“If you pay people not to work and tax them when they do, don’t be surprised if you get unemployment.”

–Milton Friedman.

“The essential notion of a capitalist society . . . is voluntary cooperation, voluntary exchange. The essential notion of a socialist society is force.”

–Milton Friedman.

“Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government–in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the costs come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.”

–Milton Friedman.

Today the topic is socialism. Below are articles by former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey, and former Chief Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee–and a sane Democrat–Julian Epstein. Enjoy!

Don’t laugh off Bernie Sanders’ communist AI-heist attempt — young voters are falling for it

BY:          Betsy McCaughey, The New York Post (June 6, 2026).

Far-left politicians want to annihilate property rights — and a large share of young voters are buying into it.

That’s a red flag: Our school systems have become socialist indoctrination factories.

This week Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.Vt.), a leftist agenda-setter, called on the federal government to confiscate half the value of the nation’s largest artificial intelligence companies.

He’s targeting OpenAI, Anthropic (creator of Claude) and xAI, for starters.

Making his announcement on Facebook and in a New York Times opinion essay, Sanders said he’ll introduce legislation to slap these companies with a 50% “ownership tax” — literally grabbing company stock without paying anything for it, in shocking defiance of the US Constitution.

That’s expropriating private property for government use, an idea straight out of Vladimir Lenin’s or Fidel Castro’s playbook.

His flimsy justification: “Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity.”

Sorry, senator — all inventions and breakthroughs are built on the knowledge that’s come before. 

The same argument could rationalize demanding half the stock of a biotech company that produces a cancer cure, or a musical composer who writes a hit.

Who would invest or invent if the government could swoop in and take half?

Sanders’ bill is going nowhere while there’s a Republican majority in Congress — but ignore it at your peril.

It’s a warning: Outright confiscation is the left’s latest scheme to remedy inequality and pay for ever-expanding public benefits. 

Sanders lifted the idea from two law professors, Jeremy Bearer-Friend of the George Washington University School of Law and Sarah Polcz of the University of California at Davis School of Law. 

Lawyers, can you believe it?

You’d think they’d recall that the US Constitution’s “takings clause” — Bill of Rights, Amendment Five — bars the government from grabbing property without “just compensation.”

Ivory-tower universities tend to reward faculty for their imaginative proposals, and Polcz and Bearer-Friend have admitted their unconstitutional plan would be challenged in federal court.

Sanders couldn’t care less.

And New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani agrees: He warned us at his inauguration that he’d introduce New Yorkers to the “warmth of collectivism.” 

His new Block by Block housing plan proposes seizing apartment buildings from their owners to give them to what he calls “responsible stewards,” including tenants — another outrageous attack on property rights.

Pay attention to how fast Democratic Socialist candidates spouting collectivism are making headway.

This week’s primaries produced outright wins or runoff advancements for more than a dozen Democratic Socialists-backed candidates in five states.

Who likes these ideas? Young voters.

Members of Generation Z in particular have a rose-colored view of socialism, communism and collectivism. 

According to a recent Heartland Institute/Rasmussen Reports poll, nearly 60% of likely voters age 18 to 24 want a Democratic Socialist in the White House in 2028.  

Mandani captured 78% of under-30 voters in November, per an ABC News exit poll.

The Democratic Socialists of America, once the haven of radical retirees reliving their 1960s glory days, is now powered by the young: DSA saw its membership’s average age plunge from 68 to 33 in the last decade.

Blame the leftist indoctrination in K-12 schools and in universities for this socialist and communist enthusiasm.

A staggering 62% of voters age 18 to 29 hold a favorable view of socialism, and 34% favor communism.

That’s what they’re being taught.

CoolKid Facts, a popular education website aimed mainly at elementary-age students, teaches kids that communists believe “the state should provide every citizen with their basic needs . . . and no one is above anyone else.”  

Sounds utopian. 

No mention of the brutalities, starvation and mass murders committed in the name of communism by Lenin or Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot, Castro or Che Guevara.

In New York state social studies classes, communism and socialism are presented as two economic systems that make things more equal and fair — again without discussing the atrocities that go hand in hand with property confiscation.

Some states are wisely pushing back.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law last year requiring his state’s public schools to teach “the brutal realities of life under communism.”  

Texas has passed a similar law. 

That’s one way to counter heavy-handed teachers’ union indoctrination.

While they’re at it, these states should also teach students about the Takings Clause, and explain to them why property rights are the engine of economic growth.    

Confiscating capital is the fastest way to kill an economy, as history has proven again and again.

Sanders’ AI-theft scheme is just the beginning. 

The best defense — the only defense — is an educated electorate.

Considering the misguided attitudes of many Gen Z voters, there’s no time to waste.

________________________________________________________________

Graham Platner and ‘New Wave left’ detest Western exceptionalism

BY:          Julian Epstein, The New York Post (June 7, 2026).

How many scandals can beset a major party Senate candidate before the party jettisons him or her? How extreme can such a candidate become before he or she is dumped?  

If you’re part of the Democrat party apparatus in Maine, the answer seems to be that nothing is too extreme. Nothing is too scandalous.  

By this point, everyone has heard the sordid stories of Graham Platner. The allegations that he twisted an ex’s arm and yanked her out of a cab by her wrist after an argument (he has denied this). The admittance of sexting women shortly after getting married. The mocking of Purple Heart recipients. Calling army soldiers fat, lazy trash, and seemingly wishing their death. Slandering rural Americans as racist and stupid, and blacks, because they “don’t tip.” The porta-john masturbation cringe musings and much more.   

Candidate Platner writes off all these personal misgivings as trivial foibles and says it’s his politics that count. The mindless groupthink Democrats fall right into line. “Maybe we focus on the issues facing the American people,” squirmed his patron saint, Sen. Bernie Sanders.   

But the real obscenity of Graham Platner is not his personal misdeeds. Rather, it’s his politics. 

He has openly embraced communism, which slaughtered 100 million people in the 20th century while oppressing and impoverishing many more. He sported a tattoo like the ones worn by Hitler’s SS at death camps that killed 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

Sleepwalking Democrats have leveled charges of fascism so habitually, in such zombie-like fashion, that they don’t even recognize real Nazism when in their midst.  

In short, Platner is part of the New Wave left, making common cause with extremists, socialists, and Islamists. It sports an empty form of political narcissism, the con job of a Robin Hood movement pretending to rescue us from fake oppression scenarios. This so it can moralize its way into office on a platform of failed ideas that build nothing other than race and class resentments and government dependency. The substance of civilizational failure. 

This new left seems to detest Western exceptionalism — an exceptionalism that has enriched and liberated billions of people, more than any civilization ever. Even our poorest today are wealthier than over 90% of the rest of the world.  

Graham Platner would have been dismissed as unacceptable in the Democratic Party just a decade ago. So what does his embrace tell us about modern-day Democrats and where they are headed? 

This tells us that the party has a weak bench. It’s no secret that working-class voters — the core base for Democrats since the New Deal — are abandoning Democrats, as are many other groups. Seven in 10 voters think the party is too extreme and out of touch.  

To rebuild, the party could go back to the center or lunge to the socialist left. Led by its activist class, it’s choosing the latter.  

But very few on the socialist left have ever built a business, or anything else for that matter. AOC was a bartender before her election to Congress in 2018. 

Bernie Sanders is a career politician, suckling on the taxpayer teat nearly all his career. To paraphrase Thomas Sowell, the far left knows nothing about creating prosperity; its leaders just think that it somehow exists and that the only interesting question is how to redistribute it. 

This means the New Wave Democrat movement doesn’t really know much about building through discovery, innovation, and growth — the hard stuff that grows the economic pie and secures our future. Many on the left are like nepo-babies, knowing only how to take from government payrolls, government-funded NGOs, and George Soros-like ideological philanthropy. 

First, this is why the new breed Democratic bench will be a thinner one, attracting novices, activists, and extremists like the terrorist-linked Adam Hamawy, who won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey with the backing of Democratic socialists in Congress. This toxicity will deter more serious candidates.  

Second, the Platner conundrum also tells us this New Wave Democrat is myopic. Democrats across the country will be badgered all fall with questions about supporting the Nazi-tattooed, Hamas-supporting, self-described communist. When they try to dodge, as Sen. Chris Murphy clumsily did last Sunday, they will be seen as weak, cowardly, and out of touch by normie voters. 

Third, Platner conveys that Democrats are situational, insincere moralists, whose collective heads exploded at every one of Trump’s transgressions but who stared at their shoelaces when it came to one of their own. 

Finally, the Platner phenomenon tells us of the cowardice of the party’s moderates. When I worked years ago at the House Judiciary Committee alongside Senator Schumer, then a proud centrist, he would always talk about the importance of saying “no” to the hard left. Who would have thought that years later he would be so intimidated by online activists that he would coddle a candidate cheering the genocidal Hamas today.   

Ultimately, it is this cowardice of party leaders who know better that is leading to the party’s decadent decline.  

GFK

“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”

–Walter Bagehot.

A Democrat aligned non-profit organization is suing to stop the planned UFC match at The White House on June 14. Sigh. Of course they are! Democrats want to ensure that no one, no where, at any time, is having fun.

“Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month.”

–Representative Andy Ogles (R. Tn.).

Representative Ogles is right. Wait; was right. Because after issuing that statement, Representative Ogles was roundly criticized by his fellow members of Congress, including many Republicans. So Representative Ogles did what every politician in Washington, D.C. does; he retreated, flip flopped, and blamed a staffer for the statement. Sigh.

Now you could certainly argue that Representative Ogles could have phrased his comments differently. But the basic sentiment is correct. So what does Andy Ogles really believe? We do not know. Because Andy Ogles does not have the courage to stand by his principles, whatever they may be.

“Iran has won this war.  Its indigenous military industry has produced phenomenal results.    This is having a huge toll on the capacity of the US empire to impose its will . . . We need to bring the empire down by any means necessary.” 

–Professor Corrina Mullin, who teaches at the New York City College.

Professor Mullin is a Democratic socialist. She was speaking at a Democratic Socialist forum. Do you know who else are Democratic Socialists? Senator Bernie Sanders (I. Vt.), Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D. N.Y.), Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (D.), Representatives Greg Casar (D. Tx.), Rashida Tlaib (D. Mi.), Summer Lee (D. Pa.), Jerrold Nadler (D. N.Y.), and, of course, Puddin’head. Chicago, Illinois Mayor Brandon Johnson (D. Il.) and Montgomery County, Maryland County Executive Marc Elrich (D. Md.) are also Democratic Socialists. Incumbent Los Angeles, California Mayor Karen Bass (D. Ca.) is not a Democratic Socialist. She is an avowed Communist. So too is U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D. Me.). These people hate the United States. They want to impose their socialist tyranny on their fellow citizens. And they want to “bring down the [American] empire by any means necessary.”

The Virginia State government’s fiscal year ends at midnight on June 30. Democrats control the Governor’s mansion and both houses of the General Assembly. So why does Virginia not have a budget, 20 days before the end of the fiscal year? Hmmmm.

There are more cattle in Texas than in any other State in the Union. That notwithstanding, James Talarico (D. Tx.) has been a fanatical advocate for a vegan existence. Until now, as he desperately wants to be a United States Senator. So Mr. Talarico is eating barbecue at every available opportunity. My goodness! That boy is going to have to have his stomach pumped many times before November if he keeps this up!

The most expensive pizza in the United States is found in Hawaii and California. The least expensive pizza is found in Indiana.

Southern Living magazine has named Sweet Baby Ray’s as the best store-bought barbecue sauce. The Observations demands a recount.

McDonald’s restaurants are introducing World Cup 2026 Happy Meals, in adult and children’s versions. You can also order a side of Big Mac sauce for dipping. Pass. Not a fan of either McDonald’s or soccer.

The meals preparation company, Hello Fresh, wishes all a happy “Pride Month”. And the company is offering a “Pride Month” discount. For all those interested, the “Pride Month” discount code is “BOTTOMSUP”. Seriously. This is not a joke.

“The bottom line of Milei’s economic policies is that they work and can benefit from a similar playbook and so make the world richer and better. Inflation collapsed, and that single change has fed into other things in a positive way.  That’s one of the greatest gifts to the rest of the world, and they can see that it works; It’s all grossly positive.”

–Pete Earle, American Institute for Economic Research.

Argentina, once the economic basket case of South America, due to its extreme socialist policies, is resurging, the economy growing, and the populace prospering. President Javier Milei’s implementation of, and commitment to, free market policies, is yet another slap in the face to experts who warn of “late-stage capitalism” and call for governments to begin socializing the economy.  He is proof to the rest of the globe that free markets remain the best way to advance not only human flourishing, but human freedom. 

Too often, the economic issues people complain about today are not the result of capitalism, but of government intervention in markets (think healthcare in the United States), and when those interventions fail, the entire system is blamed as inherently capitalist.  True free markets, in the tradition of the late economist Milton Friedman and President Javier Milei, remain the most effective path to prosperity, accountability, and long-term stability.

The United States Department issued visas for all members of the Iranian national soccer team. It denied, however, visas for IRGC members who claimed to be needed to provide “security” for the team. No terrorists in the USA!

Stacey King, who played on 3 NBA championship Chicago Bulls teams, and then went on to become the Bulls’ broadcasting voice, has died at age 59. R. I. P.

GFK

“The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”

–H.L. Mencken.

The Democrats, with an assist of 4 Republicans, passed a resolution forcing the President to withdraw our military from the Iranian theatre of combat. Now what message do you think that sends to the Iranians? Do you think that this will make it easier or harder to resolve hostilities with Iran? C’mon, man!

On June 14, a UFC match will be held at The White House, on the South Lawn. All the usual suspects are outraged. Many insist that it is beneath the dignity of the presidency to host such a match. Perhaps these historically ignorant folks have forgotten that President Theodore Roosevelt regularly hosted boxing matches at The White House, and often participated in the matches.

Others claim that the UFC is a symbol of “fascism”. They say that the UFC is something that Putin would have at the Kremlin. Hmmmm.

But the all time best comes from the “Reverend” Al Sharpton, who claims the UFC match is “racist” because it pits blacks against blacks, fighting each other for the white man’s entertainment, just like during slavery. Just 1 problem; there are no black UFC fighters scheduled on the card.

“Reverend” Al was on a roll, however, and kept going. Not only is the UFC fight “racist”, but President Trump is a “certified racist”, because there is a picture of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office. Andrew Jackson was a U.S. military General, the hero of The Battle of New Orleans, and the 7th U.S. President. Sigh.

“I stand with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.  Brett Kavanaugh is not fit to sit on the Supreme Court.”

–Representative Ro Khanna in 2018.

“I’m more concerned about making it clear that we’re opposed to misogyny, those relationships were toxic and volatile, there’s no excuse for that.  I talked to Graham [Platner] and he says he was at a very dark period, he had come back from two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantry man seeing violence and death.  That doesn’t excuse it.  [But] he really grew as a person when he came back to Maine and he was an oyster farmer and he found peace and he is ashamed of that period.  To me that suggests someone taking accountability and improving their lives and we need that redemption in this country.  And I agree with a lot of his economic policies, that we should be taxing the billionaires, we should be focusing on the working class.”

–Representative Ro Khanna in 2026.

If it were not for double standards, Democrats would have not standards at all.

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D. Mi.) introduced legislation requiring the President to withdraw all U.S. troops from Lebanon. It failed, overwhelmingly. You see, there are no U.S. troops in Lebanon. There have not been any U.S. troops in Lebanon since 1983.

“Why I am conflicted about this country because I feel that it is at this point a failed experiment, quite frankly.  I am also discouraged by how this country is viewed by the rest of the world.  I’m embarrassed at our government.  I’m embarrassed at our lack of healthcare.  I’m embarrassed on the assault on the press.  I’m embarrassed of our Congress.  I’m embarrassed by the criminal felon president that is in the Oval Office that has a UFC cage on the White House lawn.  I’m embarrassed about all those things, and I’m also embarrassed at how America is now seen across the globe.  I don’t think that many Americans understand that we are part of a wonderful global community, and when you look at our ally, our allies are now giving us a one-star rating as a country.”

–ABC’s The View co-host Sunny Hostin.

ABC News should be embarrassed that it puts Sunny Hostin on the air. I am certainly embarrassed that Sunny Hostin is an American citizen.

“I guess I broke my boycott.  And yeah, but I, you know, I don’t know.  What do you want me to say about that?”

–Seattle, Washington’s inarticulate, socialist mayor, Katie Wilson.

Earlier this year, Mayor Wilson organized a boycott of Starbucks, the home grown coffee chain, that is a major employer in Seattle. But then Starbucks struck back, moving its corporate headquarters to Tennessee, and closing stores across Seattle. Mayor Wilson snuck into one of the remaining local Starbucks stores to buy a coffee and a blueberry muffin, and got caught by a reporter in the process.

In Port St. Lucie, Florida, a homeowners’ association implemented a rule preventing residents (or anyone) from carrying a firearm in the neighborhood’s common areas. Florida’s Attorney General swiftly responded, reminding the HOA that all gun laws in the Sunshine State must emanate from the legislature. WINNING!

California Democrats are openly stealing the Los Angeles mayoral, and the State gubernatorial elections from the Republican candidates. Where is the outrage about this threat to “our democracy”?

California is a failed State. If it were a separate country, it would be a failed Third World country. Why in the world does it take 30 days (or more) to tabulate votes and report election results?

The Presbyterian Church USA is in the midst of a civil war. It seems that there is great opposition to a proposal to require Presbyterian ministers to be “monogamous”. Some are arguing that such a requirement would infringe upon a minister’s “right” to engage in a polyamorous relationship. Sigh. Do the Presbyterians even read, much less believe, in The Bible?

McDonald’s restaurants are changing their drive-thru lanes to be powered by Artificial Intelligence. No human interaction required. What could possibly go wrong?

The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled a permanent display at Dodgers Stadium, honoring homosexual “trailblazers”. Sigh. What message does that send? That sodomy is simply another life choice? That your sexual predilections–which should be kept to yourself–are a basis for honoring you as an individual? What? This is some sick, disgusting, stuff.

The Dodgers also broke out their “Pride Night” hats in a game against the Los Angeles Angels. The players wore them. EXCEPT for relief pitcher Blake Treinan, who entered the game wearing his regular hat. Blake Treinan is a deeply religious man who refused to bend a knee to the “Gay Mafia”.

The story ends with Blake Treinan throwing but 1 pitch to get the Dodgers out of a jam, and eventually able to win the game. No “Pride Night” hat? NO PROBLEM!

As in previous years, the Texas Rangers are refusing to celebrate “Pride Month”. Instead, this year the Rangers are holding a “Faith & Family Night”. Cue the outrage from the usual suspects.

Congratulations to Golden Tempo on winning The Belmont Stakes. Coupled with his win in The Kentucky Derby, this has been a good year for the 3 year old.

Former U.S. Senator Robert Packwood (R. Or.) has died at age 93. R. I. P.

GFK

Thursday was the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ), when the Church expresses especial gratitude for the most precious gift of the Blessed Sacrament. On Maundy Thursday we also commemorate the Last Supper, but given our focus on the solemnity of Our Lord’s passion, the Church defers a full celebration to the first available Thursday after the completion of the Easter/Ascension/Pentecost cycle.  

Reflecting upon the events of Passover is helpful to our understanding of this great Sacrament. We recall that God commanded the Hebrew people to slaughter an unblemished male lamb and smear its blood on the lintel and posts of the their dwellings. But they were also to roast and then consume its meat; the remaining portions were to be consumed by fire so that nothing remained. Thus the paschal lamb became food for their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.  

The Church Fathers understood that the sacrifice of Passover was a type of the Mass, and so, not surprisingly, the Mass both parallels and fully completes the Passover. Christ himself takes the place of the unblemished lamb, providing the one and only sinless sacrifice that atones for all sins, from the Fall until the final Judgement.  

But equally important is that under the New Covenant, we too consume the Paschal Lamb. Our Lord becomes viaticum or food for our journey from slavery to sin to eternal freedom in the Kingdom of Heaven. In every Mass, Our Lord makes Himself present under the species of the consecrated Bread and Wine. We become partakers of His Body and His Blood.

If this is what we profess, how can we possibly take the Mass lightly? How can we think that our attendance and participation is not important? Our Lord gives us a stern warning as recorded in S. John’s Gospel: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. That is, unless we participate faithfully in the Mass, we run the risk of failing to attain to eternal glory.

The Epistle for this Sunday after Corpus Christi opens for us the central element of this great mystery: the love of God that He intends to in dwell us. As we participate in the Mass, we receive the life of the Godhead into our souls. The love that is God permeates our inmost being! God’s love transforms us and allows us to fulfill the commandment to love on another.

My one consistent prayer for this parish is that we grow in our love and appreciation of this great Sacrament. Quite often there are weekday Masses in which only one or two parishioners are present. While there can be legitimate conflicts that prevent us from attending Mass, my fear is that too often we take the Mass for granted.

Corpus Christi reminds us of the central place of the Mass in the life of the faithful Christian. May we pray that this great Sacrament of love enliven us. And may we then in turn grow more deeply in our love for God and for each other. 

___________________________________________________________________

The Thing About ‘Pride Month’ They Don’t Want Anyone to Figure Out

BY:          Brandon Morse

It’s June, which means there’s a small section of the population that has access to way too many platforms that amplify their voices, opinions, and grievances to decibels that make them seem a lot more than they are. 

I refuse to acknowledge what the left calls “Pride Month,” and for many reasons. 

For starters, I think it’s a rack of babyback BS that if you do anything extraordinary for this country, you may get a day. 

Serve as President? You get a day. 

Serve in our military? You get a day. 

Die for our country? You get two days. 

But be a man who thinks he’s a woman, or rub your genitals against someone with the same kind of genitals… and apparently that’s worthy of having an entire month dedicated to you. Act as a degenerate in public, force your niche fetish on children, and display your cluster B personality disorder in ways that range between annoying and deadly, and apparently, you’re worthy of having 30 days of pop-culture kneeling before you. 

It never seemed fair to me, but the point of Pride Month isn’t to celebrate an accomplishment like the three holidays above. The point of this month isn’t even about recognizing people in the LGBTQ+ community. At least, not ultimately. 

The point is politics. 

Start by asking who this month-long celebration is actually for. Who is actually being celebrated here? 

You may say, “Well, obviously it’s for homosexuals and transgender people,” and while you may say that because rainbows are plastered on every surface possible and homosexuals dance in the street wearing next to nothing in front of children, you’d actually be mistaken. 

See, these people aren’t actually the focus of the celebration. They’re just the tools being used for a purpose. They’re a message delivery system. 

So then what’s the message? 

That’s easy. The message is “Western culture is a patriarchal system that must be deconstructed and its Judeo-Christian values dismantled in order to achieve true equality and acceptance for all.”

If that sounds hyperbolic, then just sit with the attitudes behind Pride Month for a minute.

The first thing being celebrated is a rejection of Judeo-Christian values. Homosexual fornication, denying God’s perfection by stating He made a mistake during an individual’s creation, accusations of bigotry and hatred via views about “love” being a sin, etc., etc., etc.

The LGBTQ+ movement and its activists have always attacked Christianity and churches as their primary opponents. Seeing as how our nation’s foundation is based in Christianity, the left sees the LGBTQ+ movement as incredibly useful. 

Moreover, “Pride Month” villainizes masculinity, the protective barrier between a free nation and one dominated by tyrants. If you can destroy the concept of “men,” and villainize masculinity, or even redefine it, then order withers away. Moreover, masculinity tends to lean rightward, and the less masculine your nation, the less likely it is to put masculine qualities in its governmental structure. 

Do you see what’s happening? It’s the forced erosion of traditional values that are represented by conservatives and, by and large, the Republican Party. Pride Month is really just a rallying moment for the Democrats when all is said and done. It’s a chance to make them seem like the good guys in the room. The ones who care, and believe in love, and equality, and inclusion. 

But really, it’s just normalization of degeneracy and anti-traditionalism to achieve enough cultural influence that people sour on conservatism and conservative values. Politics is downstream of culture, and this is one of those cultural battlefields. 

Keep in mind, Democrats don’t actually care about the LGBTQ+ community. They’re just useful, is all. You can see what the left truly thinks about homosexuality or transgenderism when they’re attacking conservatives by accusing them of being homosexual, or forget about the community completely when another group becomes way more useful.

In the end, Pride Month is just an attempt to reinforce a sacred cow that’s already been milked to death. The celebration of Pride Month is way more muted than in previous years. Not every corporation is immediately jumping on the bandwagon like they used to. You still get holdouts here and there that want to make statements, but at this point, it feels more like middle fingers to other groups than a celebration. 

___________________________________________________________________

How ‘In God We Trust’ ended up on our currency

BY:          Billy Hallowell, The Washington Times (June 5, 2026).

Secularists intent on feigning that God has no place in the political and cultural spheres are often faced with some uncomfortable rebuttals and realities.

Among them, “In God We Trust” is a slogan and proclamation that has long been emblazoned on American currency. And while debate has centered around its presence, few likely know the story behind how it unfolded — and why it matters.

Jon Brown of The Christian Post recently delved deep into the background of Matthew Rothert Sr., a Presbyterian furniture manufacturer from Arkansas who, after feeling compelled in 1953 to get “In God We Trust” on paper currency, embarked on that very journey.

It should be noted that Rothert was in a Chicago church on June 21, 1953, when he felt the Holy Spirit give him the idea to get the slogan placed on paper bills. At the time, it was already present on U.S. coins — something that started nearly 100 years earlier.

“’In God We Trust’ was first added to U.S. coins during the beginning of the Civil War, when religious sentiment was on an upswing and concerned Americans wanted the world to know what their country stood for,” Sarah Begley wrote in Newsweek in 2016. “Many wrote to Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase on the matter, and he agreed with their arguments.”

The first coin was released in 1864, with “In God We Trust” being adapted from a verse in Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.”

Notably, it was a preacher who reportedly sparked the motto being on coinage. Mark Richards Watkinson, who ran a small church near Philadelphia, wrote a letter to Chase expressing his desire to see America acknowledge the Lord amid the Civil War.

“You are about to submit your annual report to Congress respecting national finances. One fact has been overlooked,” Watkinson wrote. “I mean recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins. What if our Republic were now shattered? Would not antiquaries of succeeding centuries reason from our past that we were a heathen nation?

“From my heart I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.”

Chase took action and directed the Mint to adopt the slogan It was first applied to bronze 2-cent pieces in 1864. Another fun fact is that the director of the U.S. Mint at the time was James Pollock, a Presbyterian minister who also helped make the slogan happen.

Over the years, debate followed “In God We Trust,” and it was removed and reapplied to currency. Yet by 1908, it was back on and remains on U.S. coins today.

Many decades after the coinage issue was settled, Rothert found himself wondering why the same treatment wasn’t given to paper money. After the Holy Spirit prompted him to act, he went on quite a journey, according to his daughter, Alice Rothert Nelson — one that began in the pews that fateful day.

“The collection plate was going around, and he felt God tell him that the coins had ’In God We Trust,’ but it was the bills that went all around the world,” Ms. Rothert Nelson recently told Mr. Brown. “And he believed he should get ’In God We Trust’ on the bills of the paper money, and so that started the campaign.”

Rothert’s advocacy involved letters, speeches and passionate pleas to persuade people of the importance of the U.S. putting the slogan on paper currency. Ultimately, Rothert believed God had sent him on a mission to make it happen.

“The Lord seemed to tell me to do this,” he told the National Enquirer in 1987. “He put the idea so strongly in my mind that I worked on it until I accomplished my goal.”

Rothert continued, “I realized the circulation of American coins was limited to the boundaries of the country, while U.S. paper money circulated worldwide. It looked like Americans were saying they trusted in God only a few cents’ worth.”

His efforts paid off. After working with politicians and ceaselessly advocating, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill in 1955 that brought “In God We Trust” to paper currency, with the first bills bearing the slogan appearing just two years later in 1957.

Hope Rothert Taft, another of Rothert’s daughters, who served as first lady of Ohio from 1999 to 2007, told Mr. Brown that the central lesson of her father’s efforts is God’s ability to accomplish anything through His people.

“I use it as an encouragement to let people know that they can make a difference,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where they come from or what size of a family, or whether they’re well-known or not. They can make a difference, like my father did.”

In the end, Rothert’s efforts serve to also remind us, via our currency, of the supernatural source of our freedom and liberty — and that’s certainly something to celebrate.

____________________________________________________________________

James Talarico, wrong for Texas and America

The Democrats’ mess in the Lone Star State

BY:          Robert Knight, The Washington Times (May 31, 2026)

Democrats seem thrilled that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated longtime incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas last week.

Because Mr. Paxton carries multiple scandals, including a messy divorce, Democrats assume he will be an easy mark in a state known for its traditional values.

Not so fast.

Mr. Paxton has three things going for him. Despite his checkered reputation, he is a confirmed fighter, not a go-along-to-get-along kind of Republican. People seem to have had their fill of the latter.

A fierce and effective defender of constitutional liberties, he has the full support of President Trump, which could be a negative somewhere else, but not in the Lone Star State.

Finally, Mr. Paxton’s opponent is state Rep. James Talarico, a far-leftist who is telling voters that his many zany statements, especially about faith, are being taken out of context. The 37-year-old Mr. Talarico is a seminarian from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a shrinking, fully woke denomination whose version of Jesus is Sen. Bernard Sanders in a rainbow-colored robe and tiara.

Mr. Talarico has given sermons at a church in Austin that offers a cache of explicit “banned books,” including pornographic LGBTQ propaganda for children, such as “This Book Is Gay.”

He called Ten Commandments displays in schools “unconstitutional, un-American and deeply un-Christian.” He said this in 2023, speaking against a state bill requiring the posting of the decalogue in classrooms. He also said the proposed law was “idolatrous … exclusionary, and it is arrogant.”

How about this one? “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is nonbinary.” He said this on the Texas House floor in 2021 while opposing a bill to keep boys out of girls’ sports.

Responding to some mass shootings, Mr. Talarico wrote a social media post in 2021 echoing President Biden: “Radicalized White men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.”

In a sermon he gave in 2023 at a Methodist church in Austin, Mr. Talarico said, “Jesus saves. Christian nationalism kills. Jesus started a universal movement based on mutual love. Christian nationalism is a sectarian movement based on mutual hate.”

Translation: If you are a patriotic American Christian, then you are a hater.

Perhaps the most offensive of all was his invoking the Virgin Mary to suggest that God is OK with abortions. On a Joe Rogan podcast in July 2025, Mr. Talarico said of Mary’s submission to God to have the Holy Spirit conceive Jesus Christ through her: “I say all this in the context of abortion because before God comes over Mary and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent, which is remarkable. The angel comes down and asks Mary if this is something she wants to do, and she says, ‘If it is God’s will, let it be done. Let it be. Let it happen.’ So to me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create.”

The devil himself could not have come up with a more deceptive interpretation.

Mr. Talarico is trying to justify taking life, not creating it. In his version, Mary calls the shots, not God. However, in Luke 1:26-38, the angel Gabriel tells Mary what will happen. He does not give her a choice. Her response is beautiful.

In addition to misrepresenting the incarnation, Mr. Talarico often slanders the church, saying it ignores social welfare and instead takes on cultural issues, a false dichotomy. The church does both, contributing vastly to charities while serving as the conscience of society.

As for economics, Mr. Talarico unabashedly embraces collectivism, the atheistic ideology that spawned Nazism, fascism and communism and has caused more human misery and mass murder than any other in history. He rejects America’s free market system, which has brought unprecedented prosperity, freedom and scientific advancement.

“We don’t need to reform capitalism. We need to replace it with an economic system rooted in justice and dignity,” he said. Translation: I want to seize your income and property and redistribute it to people other than your family. It is only fair.

Mr. Talarico has a “free-stuff army” plan. It consists of “Medicare for All” (socialist healthcare), a wealth tax on billionaires, universal basic income (paid by taxpayers), free (taxpayer-funded) college, free (taxpayer-funded) childcare, student debt shifted to taxpayers, more power for labor unions, collective ownership of the means of production, and Green New Deal-style climate extremism that would wipe out America’s vital fossil fuels, including Texas’ oil and gas industries.

Mr. Talarico will pretend to be a moderate, the way Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger fooled voters in November. Yet it is doubtful he can explain his way out of this 2022 statement in barbecue-crazy Texas: “It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society. So I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a nonmeat campaign. We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.”

Mr. Talarico has been singing a different song lately: “I deny all accusations of veganism. … Our campaign basically runs on barbecue these days.”

Somehow, I do not think Texans will swallow the sauce he is dishing out.

GFK

“At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn’t want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we, all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful.”

–Author Stephen Ambrose

“They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” 

— President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s official address announcing the invasion

Today marks the 82nd Anniversary of “D Day”, the American invasion of France during World War II.  The audacious military move put the lie to the Nazi Wehrmacht’s claim of invincibility, and laid the ground work for the conclusion of the war in Europe, and an Allied victory, less than 1 year later. 

The odds of success were long indeed on June 6, 1944.  The invasion had been postponed already several times due to inclement weather.  General Eisenhower had drafted a letter taking responsibility for the possible failure of the expedition.  No amphibious military invasion of this scope and size had ever been attempted at any time in history.  Indeed, the Nazis shelved their plans for an amphibious invasion of Great Britain in 1940 after conquering France, and driving the British military from the European continent, so perilous was the attempt.  In 1940, Great Britain was reeling from defeat, and seemed ripe for a fall.  In 1944, the Germans were strong, and entrenched on the Continent, with formidable defenses in France.

American soldiers landing on the French beaches on June 6, 1944 had only a 1 in 4 chance of survival.  Many were killed by German artillery before they even cleared the surf.  Yet still they came.  Young boys like Robert’s father, Jimmy Weinerth, bravely did their duty, working to free the European continent from the dark forces of evil.  They moved forward in the face of evil, empowered by their faith, their honour, and their resolute determination to abide by their oaths, to do their duty.  To a soldier, these were exceptional, brave young men.

The American fighting man went to Europe, Africa, Japan, and China, not for conquest, but for the cause of freedom.  They willingly risked their lives in the defense of, not just the United States, but also that of freedom and liberty for others.  These were the best of the best.  God Bless them all.

Below are remarks by President Reagan commemorating the 40^th anniversary of that great event.  Forty-two (42) years later, his words still stir and inspire.

“We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers — the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machineguns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war . . .

You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.”

–President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984 (excerpts from his address commemorating the 40^th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion).

GFK

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting to-day?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.”

–A.A. Milne, Winnie The Pooh.

The President will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to be Attorney General. Seems like a good choice.

The President announced that he would tap Federal Housing Agency head William Pulte to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence. He will take over following current DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s departure, and serve until her successor is named and confirmed by the Senate.

Senator John Cornyn (R. Tx.) was beaten like a red headed stepchild in the primary for renomination. Now that his dreams of future power have been crushed, this so-called “loyal Republican” is boosting the Libertarian candidate’s campaign, and undermining the Republican, Ken Paxton. Sour grapes from a RINO.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I. Vt.) wants to impose a special tax on Artificial Intelligence companies, that would give the federal government 50% equitable ownership. Senator Sanders then wants to use the money from that ownership to redistribute it to “the people”. Senator Sanders is a communist.

“Forcing a worker to choose between paying her rent or losing a day’s pay to recover from a grueling gynecological procedure is not a choice.  It’s economic violence.”

–Representative Adelita Grijalva (D. Az.). 

Representative Grijalva wants a federal law giving paid leave to women who need to rest during their menstruation cycles.  In other words, women get a paid vacation every month for a week.

“There’s over 20 states right now where women can’t access the right to abortion.  We have to create underground railroads [for abortion].” 

–Representative Lateefah Simon (D. Ca.), channeling her inner Harriet Tubman, and calling for the murder of more innocent unborn children.

The United States Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision blocking Alabama’s use of a non-racially gerrymandered electoral map. WINNING!

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 to enjoin the War Department’s refusal to permit “trans” folks to serve in the military. Because nothing signifies warriors more than men in skirts.

Hillary Clinton–who will not, and seems incapable of, stay quiet–criticized President Trump over his White House renovations. Hmmm. What was that that her husband did in the Oval Office with a corpulent intern? How about when outgoing Clinton White House employees sabotaged and vandalized offices in the West Wing? Or when Bill and Hillary stole White House furniture and furnishings, and were required to return them? The VERY LAST PERSON who should criticize anyone concerning care of The White House, is Hillary Clinton.

Democrats are criticizing President Trump for cleaning up statues in the nation’s capital, cleaning up the Reflecting Pool, restoring The Kennedy Center, and building a privately funded White House ballroom, as “Trump’s Vanity Projects”. Really? Wanting our nation’s capital city to be clean, safe, and functional is vanity? Is that why the oh so humble Democrats let the town get run down when they are in power?

“So he’s [Graham Platner] a liar, a racist, an antisemite.  He’s a homophobe.”

–ABC’s The View host Sunny Hostin, who immediately announced that she supported the U.S. Senate candidacy of Graham Platner (D. Me.).

You cannot make this stuff up. But it is terribly revealing.

CBS News fired failed “journalist” Scott Pelley for insubordination. It should have happened years ago.

“Our cancelling the 4th of July celebration this year reflects . . . an on-going process within the congregation to better understand our own whiteness.”

–Statement by Nantucket [Massachusetts] Unitarian Universalists and Reverend Erin Splaine of the Second Congregational Meeting House.

For the past 25 years, this “church” has held a public reading of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution’s Bill of Rights in the downtown, on Independence Day. But not this year, our nation’s 250th birthday.

“For those of us who are white the experience of the Rights and Privileges conferred by the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of the United States have, for centuries, been tragically, often violently, and unequally applied to fellow citizens who are not white.”

–excerpt from Reverend Splaine’s letter announcing the cancellation. Reverend Splaine further stated that she would not engage with others to explain her decision. Typical. 

This is sad. But not surprising. Unitarians are not Christians. They are a bunch of Leftists who congregate together to celebrate sins. Like all Leftists, they hate America, and its founding. Why they bothered to celebrate it in the previous 25 years is a mystery.

But all is not lost on Nantucket for Independence Day. In the wake of Reverend Splaine’s refusal to celebrate America, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will hold a reading in the downtown of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Since 2023, New York State has been studying the question of reparations for black Americans, to compensate them for the fact that they were never held in slavery, but someone, somewhere, at some time, whom they may be related to, was a slave. Well, the usual suspects are tired of the delay, and are now demanding that each black New Yorker be financially compensated in cash, to the tune of $800,000.00. But they want more; so much more. They want their own “black bank”, more education, housing, and “other” assistance. Sigh. Because some suffered hundreds of years ago, those who have not suffered must be compensated.

The New York State legislature is pushing legislation to impose gender neutral language. Going forward, the word “mother” will be replaced with “gestating parent”. The word “father” will be replaced with “non-gestating parent”. This is just plain stupid.

The New Jersey rioting at the ICE Detention facility in Newark seems to be finally under control. Governor Sherrill (D.) finally and reluctantly allowed the State Police to assist ICE officials, and that seems to have made a difference.

Where did the New Jersey rioters come from? Are there that many New Jersey residents who are outraged at ICE enforcing the law? As it turns out . . . no. The rioters in New Jersey were imported from . . . Portland, Oregon. Some of the most ardent, anti-ICE activists reside in Oregon, and are members of the radical domestic terrorist group, ANTIFA. All of this, and other, anti-ICE activities are well-funded, carefully orchestrated operations coordinated by China (the country), and other enemies of the United States.

In South Carolina, Representative Nancy Mace (R.) is running for Governor, and was hoping to garner President Trump’s endorsement ahead of the June Republican primary. Instead, President Trump endorsed Lt. Governor Pamela Evette (R.). Representative Mace is denying that the endorsement happened, and called the Lt. Governor a “liar”. But the President did endorse Ms. Evette. And Nancy Mace looks to be finally retired from public life. Hopefully for good.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a Texas State law criminalizing the unlawful entry into the United States via Texas. Now Texas Rangers can round up illegal aliens and turn them over to ICE. WINNING!

Add Patrick, Appomattox, Goochland, Warren, and Clarke Counties to the growing list of Virginia jurisdictions that will not enforce the looming gun laws passed by Governor Spanberger (D. Va.) and her tyrannical General Assembly Democrats. Let freedom ring!

A Lynchburg, Virginia Circuit Court judge enjoined the Virginia State Police from performing or requiring background checks for private firearm sales. WINNING!

Florida voters will get to vote on a State constitutional amendment that would eliminate property taxes. WOW! That would really frost Democrats’ flakes!

Oregon Democrats want to ban hunting, fishing, ranching, livestock slaughter, and rodeos with animals. There is no freedom in Oregon.

If there is no ranching or livestock slaughter, then how do you get to eat . . . meat? Sigh.

And what kind of rodeo does not have animals? Seriously.

Well, it is June, and that can mean only one thing; The Episcopal Church USA is going to celebrate “Pride Month”. Which means that The Episcopal Church will celebrate sins. Sigh.

“To bolster democracy in the United States, we in The Episcopal Church call for an expansion of voter registration, protection of voter eligibility and making the voting processes more accessible.”

–statement by The Episcopal Church USA, through its Office of Governmental Relations.

Should not The Episcopal Church USA be concentrating on saving souls and spreading God’s Word, rather than worrying about politics?  And why does a church need an “Office of Governmental Relations”?  Does not the Left insist that there be a “separation of Church and State”?  Hmmm.

“My God, that gravy is horrible.”

–Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, discussing the chain’s signature gravy.

In the last few weeks, the United States Navy has guided more than 70 ships through the Straits of Hormuz. WINNING!

More than 40% of Democrats support Hamas over Israel. LOSING!

The University of Virginia/N.C. State football game to be played in Brazil has been scrapped. The game will now be played in Charlottesville. Good. It never made any sense to play an ACC football game in Brazil.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Adelman has died at age 79. R. I. P.

Joe Negri, famous for his role as Handyman Negri on public television’s Mr. Rogers’s Neighborhood, has died at age 99. Sigh. He almost got to 100. R. I. P.

Singer Peabo Bryson has died at age 75. R. I. P.

Former Baltimore Colts wide receiver Raymond Berry has died at age 93. R. I. P.

GFK

What is the United States? Of course we are a country. But what kind of country? Are we merely a set of ideas, as some urge? Or are we more than that? Do we have a shared culture, shared values, and a common identity? James McGee seeks to answer that question in the article below. Enjoy his answer.

From Sea to Shining Chevrolet

What Dinah Shore understood about America — and what modern ideologues keep forgetting.

BY:          James H. McGee, The American Spectator (May 29, 2026)

See the USA in your Chevrolet
America is asking you to call
Drive your Chevrolet through the USA
America’s the greatest land of all

Most Americans are too young to remember the once-famous songstress Dinah Shore and her immensely popular television variety show, which aired from 1956 to 1963. At 76, I am officially “old,” and I was only a child when the show was “must-see” TV for families across America. In our household, at a time when we, like most Americans, had only one TV set, we watched Dinah Shore alongside our parents, enjoying her music and her vivacity. My sister and I watched Dinah Shore much less grudgingly than we watched Lawrence Welk, my dad’s favorite show.

For most of its existence, her show was sponsored by Chevrolet, and each episode concluded with her theme song, “See the USA in your Chevrolet”. An advertising jingle to be sure, but for most of us it meant far more than buying the sponsor’s latest automobile. “America” itself was the real message, and the song and the show itself spoke to down-to-earth love for the country itself. In an era when vacations often meant family road trips, and every day pleasures often revolved around the drive-in restaurant or the drive-in movies, we all connected to the message. 

We knew what we loved about America, and we knew that much of what we loved could be seen through the windows of a Chevrolet, or a Ford, or a Dodge. We knew that we loved our city neighborhoods and our small town squares. We knew that we were surrounded by good things, and, if some were more fortunate than others, we were all deeply connected, whether through Friday night football or Sunday morning in church.

Our fathers, not too long before, had experienced the whole world. Just in my neighborhood, one dad had driven 2 and ½ ton supply trucks up the length of Italy. Another had served as a radioman aboard an LST whose journey had spanned the width of the Pacific. My own father had fought his way from Normandy to Czechoslovakia. And even with allowance made for seeing a world at war, a world at its worst, they came home united in the belief that America was the “greatest land of all.”

Just over a month from now, we will celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, as measured from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Already, we’re seeing the buildup, with commemorative events planned across the length and breadth of the country. This is undoubtedly a good thing and, since celebrating the Fourth of July as the nation’s birthday is a now-hallowed tradition, the traditionalist in me simply wants to applaud and join unreservedly in the celebrations.

It’s not too early to get ready to celebrate, but let’s start by preparing to celebrate for the right reasons.

And yet, my reservations are real. For far too long, we’ve been told that the United States is a “creedal nation,” that is, we are united around a set of beliefs enshrined in such documents as the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — the most notable of the statements of purpose and value that define the American “creed” and, by extension, the meaning of America itself. 

This, however, ignores the fundamental fact that, for the better part of 200 years before 1776, an enterprise had been underway to build lives and homes in what would become the United States, and that those lives had meaning separate and distinct from the ideals to which we would aspire. People lived and worked across the newfound land. They loved and laughed, and cried and mourned, mainly without reference to a creed other than their several religious faiths and the values brought from their various “old countries,” soon to be annealed in the heat of life along a new frontier.

It also ignores the fact that, in the 250 years since, the greater part of American life has been that which would have been visible from othe windows of Dinah Shore’s Chevrolet. 

To borrow a phrase from yet another song of tribute, “From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam, God bless America, My home sweet home.” Kate Smith’s rendition of Irving Berlin’s great anthem, in its original time and place, was in no way an appeal to a narrow “nativism,” but rather an appreciation of home, an appreciation that resonated all the more strongly in 1938, as the war clouds gathered all around us.

Leftists make sport of “mom’s apple pie and hotdogs,” and insist that these things — and all that they symbolize — are trivial when laid alongside the great aspirations that, in their view, define the meaning of America. The problem, however, is that when we reduce our nation to an idea, even a set of ideas, and assume that what makes us is our shared adherence to such ideas, then we have reduced ourselves to an intellectual notion.

Worse, when we’re reduced to a set of ideas, what soon follows is the corruption of the values that inform our cultural, political, and economic lives. And ideas — even noble ideals — are almost infinitely malleable when detached from how ordinary people try to live their normal lives. Malleability becomes the basis for manipulability, and soon our lives are turned completely upside down. 

Thus, for example, hardworking Americans who just want to live without interference are reduced to “the deplorables.” We’re asked to kneel before all manner of absurdities, from George Floyd’s martyrdom to Greta Thunberg’s climate alarmism. We’re asked to believe that Hamas murderers are somehow victims, that the IRGC thugs in Iran are idealist proponents of a “religion of peace.” We’re asked to ignore how fraudsters from around the world invent fresh ways of freeloading off our national wealth, built by generations of hard-working citizens.

In the midst of all this, we’re subjected to an unending stream of justifications for a leftist agenda, one crafted by twisting the meaning of our great aspirational documents and the symbols of our historical achievements. Thus, “social justice” depends on allowing crimes to go unpunished, from wholesale shoplifting to the brutal murder of innocent young women. Or, we’re treated to memes that take images of soldiers storming Omaha Beach on D-Day and pretend that these heroes were prototypical Antifa warriors. “Antifa,” of course,  remains the most perfect contemporary example of how historical truth is stood on its head, with the calumnies thrown at ICE agents a very close second.

George Orwell captured this monstrosity perfectly. “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.” Conservatives often make sport of leftists with the simple phrase: “If they didn’t have double standards, they would have no standards.” But the rot goes much deeper, a rejection of the world as it is, not in favor of a better world, a world we might all share, but for a highly exclusionist utopian fantasy. It’s a world in which ideals can become bludgeons with which to punish those with whom we disagree.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…” dissolves into meaninglessness in the hands of those who insist that there is no such thing as truth, only “my truth.” When the honest pursuit of objective truth disappears from public discourse, the result is not simply nonsense, but rather a world in which power-hungry cynicism pulls the strings. To give Mamdani or Omar their due, they are likely quite aware of the dishonest game they are playing. Unfortunately, they can easily exploit the rampant gullibility of their followers — when there is no “truth,” then it becomes very hard to hold such people accountable.

So, in the days ahead, let’s honor the founding of our country and take the time to reflect earnestly and honestly on the role our great founding documents have played in making our country Dinah Shore’s “the greatest land of all.”  But let’s not forget that our greatness resides in much more than words, even great an inspirational words.

We are a people, a very special people, in every generation welcoming to those who wish to become Americans rather than those who would bend our ideals to their self-serving ends. We are a people whose lives are lived in churches and schools, bars and bodegas, ball fields and tree stands, and in the offices, stores, and factories where we labor to support ourselves, our families, and our communities. America is a profoundly moral nation, but is more, much more, than simply a moral idea, however high-flown the rhetoric that adorns that idea.

It’s not too early to get ready to celebrate, but let’s start by preparing to celebrate for the right reasons. Let’s go for a drive together and, looking out the car window, remind ourselves of how great this country is.

GFK

Douglas Murray moved to America from Great Britain, and immediately immersed himself in his adopted country’s history and culture. Below he writes about the importance of the United States, its history, and his hopes for the future. It is a particularly perfect read on the eve of our nation’s 250th birthday.

Rediscover American pride and gratitude on the 250th anniversary

By:         Douglas Murray, The New York Post (May 28, 2026) 

John Trumbull’s 1819 painting, “Declaration of Independence,” depicting the five-man drafting committee of the US Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.

When I first moved to America, I made a determined effort to read up on American history. The need to do this — for someone educated in Britain — cannot be overstressed.

Most people outside this country are entirely ignorant of American history. Even the War of Independence is a mystery to most people. Jessica Mitford once observed that British schoolchildren leave their education with the sense that America did something bad in the late 18th century and it isn’t polite to mention it.

But if you are going to live in a country, you should make an effort to learn its history. Or so I think. Though I have discovered how unpopular this view is.

One of the books I started before moving here was Paul Johnson’s “A History of the American People”. It seized me from its opening lines: “The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures. No other national story holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind.”

Johnson’s book was published in 1997, before the latest round of historians got to work.

Today most fashionable historians would dismiss Johnson’s opening lines as hopelessly gauche and unsophisticated.

That is because sometime from the 1990s onward, this country’s story started getting retold in another light. There was a greater emphasis on the way in which Native Americans were treated. A trend grew for pulling down all those American leaders who had literally been put on pedestals. And there was a concerted effort to center the trans-Atlantic slave trade as being at the heart — if not the foundation — of the American story.

All of these things are perfectly fine things to do. History is forever being rewritten, added to and put in a fresh context.

But sometimes you just end up with things slanted in a new direction. That is where things are now.

Recent decades have been a confusing time for anyone wanting to take part in the American story.

It may be wrong to present a view of a country that ignores its flaws.

But it is even more destructive to paint a picture of your country that shows everything in a negative light.

Today I see people on both sides of the political divide intent on pushing a story about this country that is not only unjust but deeply destructive.

On the radical left, we have people we might call the Mamdani-ites. People who have been brought up in a stew of post-colonialism, Third Worldism and anti-capitalism. These people (who sit in City Hall, don’t forget) talk about America as an illegitimate country.

They talk about America’s past and present as though it is one long history of rapacious seizure, dispossession and capitalistic greed. In their estimation, nothing has been earned in this country or by this country that has not been stolen.

These are people who — as Ronald Reagan said back in the 1960s — cannot look at a thin man and a fat man without thinking the fat man must have taken something from the thin man.

Bottom of Form

On the radical right (further from power, but no less noisy) there is a similar movement. Popular podcasters and others also wish to pretend that there is nothing good about this country.

Some of them argue that America has been in decline since its heroic interventions in the two world wars. Others try, just as assiduously as their left-wing counterparts, to strip America’s achievements one by one. For example, only in America do you have whole swaths of people intent on believing that American astronauts never landed on the moon — making one of the great chapters in the American adventure into a fraud. And to what end?

Anyhow — why do I mention all this?

Because if a country is going to make even the most basic effort at integrating and cohering its people, it must have a story that people want to join. For that you have to have a history that is accurate — of course. But you must also have a story that is noble and aspirational.

Happily, there truly are few stories in human history as noble and aspirational as the American story. And as this country comes up to celebrating its 250th anniversary, you can feel the need to reaffirm that fact once again.

Because Donald Trump happens to be the president on this anniversary, you can already hear some people gearing up for an act of rebellion or repudiation. A date that should unite the country — whoever the president of the time happens to be — may yet divide people afresh.

Artists and pop stars whose names some of us had long forgotten have already started lining up to say that they will not participate in any anniversary events because those events are linked to President Trump. Well, it wouldn’t be the first party spoiled by Milli Vanilli.

But what should be a unifying event risks being yet another round of the divisive culture wars.

Such a thing can and should be avoided. And it can be avoided by remembering the things that actually do unite us. Not the least of which should be a justified, deserved and earned form of pride in this nation.

As it happens, my latest reading has been a book by William F. Buckley, published in 1990, called “Gratitude: Reflections on what we owe to our country.” It is a wonderful, short book, but it reminds me that there are always two principal attitudes that can dominate our lives.

The first is resentment: resentment that we haven’t got everything we want or feel we deserve.

The second attitude is gratitude: gratitude for the inheritance we have got, the grace we can all experience and the opportunities that sit before us.

For a person, as for a country, the second attitude is infinitely more attractive. And — in the end — it is the only one that creates anything productive.

That is why I hope on this 250th, we can remind ourselves of the great human adventure that this country is still on, and the tremendous lessons that our national story will hold for generations to come.

GFK

If you listen to Democrats, and others, you hear a lot of complaining about the hostilities with Iran. Gas prices are too high is the principal one. Military spending is another. For a military action that has only been going on since March (actually, February 28), a large segment of Americans are quite impatient. Iran is a threat to people all over the world. Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since 1979. Given the opportunity, Iran would explode nuclear weapons inside both the United States and Israel, murdering millions of people. And don’t be too smug, those of you who live in London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin; Iran does not like you either.

Today I am sharing a perspective from longtime journalist and commentator, Cal Thomas. Enjoy.

Americans whining over gas prices ignore Iran’s greater threat

Stopping a nuclear threat should matter more than cheaper fill-ups

BY:          Cal Thomas, The Washington Times (May 26, 2026)

Whatever the outcome of the “deal or no deal” scenario with Iran, the public attitude toward the war has been disturbing.

Despite President Trump’s constant admonition that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, a majority of those polled now oppose the intervention. A side effect of the war has been complaints about higher gas prices.

That grumbling caused me to do some reminiscing about a different America and different Americans.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we again heard about “the Greatest Generation,” but do we take the time to consider what made it great

While political divisions existed during World War II, the slogan “We’re all in this together” forged a unity that is nearly unheard of today, unless we are attacked as on 9/11.

My mother told me what it was like during World War II, as I was too young to know anything about sacrifice. Doing without, getting only one Christmas present and saving paper, rubber bands and other things for the war effort was my normal.

Gas prices during the war averaged 20 cents a gallon, but gas was rationed, as were many other things, and long road trips were almost unheard of (the Interstate Highway System would not be built until the Eisenhower administration).

If Mom ran out of ration stamps before the end of the month, a neighbor who had some extras would share some of hers. It worked in reverse too. Neighbors knew neighbors. Neighbors helped neighbors. We were Americans, and that meant something.

Today, we seem to be plagued by complainers who whine about almost everything. Too many appear oblivious to the threat posed by Iran, preferring cheaper gas. They seem unconcerned about a greater cost in more than gas should Iran acquire nukes.

Let the devil take tomorrow. Help me fill up my tank for under $40 today.

As we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, the country that older Americans once knew seems to be slipping away. Teenagers take over the streets and trash restaurants. Fraudsters steal tax money meant for children during COVID-19. Antisemitism is on the rise. Respect for authority, including the police, seems to have evaporated. Institutions that once reflected what were regarded as foundational principles — from a useful education leading to real jobs, to objective truth and a near universal sense of right and wrong — are now regarded as relics from a distant past that few want to revisit.

Republicans hate Democrats and vice versa.

When my father and four of his brothers returned from the war, they had a sense of accomplishment. Evil had been defeated and prosperity would quickly arrive in the form of suburbia and flashy new cars.

The values that helped my parents and grandparents sustain themselves through the Great Depression and World War II were jettisoned during the 1960s, largely because universities and the wider culture claimed modern values were better. Bob Dylan summed up his generation’s ingratitude to the Greatest Generation:

“Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly a-gin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin.”

They did change. Compared to the values of my parents and grandparents, that change — civil rights excepted — was not always for the better.

President Trump alludes to the entitlement sentiment that has gripped so many, especially younger people, when he asks Americans to endure higher gas prices for a short time in exchange for Iran not getting a nuclear weapon.

Gas prices have been high for only a few weeks. The Great Depression and World War II spanned 16 years.

Stop whining, America.

GFK

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world. Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride of slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength. It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who ‘but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier.’”

–Theodore Roosevelt, speaking at The Sorbonne in Paris, France (April 23, 1910).

My friend Chris Boswell fell short in his effort to secure the Republican Party nomination for City Council in Lynchburg, Virginia. Chris is a successful businessman, a loving family man, and a civic minded man. He is involved in, and loves, his community. He would have been a great councilman. But even though he fell short this time, Chris will be back. Because the great ones do not always win, but they always get back up, and try again. Chris is a great one.

The UK Guardian is demanding that the United States stop deporting illegal aliens. The Guardian claims that all the deportation flights are releasing more greenhouse gases, and warming the planet, causing destructive “climate change”. Oh, my goodness! Mind your own business!

“. . . I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear.”

–Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D. N.Y.), addressing his refusal to attend New York City’s Israel Day Parade.

Yes, Comrade Mamadani has made his views “abundantly clear”. He is a virulent anti-Semite. He hates Jews.

A large group of protesters, waving American and Israeli flags, gathered outside Grace Mansion to demand Comrade Mamdani’s resignation. Patriotic songs were sung, patriotic speeches were given, and the peaceful (as opposed to the Left’s mostly peaceful) crowd left the area cleaner than the found it.

There was even a Muslim contingent of protesters, denouncing Comrade Mamdani’s anti-Semitism. They held up signs reading “End Jew Hatred”. How ’bout that?

“This country is a f**king disgrace.”

–Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier (D. N.Y.), referring to the United States of America.

Miss Chevalier was just endorsed by Comrade Mayor Mamdani. Of course.

A Chinese alien with a New York commercial drivers license drove a bus into a line of stopped cars in a construction zone on I-95 in Stafford, Virginia, killing 5 and injuring 34 persons. The driver did not read or speak English. These deaths and injuries are on you, Governor Hochul (D. N.Y.).

Governor Hochul is pushing a ban on ICE agents wearing masks while performing their official duties. HOW MANY TIMES must Democrats be told about the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause? Gosh, they are DUMB!

The riots continue at the New Jersey ICE Detention facility. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D.) and Newark officials refuse to allow State or local police to assist ICE agents in defending the facility against the onslaught of the rioters. And while Governor Sherrill has repeatedly condemned ICE (for everything under the Sun), she has yet to utter 1 word of criticism for the protesters.

Governor Abigail Spanberger (D. Va.) has directed all Virginia law enforcement not to cooperate with ICE. So when ICE placed an immigration detainer on illegal alien and rapist Cristobal Liobardo, Arlington authorities released him back into the community, refusing to honor the ICE detainer. Walking around free in Arlington County, Cristobal Liobardo promptly raped another woman. Thanks a lot, Governor Spanberger!

There is drama in Blacksburg, Virginia, as Governor Abigail Spanberger fired VPI’s Rector. The Rector is refusing to leave. This should be fascinating.

The Virginia State Police are now again running background checks for private gun sales. Thank you Governor Spanberger for infringing upon law abiding citizens’ right to keep and bear arms.

Make Abigail Go Away.

“Every one of our neighbors with a uterus became the property of the state.”

–U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D. Tx.), referring to laws protecting innocent unborn children.  You know, like it says in everyone’s copy of The Bible, except his?

I don’t live in Texas, but I have spent a lot of time there. And everyone I’ve ever interacted with referred to “neighbors with a uterus” as women. Which is, of course, what they are. Except to Mr. Talarico. Who has used this particular noxious phrase on many occasions.

From James Talarico’s official campaign website:

He wants to grant amnesty to all “long time” illegal aliens in the United States;

He wants to create a “pathway to citizenship” for “short time” illegal aliens; and,

He wants to ban ICE agents from wearing face masks or otherwise concealing their identities.

Mr. Talarico now reveals that he has had a “secret girlfriend” for years. Uh, huh. This “secret girlfriend” was his chief of staff, before he secured for her another job in the Texas State legislature. Now “secret girlfriend” is an abortion lobbyist. Yup! She advocates for the murder of innocent unborn children. “Secret girlfriend” is also a “committed vegan”, and a regular at Cheerup Charlie’s, an Austin vegan gay bar, where she regularly attends drag queen shows, and participates in “Queer Trivia” and “Queer Karaoke”.

James Talarico. He is just like you. If you are a homosexual vegan living in San Francisco, with your “secret girlfriend” who is really not that into you.

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D. Me.) is claiming that Senator Susan Collins (R. Me.) of “voting to send me to Iraq”. Interesting. The vote to authorize military force was taken in 2022. Military actions commenced in 2003. And shortly thereafter, Graham Platner voluntarily enlisted in the Marines, and was sent to Iraq. Mr. Platner left the Marines after 4 years, and then in 2009, he enlisted in the Army, and deployed to Afghanistan. Since the U.S. has not drafted a single soldier since the early 1970s, and since Mr. Platner volunteered for military service, his claim about Senator Collins is a damned lie. Because Graham Platner is a liar. He proves it time and again.

Mr. Platner has yet another problem. It seems that he maintains a profile on a “dating” site, where he received sexual suggestions and propositions from women, and sent to them provocative messages and nude photographs. This is after he was married. But it gets worse. Much worse. Mr. Platner also maintains a sexually suggestive profile on a website called “Predator’s Paradise”, which is known to sexually exploit children.

Graham Platner refuses to address the situation, or to face reporters, or to even put out a campaign statement. But Graham Platner did send out his wife to address the matter, where she mounted a rather pitiful defense of her husband. Because Graham Platner is not just a liar; he is a coward too.

Gullivar’s Steakhouse in Irvine, California–directly across from the airport–is closing. The purveyor of fine steaks, including melt in your mouth prime rib, was actor John Wayne’s favorite restaurant. Sad.

Burger King is bringing back its crown [chicken] nuggets. Pass.

Sean Hudson was the Director of Community Relations for Canada’s Major League Baseball Team in Washington.  Mr. Hudson intentionally blacklisted pitcher Trevor Williams from certain team social media content after Williams publicly criticized the Los Angeles Dodgers’ inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence drag group, which Williams argued mocked his Catholic faith.  When news broke of Mr. Hudson’s bigotry, the team fired him.

Tennis great John McEnroe HATES pickleball. For many reasons, but primarily for the noise made when one’s racquet makes contact with the ball. It is an annoying sound, but it is hardly worth getting worked up about. But then again, John McEnroe gets worked up over lots of things.

Paris-St. Germains soccer team won the Champions league title. Naturally fans reacted by starting fires, vandalizing buildings and automobiles, rioting, fighting with police, and setting off fireworks. More than 130 people were arrested for their participation in the “celebration”. Sigh. Who knew that Parisians had so much in common with folks in Detroit and Los Angeles?

GFK