I will be...all in black: black baseball cap, black plain (I have /one/, count 'em, one) t-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, with a sign:
"See, this is what happens when you DON'T READ: Declaration of Independence / U.S. Constitution [both in stylized script that looks 18th century ;->] VS. Project 2025 [in "Chiller" font, blood red] / Big, Beautiful Bill [in font that looks like the Joker came up with it, in a nasty shade of icky green]" with a picture of a tombstone with "R.I.P. U.S.A. 1776-2025" and an upside-down US flag on it (was gonna bring my other country flags out, but not after last night. Now the rest of the sign handle will just have an upside-down US flag tied to it at half-mast. :-/).
I have a protest at our local community college at 11 am; see y'all afterwards! :)
I recently heard a talking-head on Newsmaxipad proclaiming that only 36% of Democrats are proud to be Americans. I say why should we be, with that Orange Shitgibbon embarrassing us all over the world?
Patriotism is a hard word for me. It's real meaning is 'loyalty to the Father(land). I have no such loyalty. My loyalty is to the Constitution and to life. And I hate the loud explosions and the constant smell of gun powder. But this year is worse, since it feels more like a funeral.
Same. I’m just not a nationalist. I don’t pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag or any other, especially since the revision of that pledge in 1954. I do believe in our Constitution and basic human rights and dignity.
My own personal choice to not celebrate this years activities is specifically designed. I will wait until we get our country back, for those celebrating to realize that we're in big trouble.
I did normal 4th of July things today, with some additional purpose.
At the annual neighborhood pool party, I got volunteers to help with my month long July food drive to help local food banks. And within that discussion we identified who to invite to the next protests
And then I went to a Bruce Springsteen tribute show with thousands of people - more community and the chance to sing songs with deep meaning to me and others, sometimes with tears and always at the tops of our lungs. Cathartic and energizing too!
We may not be a functioning democracy at the moment, but if we gave up now, the ghosts of 1776 would be incredibly disappointed. As would I.
I'm too tired and frustrated to even rant today, God. I have a BA in History and that seems like it makes everything 10x as bad as it is. I am going to thank everyone here for just being here today. Thank you, God! Amen! Awomen! Ramen!
It's truly tragic that the legacy press has been so thoroughly bought and paid for by one side, while it appears the other has done nothing to balance that out, leaving them at a noticeable disadvantage in being able to call out this bullshit. Glad to see people like that reporter Jamelle Bouie willing to subvert the shameful ass kissing and whitewashing that their corporate overlords demand.
I’m wearing black today. Our small town parade was very white. The central/South American dancers did not make an appearance. Customs and Border Patrol had a couple of cars in the parade, which is the first time they’ve shown up. Fuck that shit.
So much for integrity in journalism.😞 I seriously hope I am wrong about religion being a man-made means of controlling the masses. I will risk an eternity in hell to be there to greet all of the minions.
Hmm; might I interest you in Aleksander Constantinoropolous's posts as Virgin Monk Boy (https://www.virginmonkboy.com/)? :)
He was originally an Orthodox (Greek?) monk in an abbey, but then "realized celibacy was a mistake." He's funny and fascinating, and occasionally comments here and there in various other Substacks. His concept of Christianity nowadays sounds almost Buddhist in its personal approach, and is enamored of Mary Magdalene as a Source of Wisdom. :)
I wouldn’t normally be a paid subscriber to a Letters to God Substack, but I love his Smiteful brand of humor. The fact that he has common sense and compassion makes it even more valuable to me. I read other posters, but still work full time plus OT. It’s hard to find time for more.
I follow Aleksander too. I really like his Mary Magdalene posts. They are terrific, as he speaks about how the church "Fathers" tried to obliterate her presence and her importance. They succeeded until recently. No more.
Back in the day a town’s celebrations used to start off with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
I read it the other night, after I realized I never had read the entire document.
Of course, I knew the history and some by heart, as every American school kid used to.
Having read it, I’ve got lots more than only 27 grievances—there’s
one for every executive order since last January, one for every traitor in the any branch of the government, one for each MAGA supporter—especially the J6ers , one for every person denied due process by Trump and his flunkies, one for every broligarch billionaire and several counts for the felon-grifter-psychopath-narcissist in the White House and each of his malignant offspring.
Maybe celebrate today by reminding yourself why you fight by reading the Declaration and the history of its signing.
Besides for me, to not celebrate this day concedes defeat, and I’ll be damned if I let them have my favorite holiday of the country of my birth, the land of my immigrant Swedish great grandparents, my German grandparents and my Native ancestors.
Let the haters leave. I’m a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Ojibwa. And I’m staying.
Thank you for the link. I have been reading it too. Embracing the 2nd Amendment that the founding fathers put in the Constitution in case someone tried this monarchy nonsense again.
Debated hanging our American flag out as we do every year. Then decided we didn’t want them taking this away from us too. Even if it’s just this small bit of resistance and love for what our country was and could be again, we are flying it today.
We will rest and recharge to fight again tomorrow, God.
An opinion I always have kept to myself, but ... I have never been that impressed with the New York Times. I live on the opposite coast and the NYT seem not to have noticed the rest of the nation way out here. My own surviving, locally-owned newspaper, one of the last that is not a corporate drone, seems unaware of the rest of the nation as well. So I come to Substack to be informed by INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM.
Thank you, God. It has been a day of mourning for me. I wore an Ukraine tee shirt all day. There is little to celebrate as an American. Trumps vile bill has passed. Now we are going to see pain as we have never seen before in this country. We are already seeing it. Now ICE has an enormous budget with which to wield their cruelty. Stephen Miller - DT - Kristi Noem are sadists, pure and simple. As are those who applaud their hideous actions. I am working with Indivisible. We all have to fight this monstrous administration. We ALL have to stand up to them. Thank you, God, for helping us get through it all. I look forward every day to what you have said. You are helping us stay informed and encouraged to fight. We need you! Time to do some big time Smiting, God.
Sadly, I'm just not feeling patriotic this 4th of July.
Me neither 😔 yes it is very sad
Me either, not even dressed.
Nor I.
I will be...all in black: black baseball cap, black plain (I have /one/, count 'em, one) t-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, with a sign:
"See, this is what happens when you DON'T READ: Declaration of Independence / U.S. Constitution [both in stylized script that looks 18th century ;->] VS. Project 2025 [in "Chiller" font, blood red] / Big, Beautiful Bill [in font that looks like the Joker came up with it, in a nasty shade of icky green]" with a picture of a tombstone with "R.I.P. U.S.A. 1776-2025" and an upside-down US flag on it (was gonna bring my other country flags out, but not after last night. Now the rest of the sign handle will just have an upside-down US flag tied to it at half-mast. :-/).
I have a protest at our local community college at 11 am; see y'all afterwards! :)
I wasn't planning it, but I did too. Now that you mention it, I'm glad I did.
Fuck this day. There is no “independence” to celebrate, thanks to the fascist piece of shit stinking up our White House.
I recently heard a talking-head on Newsmaxipad proclaiming that only 36% of Democrats are proud to be Americans. I say why should we be, with that Orange Shitgibbon embarrassing us all over the world?
I am surprised that ANY Democrat would claim to be proud of our country. This is not the time to be proud. This is the time to fight like hell.
But remember, if you do fight, you hate murca. /s
Patriotism is a hard word for me. It's real meaning is 'loyalty to the Father(land). I have no such loyalty. My loyalty is to the Constitution and to life. And I hate the loud explosions and the constant smell of gun powder. But this year is worse, since it feels more like a funeral.
Same. I’m just not a nationalist. I don’t pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag or any other, especially since the revision of that pledge in 1954. I do believe in our Constitution and basic human rights and dignity.
For years, I've been embracing Samuel Johnson's comment that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Dylan put it even more interestingly in his song Sweetheart Like You;
'They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.
Steal a little, and they throw you in jail; steal a lot and they make you a king.'
If I see people celebrating today that's good. I will know who to avoid in the future.
I'm no fan of MAGA whatsoever, but I feel like if we don't do at least some celebrating, that they've kinda taken this away from us too.
My own personal choice to not celebrate this years activities is specifically designed. I will wait until we get our country back, for those celebrating to realize that we're in big trouble.
Yes, they will proclaim how they "owned" us by destroying our First Amendment.
I did normal 4th of July things today, with some additional purpose.
At the annual neighborhood pool party, I got volunteers to help with my month long July food drive to help local food banks. And within that discussion we identified who to invite to the next protests
And then I went to a Bruce Springsteen tribute show with thousands of people - more community and the chance to sing songs with deep meaning to me and others, sometimes with tears and always at the tops of our lungs. Cathartic and energizing too!
We may not be a functioning democracy at the moment, but if we gave up now, the ghosts of 1776 would be incredibly disappointed. As would I.
Inspiring stuff.. thanks for the reminder to not cave in to the sadness when the world offers little Joy.
I'm too tired and frustrated to even rant today, God. I have a BA in History and that seems like it makes everything 10x as bad as it is. I am going to thank everyone here for just being here today. Thank you, God! Amen! Awomen! Ramen!
Who cares where he’s from? I don’t
Exactly!
/snort
As long as he eligible to run for office (sadly, he won't be eligible to be President...sigh :-/), who should care? :)
It's truly tragic that the legacy press has been so thoroughly bought and paid for by one side, while it appears the other has done nothing to balance that out, leaving them at a noticeable disadvantage in being able to call out this bullshit. Glad to see people like that reporter Jamelle Bouie willing to subvert the shameful ass kissing and whitewashing that their corporate overlords demand.
I’m wearing black today. Our small town parade was very white. The central/South American dancers did not make an appearance. Customs and Border Patrol had a couple of cars in the parade, which is the first time they’ve shown up. Fuck that shit.
Nope nothing to celebrate this year. I did cancel my subscription to the New York Times. I finally got off my butt and did it.
I should; I'm not even sure I do have it actively, other than the ads for "giving subscriptions to others! :D"
Frankly, I get my best news from places like Substack... ;)
So much for integrity in journalism.😞 I seriously hope I am wrong about religion being a man-made means of controlling the masses. I will risk an eternity in hell to be there to greet all of the minions.
Hmm; might I interest you in Aleksander Constantinoropolous's posts as Virgin Monk Boy (https://www.virginmonkboy.com/)? :)
He was originally an Orthodox (Greek?) monk in an abbey, but then "realized celibacy was a mistake." He's funny and fascinating, and occasionally comments here and there in various other Substacks. His concept of Christianity nowadays sounds almost Buddhist in its personal approach, and is enamored of Mary Magdalene as a Source of Wisdom. :)
I wouldn’t normally be a paid subscriber to a Letters to God Substack, but I love his Smiteful brand of humor. The fact that he has common sense and compassion makes it even more valuable to me. I read other posters, but still work full time plus OT. It’s hard to find time for more.
I follow Aleksander too. I really like his Mary Magdalene posts. They are terrific, as he speaks about how the church "Fathers" tried to obliterate her presence and her importance. They succeeded until recently. No more.
AMEN!!!
Back in the day a town’s celebrations used to start off with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
I read it the other night, after I realized I never had read the entire document.
Of course, I knew the history and some by heart, as every American school kid used to.
Having read it, I’ve got lots more than only 27 grievances—there’s
one for every executive order since last January, one for every traitor in the any branch of the government, one for each MAGA supporter—especially the J6ers , one for every person denied due process by Trump and his flunkies, one for every broligarch billionaire and several counts for the felon-grifter-psychopath-narcissist in the White House and each of his malignant offspring.
Maybe celebrate today by reminding yourself why you fight by reading the Declaration and the history of its signing.
Besides for me, to not celebrate this day concedes defeat, and I’ll be damned if I let them have my favorite holiday of the country of my birth, the land of my immigrant Swedish great grandparents, my German grandparents and my Native ancestors.
Let the haters leave. I’m a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Ojibwa. And I’m staying.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Thank you for the link. I have been reading it too. Embracing the 2nd Amendment that the founding fathers put in the Constitution in case someone tried this monarchy nonsense again.
Amen, sister!
Absolutely! My family celebrated today in spite of these bastards. We aren't giving up without a figbt!
You’re welcome, Kay. I looked it up the other night just to make sure it was posted on the Archives website.
As you can imagine, what a relief it is still there!
Failure on a monumental level
There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
~ George Carlin
Debated hanging our American flag out as we do every year. Then decided we didn’t want them taking this away from us too. Even if it’s just this small bit of resistance and love for what our country was and could be again, we are flying it today.
We will rest and recharge to fight again tomorrow, God.
This 4th of July
Sad day for our history to remember.
The signing of a mad corrupt conman's bill.
The monster is stealing everything from us. 😩
Sitting on the couch not giving a damn about this day. Thanks, God of all media, please keep on keeping on. We need your wit and wise words.❤️
An opinion I always have kept to myself, but ... I have never been that impressed with the New York Times. I live on the opposite coast and the NYT seem not to have noticed the rest of the nation way out here. My own surviving, locally-owned newspaper, one of the last that is not a corporate drone, seems unaware of the rest of the nation as well. So I come to Substack to be informed by INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM.
Thank you, God. It has been a day of mourning for me. I wore an Ukraine tee shirt all day. There is little to celebrate as an American. Trumps vile bill has passed. Now we are going to see pain as we have never seen before in this country. We are already seeing it. Now ICE has an enormous budget with which to wield their cruelty. Stephen Miller - DT - Kristi Noem are sadists, pure and simple. As are those who applaud their hideous actions. I am working with Indivisible. We all have to fight this monstrous administration. We ALL have to stand up to them. Thank you, God, for helping us get through it all. I look forward every day to what you have said. You are helping us stay informed and encouraged to fight. We need you! Time to do some big time Smiting, God.