Happy 4th of July Tomorrow, I Guess

[Gunnar]

Happy July 4th/Independence Day to all!

I can't muster a scintilla of patriotism today. All I feel for this country is embarrassment.

I understand your feelings completely. I love this country and the things it has accomplished and contributed to this world, despite some serious flaws, such as its seemingly deeply entrenched racial bigotry. I was proudest of all the year that it seemingly turned the corner on that bigotry by electing a black President, who despite Trump and his MAGA sycophants' relentlessly vicious attempts to vilify him,

In Pew Research Center’s 2026 national poll of Americans, Obama ranked as the most popular recent president of the past 40 years, with 36% approval, ahead of Ronald Reagan (21%) and Donald Trump (19%) Yahoo. This reflects his strong standing in public opinion, especially among Democrats.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=obama+ran ... 1&hsmssg=0tr
Even according to a summary by Fox News, Obama ranked higher than Trump, even by most Republicans, who rated Obama as number 15, though Democrats rated him 6th place.

And there can no longer be any rational doubt other nations' friendship, trust and admiration of us has rapidly declined because of Trump's incompetence, pathological dishonesty, ignorance and self-serving narcissism.

Trump is not working to make America great again. He is trying make himself the wealthiest man in history and, in the process, reversing much of what used to contribute to what progress we had made towards true Greatness.

Nevertheless, I am still managing to have a great time with my family and enjoying the holiday festivity and activities available in my community. We are going shortly to our county fairgrounds and participate in and enjoy some great entertainment and food, including a display of vintage and customized cars, and what promises to be an awesome drone show.

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!

[Gunnar]

Well, I am back from the local festivities I wrote about, and the drome show was indeed very impressive and fun to watch. I was glad I went.

The food, however (at least what I sampled) was not all that impressive, and it was overpriced.

[canpakes]

Happy July 4th/Independence Day to all!

I can't muster a scintilla of patriotism today. All I feel for this country is embarrassment.

I get that. It’s not easy to celebrate patriotism for country when the whole celebration has been co-opted by a narcissist who wants to make the occasion all about him.

Leave MAGA to their masked-up Proud Boys and Patriot Front cosplay, marching around with Confederate flags, and continually bitching about immigrants. Too many of them want to remain miserable folks trying to extract pleasure out of making others miserable. MAGA’s petty but extreme bitterness and their need to define themselves through hatred is something they’ll carry to their death beds, but we can hope that their grandkids will choose a better path.

The good thing is that we can celebrate with family, and in a way that acknowledges what the day means to ourselves and what the potential for America would be when we can all finally view the decaying vestiges of a Trump era in our rear-view mirror.

[Some Schmo]

MAGA’s petty but extreme bitterness and their need to define themselves through hatred is something they’ll carry to their death beds, but we can hope that their grandkids will choose a better path.

We can hope that, but it's a bit of a pipedream. MAGAte stupidity feels generational to me already. We're witnessing the offspring of this nation's long tradition of idiotic racism. They just have an orange turd now to symbolize their ignorance and belligerent stupidity.

With all the inbreeding they're doing, they're only getting dumber.

[Gunnar]

I get that. It’s not easy to celebrate patriotism for country when the whole celebration has been co-opted by a narcissist who wants to make the occasion all about him.

How can any American who is both patriotic and rational fail to see that making the occasion all about him, is precisely what Trump is trying to do, or, even worse, fail to find anything inherently wrong with that? This should be an occasion to celebrate the real contributions that our country has made to our world and human advancement--not mainly about any one man, especially one who inspired too many of his followers to

". . .want to remain miserable folks trying to extract pleasure out of making others miserable" and ". . . define themselves through hatred . . . they’ll carry to their death beds . . ."

The good thing is that we can celebrate with family, and in a way that acknowledges what the day means to ourselves and what the potential for America would be when we can all finally view the decaying vestiges of a Trump era in our rear-view mirror.

I hope I can live long enough to help vote out of office miscreants like Trump and others of his ilk!

[Kishkumen]

Happy July 4th/Independence Day to all!

Another day to reflect on how far we have fallen thanks to the Grifter-in-Chief and his UnAmerican Hate Squad. I notice that the white supremacists were out in force marching in DC. They probably outnumbered the guests at Trump’s failed State Fair.

[Some Schmo]

I notice that the white supremacists were out in force marching in DC. They probably outnumbered the guests at Trump’s failed State Fair.

I'm guessing white supremacists were the only guests at his crappy fair.

It feels like Trump is almost every character in The Wizard of Oz:

- Scarecrow: no brain
- Lion: no courage
- Tinman: no heart
- Wicked Witch: obsessed with things and power, and ugly as “F” (green with envy)
- The Wizard: completely full of crap
- Flying monkey: self-explanatory

He could do a one-screwup show, if he only had a brain.

[Gadianton]

I'm guessing white supremacists were the only guests at his crappy fair.

I'm guessing they are no lower morally than the average person who attended the fair.

Interesting that Mike Lee, a Mormon who believes in telling the truth, along with Fox News is accusing them of being Antifa. Since there is an executive order against Antifa, then federal agents should have arrested them on the spot.

[Gunnar]

I'm guessing white supremacists were the only guests at his crappy fair.

I'm guessing they are no lower morally than the average person who attended the fair.

Interesting that Mike Lee, a Mormon who believes in telling the truth, along with Fox News is accusing them of being Antifa. Since there is an executive order against Antifa, then federal agents should have arrested them on the spot.

Where is ANTIFA and its principal organization and spokespersons? And even if such an identifiable, formal centralized organization exists, why would anyone be opposed to it and its principles?

Antifascist stands for opposition to fascism, racism, and authoritarian ideologies, advocating for the defense of democratic and egalitarian principles.

Definition and Meaning
Being antifascist means actively opposing fascist ideologies, groups, and individuals, which are typically characterized by extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, and suppression of political dissent. The term originates from the German word antifaschistisch, which was used in the early 20th century to describe movements resisting the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany. In essence, antifascism is a political stance that seeks to prevent the spread of oppressive, far-right ideologies and protect democratic societies.

Why would any rational, fair-minded person who values individual liberty, democracy and justice not be in favor of ANTIFA? I can think of few things more irrational than demonizing any individual or organization for merely favoring ANTIFA and its aims!

[Some Schmo]

Why would any rational, fair-minded person who values individual liberty, democracy and justice not be in favor of ANTIFA? I can think of few things more irrational than demonizing any individual or organization for merely favoring ANTIFA and its aims!

Well, nobody's accused any MAGAte of being a "rational, fair-minded person who values individual liberty, democracy and justice."

But I, like you, am surprised so many fascists exist in this country. It's shocking how uneducated so many people have to be to not see why fascism sucks... like that's just what America needs to make it better. We've been simmering in growing fascism for a while now, and people still blame their crappy lives on immigrants.

Unbelievably stupid.