In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on. ...
If a foreigner hates America, fine. But why then become a citizen here? Better yet, why would the US allow someone to become a citizen who hates the country? https://t.co/PNsupIOU72
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) July 3, 2026
Ed: That's a question we need to ask more sharply and more often. It's one reason a clear majority of voters put Donald Trump back in the White House: he has shifted the Overton window far enough to start having this conversation. We are a nation of immigrants, but those immigrants came to America because they loved its promise. Too often now, we're admitting immigrants that want to transform it into their own failed states of origin, or in some cases, impose a tyranny on the US that has failed in every instance over the last century-plus.
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New York Times: At Mount Rushmore, Trump Veers From Patriotism to ‘Communism’
On the eve of July 4, President Trump extolled the nation’s founders while branding his opponents as “communists” in what seemed to be a warm-up for November.
Ed: That's just the headline and the subhead, but it's enough. The NYT is going into full Republicans Pounce™ mode as well as indulging in pure projection. It's the Democrat Party that has veered from patriotism to Communism; Trump is merely being blunt about that journey and his intent to have voters consider it in the midterms. If Democrats and the Protection Racket Media feel uncomfortable with that, then they should quit giving succor to communists.
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What an appalling speech the Mayor of New York delivered for the 250th anniversary of the nation.
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) July 3, 2026
Sadly, it reflects the view of America propagated for years by Howard Zinn and his like-minded colleagues in the universities and believed by armies of the young: a dark, oppressive…
... a dark, oppressive country where common people are denigrated by tyrants and oligarchs, where immigrants are treated with contempt, where those with “soft hands” hold the wealth created by those with dirty hands.
No sensible person would claim that our country is without flaws, but the relentlessly negative picture painted by Mayor Mamdani is just absurd.
And it is the fruit of the Marxism that, sadly, is all the rage today.
Ed: God bless Bishop Barron for speaking out so strongly against the Marxist propaganda that has flooded our schools and media. As I noted yesterday, it's pretty easy for politicians to write an Independence Day speech, especially for those who genuinely love our country. The appalling nature of Mamdani's speech has dropped the mask on who he truly is and what his ambitions truly are.
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Jonathan Turley: Socialist Mamdani described a virtual hellscape of a country run by “oligarchs who buy elections” as “children go to sleep hungry.” He added, “We see monopolies that dominate every industry, and oligarchs who buy elections. We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans.”
Mamdani mocked the narrative of the republic, telling the new citizens that “the irony is that the story of America has so often been written by those who were told by others with power and influence and wealth that they were anything but exceptional.”
Others joined the celebrations with their own condemnations. Pennsylvania socialist Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, has joined the chorus of critics.
Speaking at “America at 250 — Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth” in Philadelphia, the unopposed Rabb lashed out at a country built on “stolen land and stolen labor.” He also mocked the “lofty” “screeds” that “were notoriously catering to a performative aspect of collective genius that purposely erased indigenous and black peoples.” He denounced this country as based on harmful “myths” supporting white supremacy and fascism: “Fascism is not new. These systems of harm are built into the very fabric of this nation.”
Ed: As Ronald Reagan once said, we are at a time for choosing. This is a good time to revisit that speech ...
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And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and the most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man.
This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.
You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down - [up] man's old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.
In this vote-harvesting time, they use terms like the "Great Society," or as we were told a few days ago by the President, we must accept a greater government activity in the affairs of the people. But they've been a little more explicit in the past and among themselves; and all of the things I now will quote have appeared in print. These are not Republican accusations. For example, they have voices that say, "The cold war will end through our acceptance of a not undemocratic socialism." Another voice says, "The profit motive has become outmoded. It must be replaced by the incentives of the welfare state." Or, "Our traditional system of individual freedom is incapable of solving the complex problems of the 20th century." Senator Fullbright has said at Stanford University that the Constitution is outmoded. He referred to the President as "our moral teacher and our leader," and he says he is "hobbled in his task by the restrictions of power imposed on him by this antiquated document." He must "be freed," so that he "can do for us" what he knows "is best." And Senator Clark of Pennsylvania, another articulate spokesman, defines liberalism as "meeting the material needs of the masses through the full power of centralized government."
Well, I, for one, resent it when a representative of the people refers to you and me, the free men and women of this country, as "the masses." This is a term we haven't applied to ourselves in America. But beyond that, "the full power of centralized government"this was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don't control things. A government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.
Ed: Donald Trump's speech yesterday at Mt. Rushmore, at least in his direct rebuke to communism, may be the best speech against its tyranny since this 1964 address.
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WHO DID THIS???🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/MspMDVnuCb
— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) July 3, 2026
Ed: Whoever did this has provided a very accurate translation, tovarisch. Got this from a friend who sent it by text, so I think it's already going semi-viral. That's not a good sign for Mamdani.
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Jim VandeHei at Politico: We're alive at the single greatest moment in U.S. and human history. By a lot.
Why it matters: It's not even close, by almost every empirical measure. We live longer, better, richer, healthier and freer than those before us.
Yes, we screw a lot up. Always have. Always will. But nothing bothers me more than the widespread pessimism and plummeting patriotism — when it should be a time of great hope and possibility.
To me, that yawning gap between our reality and how people feel about it is among the biggest macro issues facing us.
Ed: True enough. Does VandeHei have any clue as to what accounts for that yawning gap? Might it be an education system polluted with Marxist propagandists like Zinn and a media environment warped by faddish socialism?
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One nation in all of human history staked its existence on a single blazing truth: every soul enters this world crowned in God-given rights beyond the reach of any earthly power. 250 years later, America remains the boldest wager ever placed on human liberty. ❤️ 🤍 💙 pic.twitter.com/7gDUZCkZkr
— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) July 3, 2026
Ed: I've seen these Sophie Cunningham memes explode recently, and ... I'm all in! I hope Ms. Cunningham is enjoying them as much as we are. It's great to see Justice Willett still engaging on social media, too.
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People Magazine: Patti LuPone was left “furious” after an LGBTQ+ cruise she is scheduled to perform on was allegedly banned from entering Turkey.
On Friday, July 3, the 77-year-old Broadway star shared that she was “shocked” to learn that the gay cruise aboard Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady, on which she is scheduled to perform from July 5 to July 15, has been denied entry into the West Asian country.
“A ship — a magnificent ship — full of well-heeled gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board," LuPone wrote on Instagram. "I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call.” ...
Authorities in Turkey's Aydın province stated that there was “absolutely no possibility of the group in question visiting our province for an event of this nature,” claiming that the ship was chartered by groups “known for behaviors incompatible with the fabric of our society and moral values," the outlet reported.
Ed: Wait until she sees what happens when Queers for Palestine tries showing up in Gaza. All of these limousine progressives seem to think that sucking up to Islamists makes them their ally. They are entirely clueless about what Islamism is and what it means for themselves. This also puts lie to the Left's oft-expressed idea that all cultures are equivalent in value, part of their ongoing campaign to devalue Western civilization and ordered liberty. If LuPone really thought that, they never would have planned a visit to Turkey in the first place. Maybe she should spend some time thinking about that today.
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From the historic USS Nimitz, Happy 250th birthday to the greatest nation that has ever graced our planet! @USNavy pic.twitter.com/TVjcAhyG6q
— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) July 4, 2026
Ed: Amen!
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Last night's lyric: "America" by Neil Diamond.
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