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250 years ago, a man with four fingers missing from his left hand stood up in a sweltering Philadelphia room and said the words that could have gotten him hanged.

It is June 7, 1776. The Pennsylvania State House. The windows are shut against eavesdroppers despite the summer heat. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia rises from his chair.

He knows how to hold a room. They call him the American Cicero. Years before, a hunting gun had exploded in his hands and taken the fingers of his left hand clean off — and ever since, he has worn a wrapping of black silk over the ruin. He has learned to use it. When he speaks, he lifts that shrouded hand and lets the dark silk fall, and every eye in the room follows it.

Today he lifts it, and he reads three sentences.

The first is the one that changes the world: ""Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.""

He is not asking a question. He is proposing that thirteen colonies stop being British.

John Adams seconds it before Lee has fully returned to his seat.

And then — nothing happens.

This is the part almost everyone forgets. There was no roar, no signing, no leap. Congress looked at what Lee had just put on the table and flinched. They voted to wait. Several delegations had no authority from home to take so enormous a step. Some men wanted alliances and a plan of confederation settled first. And some were simply afraid. They called a recess so the delegates could ride home and ask their people the unaskable question: are we ready to commit treason together?

Because that is what it was.

Every man who would eventually say ""aye"" understood the arithmetic exactly. There was no legal independence yet, no nation, no army that had won anything decisive. There was only a king with the largest military on earth and a very long memory. If the war was lost, the document they were debating became a confession. The punishment for that confession was a rope.

They knew it. They debated anyway.

The next day, Congress appointed a small committee to draft a statement explaining the decision, should they ever find the nerve to make it — Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston. They handed the pen to the quiet Virginian, Thomas Jefferson. The famous parchment we frame on walls and read aloud every Fourth of July was, in a sense, the footnote. It exists to justify Lee's motion. The motion came first.

And here is the detail that ought to be carved somewhere.

When the final vote on independence finally came, on July 2, 1776 — Richard Henry Lee was not there.

His wife had fallen ill. Virginia was building itself a new government and needed him home. So the man who stood up and proposed American independence climbed onto a horse and rode away before the question he'd asked was ever answered. Adams stood in for him and carried the argument across the line.

He proposed it.

He didn't cast the vote for it.

He never seemed to mind who got the credit.

The resolution passed on the second of July. Adams was so certain that date would be remembered forever that he wrote home predicting Americans would celebrate it for all time with bonfires and parades. He was off by two days. We kept the fourth — the day the explanation was approved — and let the seventh, the day a man first dared to say it out loud, slip quietly out of the calendar.

But the courage was never really in the parchment.

The courage was in being first. In standing up in a closed room, lifting a maimed hand, and reading three sentences that made you a traitor the instant they left your mouth — with your name attached, in front of witnesses, before a single other colony had promised to stand with you. Then trusting that strangers would find the same nerve, and finish what you'd started, even if you weren't in the room to see it.

So next month, when the fireworks go up, you might think of an earlier evening. A hot day in June. A man who had already lost part of himself, raising what was left of his hand and betting his life that other people would be brave enough to agree with him.

The question he asked that day was never really about Britain.

It was the same question every generation eventually has to answer for itself: when the right thing is also the dangerous thing, and someone has to say it first —

would it have been you?"

exxos-von-steamboldt

California is trying to pass a bill that would criminalize investigative journalism with misdemeanors, $10,000 fines, imprisonment, and content takedown. The proposed bill is titled AB 2624 and was made after I exposed mass fraud by immigrant groups in America. Under AB 2624, government-funded entities like the Somali “Learing” Daycare centers would be protected from being exposed if they operated inside California. The enemy truly is within. When our politicians would rather protect fraudsters and illegal migrants, it’s time for us to stand up or face mass oppression from the traitors who “rule” over us.

wheelsgoroundincircles

Don "Big Daddy" Garlits

“Nobody wanted to switch from the 392,” Garlits says. “I was doing great with the 392, but Frank Wylie (Dodge) said, ‘We don’t make that engine anymore.’ He wanted me to race with something the customers could buy. There were a few of us running the 426. Me, Roland [Leong], The Greek [Chris Karamasines], and a lot of people had ’em, but it was like a second car. None of them ran good. We called it the ‘elephant;’ it was a brute! You never smashed the ring lands or squished bearings like in the 392, but it didn’t go anywhere. You know, like an elephant, so big and massive, you can’t hurt it, and it just sort of plods along.”

“It all came to head for me at Columbus. I went in for a match race against Jim and Alison Lee. I ran three runs in the 8s [with the 426], the 392 ran in the 7s, easy, and [the 426] ran 191, 192 mph. The 392 was running 206, 210, easy. I won the race and had top time and low e.t. So I go up there to get paid, and Clark Radar, Sr. [the track owner] is sitting there behind this big desk, But not one thing on it except this stack of money and a .45 pistol, and overhead, this big moose that he’d shot. It was a very intimidating situation, the gun, Mr. Radar, and the moose. He says, ‘Garlits, you laid down on me. You didn’t run 200. I’m cutting your money.’ Then he shoved $500 dollars toward me with one hand, and kinda slid the gun toward me with the other, and told me to get out. Well, I did, but he cut me $750 and that was a lot of money back then.”

“I’d figured out what I was going to do,” he says. “I was going to run the 426, blow it up, load it up, and go back to the 392. Walk away from the Dodge sponsorship, the whole mess. So the next day I put 40 degrees spark lead in the thing — we couldn’t run more than 34 in the 392 or they’d split the cylinder walls. Everyone knew that, so we all ran the 426 the same. My crew was sure I was going to blow it up. They had the backup engine in the truck, ready to go. Well, I make the run, and what do you think it runs? 214 mph! A new world record. We get it back to the pits and drop the pan, expecting to see damage, and it looks beautiful, we didn’t even change the oil! So I get the wrench on the magneto to try more, and the crew is begging me not to, saying ‘Big, it’s a nice engine! It just ran a world record! Don’t blow it up!’ but I got to know, so I go for 50 degrees, and it runs 219. That was it, that was the end of the 392 for me.”

sportsandlaughs

guitarhappyman

Can You Handle the Truth? — Why Politicians Must Lie.

by Michael McCune

Everything you are about to read explains 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘀’ 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲.

Not because of compassion.

Not because of policy.

But because 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 —

and once that happens, 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

I’m going to share something with you that 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀, but very few are willing to say out loud — because the truth is uncomfortable.

Even for me.

That’s why I begin each day with this simple prayer:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

If you ask for that serenity 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, you must also be willing to 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 when it’s given — even when you don’t like it.

I don’t like it. But I accept it.

And once you accept it, one thing becomes impossible to ignore.

We are a 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

And that division is 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆.

It isn’t really about politics.

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻.

The real divide is 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹.

And before we go any further, we need to be honest about something — because much of the confusion comes from the language itself.

We are not all using the word Democrat to mean the same thing.

For many Americans, the term still carries nostalgia — a memory of what Democrats used to be, or what they believe the party once stood for.

But if we are going to be honest with ourselves,

𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

This is no longer the party that says,

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

If we are going to use the term Democrat, we must define it by 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿, not past identity.

Without that honesty, a constitutional republic cannot survive.

Today’s Democrat leadership has:

▪️Violated the U.S. Constitution through sanctuary cities that openly defy federal law

▪️Encouraged mob rule while selectively enforcing the law

▪️Publicly and aggressively attacked a sitting administration instead of governing

▪️Refused bipartisan policy work in favor of constant conflict

▪️Declared this a “war” and then acted accordingly

This is not disagreement.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿.

And if they succeed. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Once they’ve taken power, they won’t magically revert to old-school Democrat values. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

And the country we live in will be a very different place entirely.

Under their leadership, we would be no different than China, Russia, or Germany in World War II.

And if you take a moment to actually look up the definition of fascism… you’ll see who it describes 100%.

And here’s a hint — 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽.

They’ve been saying it openly for years:

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗿.

Most people dismissed it as rhetoric.

As exaggeration. As just another attack on Trump.

But 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗲.

In 2015, then–Vice President Joe Biden made a statement at a White House summit that most people ignored at the time:

“There’s an unrelenting stream of immigration — nonstop, nonstop. Folks like me who are Caucasian of European descent, for the first time in 2017, we’ll be in an absolute minority in the United States of America… That’s not a bad thing. That’s a source of our strength.”

On its own, that wasn’t proof of intent.

But it was a signal.

At the time, Democrats fully expected Hillary Clinton to win by a landslide. When she lost, Donald Trump was labeled an illegitimate president, and four years of lawfare, manufactured scandals, and the Russia collusion hoax followed.

Then came the border.

During Trump’s first term, the fight wasn’t about mass deportations — because millions hadn’t been allowed in yet. The battle was about closing the border so they couldn’t get in at all.

Many of us asked a simple question:

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻?

Especially when earlier speeches from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton clearly argued for border enforcement and deportation.

A change of heart didn’t make sense.

So what changed? The strategy.

Joe Biden answered that question on day one of his presidency.

With crises unfolding at home and abroad, his first major actions were reversing Trump’s Stay in Mexico policy and pausing deportations.

𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻.

Illegal aliens were treated as victims.

Americans were treated as the problem.

MAGA was labeled a threat to democracy.

Borders were thrown open.

Good became bad. Bad became good.

Millions crossed unvetted, were transported across the country, housed in expensive hotels — while homeless Americans were ignored.

Criminals were elevated to martyrs.

Police were defunded.

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗖𝗘.

So ask yourself:

If protecting Americans isn’t the goal…

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀?

Here’s another clue.

Donald Trump won by roughly two million votes.

Now consider this: Democrats openly discuss granting citizenship to 𝟭𝟬–𝟭𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀.

That isn’t immigration policy.

That’s 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵.

Once citizenship is granted, elections are over.

Republicans don’t lose once. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.

If you’ve followed along — and you understand the patterns — then what’s happening right now should make perfect sense.

You can understand what’s happening in Minnesota.

You can understand the shutdown.

And you can understand why stopping ICE has suddenly become urgent.

𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽’𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁.

And they know it.

And that is why 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Not because of emotion.

Not because of rhetoric.

But because of 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵.

When elections are no longer competitive, debate becomes meaningless. Policy becomes permanent.

And power no longer changes hands.

At that point, the Constitution isn’t ripped apart in one dramatic act. It’s simply worked around, ignored, and slowly rendered irrelevant.

That is how republics actually fall.

Not with tanks in the streets.

But with laws selectively enforced.

With courts pressured. With speech controlled.

With opposition labeled dangerous.

And once that shift happens, there is no reset button.

Collapsed republics don’t “bounce back.”

They are replaced by something else — something far more centralized, far less accountable.

That is why the division we are experiencing is 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆.

It is 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Only one side will determine what the United States becomes from here.

And if the current Democrat leadership succeeds — not the nostalgic idea of what Democrats once were, but the people and behaviors currently in power — then 𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.

Not pauses. Not bends. 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝘀.

That is not fear. That is history.

So the real question is not whether you like this truth.

The question is whether you are willing to 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁.

Because pretending this is just another election, or just another political cycle, is no longer honest.

Most people don’t want truth. They want comfort.

So I’ll ask you plainly: 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵?

And if you can — it’s up to us to share it.

darkeagleruins2

End income taxes!

heavyhauler

dante5043

About the best description for Gen-X that I’ve heard.

reality-detective

The jaw-dropping quantity of energy and resources required to construct just a single wind turbine.

But let's keep pretending these expensive, inefficient, bird and bat slaying monstrosities are "green" and "environmentally-friendly". 🤔

mackeddyfils

It does not make sense does it!

vomitdodger

Great video. It goes perfectly with the various Landman scenes talking about it all. And those videos are in the comments. For the uninitiated I’d suggest you watch them too.

morgan5451

From Bill Zimmer

NO comments please. YOU Are entitled to YOUR opinions as an American, and so Am I. If you agree share! This was taken from Fox News. I wonder how loud it’ll get if Trump could pull this off. It will be interesting.

President Trump is asking everyone to share this, in three days, most people in the United States will have seen the message. This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.

The TRUMP Rules:

Congressional Reform Act of 2025!

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. And no more perks go with them.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise at the same rate as the COLA for monthly Social Security recipients minus 1% if having a budget balance deficit.

5. Congress loses their current care system and participates in the same health care system (Medicare) as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor and privilege, NOT a career.

The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work … not get all kinds of freebies. Term limits of 2 terms and treat them like a regular citizen!

You will need to copy and paste.

I AGREE SO IM SHARING!

Note:

This should be done immediately!!!

Thank you! Copy/Paste

blp5

View this post on Instagram

beardedmrbean

enriquemzn262

Venezuela has been attacked by US Forces tonight, a short SEAD air campaign that wiped out the remaining Air Force assets, followed by a small scale ground assault via helicopter insertion, most likely with special forces, and communications with Venezuela are currently cut, at least in Maracaibo since we can’t reach my wife’s family (they’re in Maracaibo away from the main air strike targets).

Let me be clear with you guys: This is a GOOD THING, the Maduro regime has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of students and general civilians during the massive protests of 2014-2016, not to mention further repression after the large scale protests ended and gave way to smaller ones, plus all the deaths due to the horrific state of the healthcare system, and the general lack of food and medicine that plagued the country between 2017 and 2019, which only sort of got fixed after millions of Venezuelans left the country, finally allowing the few things left to actually be enough for the remaining population.

We don’t know what will happen next, we don’t even know if the heads of the Venezuelan government are all alive, although the regime seems to be standing FOR NOW.

So, let me ask for your prayers, not to stop the American government, but to ensure no needless civilian deaths take place while the Maduro regime finally collapses for good.

It’s been a long way coming!

¡Viva Venezuela libre!

enriquemzn262