully aligned with their avatars: Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot, who operated human meat-grinders at scale to tamp down the opposition. Not a great look to align with the great mass-murderers of history.
It must be agony for Schumer and Jeffries. Eradicate Western Civ...? Piss on white people’s corpses...? Are they really going to get behind that? No-o-o-o-o. But they will try to wriggle around this steaming pile for some weeks to come until it is obvious that the Democratic Party has blown itself up, hoisted itself on that old petard. It may be too late for the party’s old guard. No matter how many rain-dances Elizabeth Warren does, nothing will put out this dumpster fire.
Another question for the months ahead: can that party control its increasingly maniacal street warriors, the Antifas, the Pink Pistols, the Transgender Armed Defense forces, and whatever remains of BLM. There is still a lot of money in circulation for public demonstrations and disruptions from George Soros and other sponsors. And apart from that are the forces of jihad, with their own foreign patrons. Gawd knows how many jihadis came into the country during “Joe Biden’s” orchestrated alien invasion. Not just a few, you can be sure.
By the way, can somebody at the Office of Management and Budget do an audit of the $370-billion that “Joe Biden” handed over to John Podesta in the fall of 2024 to administer “climate-related provisions” of the Inflation Reduction Act, and figure out how much of it bounced right back into Democratic Party-adjacent NGOs and down to party capos like Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Brandon Johnson in Chicago, and Karen Bass in LA?
Meanwhile, the big celebration of America’s 250th is only hours away. There will be a lot of bangs and flashes the next couple of days. Let’s hope they are not really big ones. Stay alert and safe out there. And happy 250th birthday to you, America - if you can keep yourself."
"Early Draft Of The Declaration Of Dependence Found"
"Early Draft Of The Declaration Of Dependence Found"
by John Wilder
"Euripides Schumer wrote 86 draft versions of the Declaration of Dependence before being fired and replaced by Thomas Jefferson who changed the title to the Declaration of Independence and fixed...a lot of other things. Schumer’s first version that was turned in looked something like this:
"At THE ANTIFA® CLUBHOUSE, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the GloboLeft Soviets of America:
When in the Course of decolonizing human events, it becomes necessary for one intersectionally oppressed people to dissolve the toxic political bands which have connected them with the racist, cis-heteronormative, colonialist, capitalist patriarchy, and to assume among the powers of the Earth the separate and equitable station to which the Laws of Social Justice and Intersectional Gender Theory entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of the legacy media and AOC’s Bluesky® feed requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident (after running them through the Ministry of Equity and a mandatory diversity audit), that all humans (and non-binary persons, and in some interpretations certain animals, who are allowed to consent to sex) are created unequal in their capacity for victimhood, that they are endowed by their lived experiences with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Equity, Safe Spaces, Pronoun Affirmation, Climate Reparations, Open Borders, Mental Therapy, two years of maternity leave, access to women’s changing spaces, and the pursuit of Happiness. This is, of course, provided that happiness does not trigger anyone. That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Persons, deriving their just powers from the consent of the most marginalized,
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends by clinging to reality, merit, borders, tradition, or color-blind laws, it is the Right of the Oppressed to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on DEI principles and Organizing its Powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety, Happiness, and Lazy Girl Jobs.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes, unless the change involves dismantling Western civilization, in which case it is always urgent. And, accordingly, all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer under the patriarchy while Evils are Sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are Accustomed, like the nuclear family, free speech, or the concept of objective truth. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations by the privileged, pursuing invariably the same Object of maintaining power structures, evinces a design to reduce the marginalized under absolute Despotism of Whiteness, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government and to provide new Guards for their future security in the form of endless bureaucracy, pointless degrees and certifications, free college, re-education camps, poetry readings, and corporate HR departments.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Oppressed; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present evil white Christian man, or whichever legacy figure is convenient this Week, is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny of Merit and Tradition over these Safe Spaces. To prove this, let Facts (as curated by our narrative) be submitted to a candid (but properly biased) world.
Whenever you see “he”, it is about the patriarchy, and not at all my father who I have gone no contact with. Don’t even.
He has refused his Assent to Laws the most wholesome and necessary for unlimited immigration and population replacement.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate importance for equity unless suspended until approved by the proper diversity officers.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people unless those people would relinquish the right of actual representation in favor of proportional equity.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population replacement of the white people of these States by obstructing the naturalization of and free housing of foreigners.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by insisting on color-blind laws instead of equity-based outcomes.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices for border security and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people (the recent arrivals) and eat out their substance by enforcing actual laws and totally ignoring our sanctuary cities designations.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, ideas of meritocracy and individual responsibility without the consent of the Universities.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power of transexual rights and pronoun PowerPoints®.
He has combined with others (fossil fuel companies, reactionaries, traditionalists, and parents who notice things) to subject us to a jurisdiction of reality foreign to Our Lived Truth.
For imposing Taxes on the rich without giving enough of it away in reparations.
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of equity by allowing free speech and due process.
For transporting us beyond Seas (metaphorically) to uncomfortable truths about biology and history.
For not allowing the abolition of the free System of English-derived Laws in favor of feelings-based jurisprudence.
For not allowing permanent bureaucratic rule by an unelected elite.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us by allowing parents to object to school curricula and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless ideas of Western Civilization, whose known rule is an undistinguished destruction of all safe spaces, genders, and feelings.
In every stage of these Oppressions, We have Petitioned for Redress in the loudest and most emotional terms while screeching and doxxing and canceling anyone who disagreed. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury and being called names like “commie” or “limp-wristed sissy-boy.” A System whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant of Whiteness is unfit to be the ruler of an equitable people.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the GloboLeft, in our AntiFa® meetings, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Goddess of Equity for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Safe Spaces, solemnly publish and declare, That these AntFa© Clubs are, and of Right ought to be given money and saved from Whiteness, Capitalism, Patriarchy, Borders, Merit, and Objective Reality; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Constitution and any founding principles that aren’t intersectional, and that all political connection between them and the legacy of the West is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States they have full Power to levy Taxes for equity programs, conclude Alliances with the UN®, WEF™, and open-border NGOs, establish Commerce in feelings and carbon credits, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do, including mandatory pronoun training and the abolition of due process when it conflicts with equity. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Intersectionality, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Safe Spaces."
"I can see why they fired Euripides Schumer. It was hate!"
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