Above: Approved Flag Images
Symbols of the propaganda that makes it all work.
Blog title source:
Why Are Political Independents Less Patriotic Than Ever?
For the same reason their ranks have grown to record highs: They dislike the federal government.
Nick Gillespie – Reason
July 10, 2026
Big talk from the federal government and what do you get back home?
Decades of undeclared/unwon wars. No shortage of cartel drugs in Seattle.
Newspeople who avoid asking questions.
The situation remains in place no matter who is elected to office.
2026 – A Giant Federal Program Celebrates Independence From A Powerful, Central Government
Dozens of jets, bombers and helicopters will fly over DC today
The nine-hour 4th of July airshow includes demonstration teams, parachute jumps and a nighttime afterburner flyover.
Nicholas Slayton – Task & Purpose
July 4, 2026
The Fantasy Newsperson Asks
Above: A meetup with newspeople who ask questions.
Sponsored by a local Invisible Veteran chapter.
Did the advantage of US air power allow the undeclared wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be prevented, won or shut down?
US jet aircraft have been able to strike targets in what wars won by the US?
What did the founders think of a powerful, centralized federal government and militarized pageantry for public events?
What did the founders think of troops in camo patrolling the streets?
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
The Department of Defense was established in 1949. What part of DOD history involved US troops sent to locations where the constitution was threatened?
Currently serving four-star officers and high level DOD civilians have been associated with what wars won by the US?
If the CIA (est 1947) serves as an advantage to the US, why does the Department of Defense have such a poor record of winning undeclared wars going back to 1949, the year DOD was established?
Don’t lie to people and maybe they would be more patriotic.
Look for newspeople and school teachers to ask zero questions in these areas.
Government – 2026
“It promises protection while steadily expanding surveillance, policing, executive discretion and bureaucratic control. It wraps itself in flags. It quotes Scripture. It invokes patriotism. It salutes the troops.”
When Rights Become Privileges
by John W. Whitehead
July 10, 2026
Big surveillance and a giant and expensive US Dept. of Homeland Security never were able to keep cartel drugs out of Seattle.
Ditto for blowing up suspected drug boat crews in distant waters and designating cartels as terrorist organizations.
2026 Seattle street scenes:
Why It Matters
Americans were told that they faced a life and death situation after 911. If certain actions were not taken, terrorists could come to America to disrupt our way of life and attempt another 911.
If all this was a life and death situation that required sending the troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, wouldn’t it be important to ask a few public policy questions about what was going on?
Newspeople have a long history of not asking questions in this area.
The Fantasy Newsperson Asks
Is the Seattle drug situation any different in 2026 than it was under Biden. WTF?
Macho Swagger
Watch Secretary of War Pete Hegseth takes thrilling fighter jet ride with ‘Top-Gun’ pilots:
Since 1986 Top Gun:
The US Dept. of Defense was nowhere to be found on 911.
We haven’t won a war since.
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, it feels like the people who run the Pentagon specialize in undeclared/unwon wars. Is it understandable that young people and their parents and grandparents would take a dim view on all this?
Both major parties are OK with federal prohibition of alcohol and tobacco for adults age 18-20.
No such thing the day I graduated from high school.
That was before decades of military operations for your freedoms.
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store. Maybe the concept of Armistice Day had not gone completely extinct.
Growing up in the 60s & 70s- veterans were all around- church, school, Boy Scout leaders, family, the neighborhood, etc. It was all just an average thing. These folks weren’t seen as a separate part of American society.
People weren’t stepping over to say “Thanks for your service” to my Dad- who did time in the Navy in the 50s- but looked just like anyone else out in public.
These guys weren’t lining up for free dinner promotions marketed by major restaurant chains.
Decades after the lessons of Vietnam, the Pentagon seems to specialize in undeclared/unwon wars.
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms, the Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Of interest:
Declaring America’s Independence From the Tyranny of Militarism and War
Beware the Termites of War
Bill Astore
July 3, 2026
Related:
“…hundreds of planes will participate in a “Fourth of July Airshow,” the president said.”
A Land Of Make Believe – USA 250
The people of Alaska need services in the Middle East
As time goes on, the consumer choices we have are becoming more restricted by a combination of government and big business policies, not Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden or the next bad guy DOD will be going after in distant lands:
Operating A Camera In A Public Place
Most And Least Meaningful Federal Holidays
