July 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker

The Pursuit of Happiness

Featured image The famous second sentence of the Declaration of Independence enumerates three “unalienable Rights.” The first is life, naturally. The second is liberty. Those concepts are rather standard. But the third–the pursuit of happiness–is not. It is an expression of Jefferson’s genius, I think, and it contains the seeds of what has made America unique. You will find it no other national charter, in no international human rights document. It is »
July 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker

America at a Crossroads

Featured imageCelebration of America’s 250th anniversary has been, I think, muted. President Trump has tried to clean up Washington, D.C., for the occasion, and has sponsored various festivities. But Democrats have actively opposed his cleanup efforts, so we have the absurd spectacle of Democrats cheering on the algae in the Reflecting Pool. And they have largely boycotted the celebrations. Many have compared the enthusiasm and good cheer with which our Bicentennial »
July 4, 2026 — Scott Johnson

The eternal meaning of Independence Day

Featured imageOn July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas gave a campaign speech to a raucous throng from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago. Abraham Lincoln was in the audience as Douglas prepared to speak. Douglas graciously invited Lincoln to join him on the balcony to listen to the speech. In his speech Douglas sounded the themes of the momentous campaign that Lincoln and Douglas waged that summer and »
July 4, 2026 — Scott Johnson

From 150 to 250, this truth abides

Featured imagePresident Calvin Coolidge celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1926, with a speech providing a magisterial review of the history and thought underlying the Declaration. His speech on the occasion deserves to be read and studied in its entirety. The following paragraph, however, is particularly relevant to the challenge that confronts us in the variants of the progressive dogma that pass themselves off today »
July 4, 2026 — Steven Hayward

The Week in Pictures: Sophia and the 4th

Featured imageMove over Sydney Sweeney: America has a new heroine perfectly fitted to the July 4 semiquincentennial today: She is Sophie Cunningham, Sophie being an adaptation of sophia, the ancient Greek word for wisdom. And sort of like Helen of Troy, our Sophie has launched a thousand memes. So as we celebrate today the sophia of our founding, let Sophie help point the way! Headlines of the week;       »
July 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Unprecedented Heat Wave?

Featured imageMore ignorance from the New York Times: “Without Climate Change, U.S. Heat Wave Called ‘Virtually Impossible.” Heat and humidity as severe, prolonged and far-reaching as this week’s would have been “virtually impossible” in the Northeast and eastern Canada before humans began warming the planet, a team of scientists said on Friday. *** To estimate how much climate change increased the likelihood of this week’s sweltering conditions, the scientists analyzed records »
July 3, 2026 — Bill Glahn

The “Democratic Socialist” agenda

Featured imageIt seems wherever in America that Democrats enjoy a complete monopoly on power, “Democratic Socialists” are in the ascendency. Here in Minnesota, the local outlet is close to assuming complete control of the state’s largest cities, so I was curious to see what their plan is for governing. The agenda includes everything that you were expecting: “free Palestine,” “abolish ICE,” rent control, higher minimum wages, “free” health care, etc. But »
July 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

A Funeral for the Ayatollah

Featured imageAyatollah Khamenei has been dead for a while, but his funeral will take place tomorrow. Reportedly the funeral needed to await a truce agreement between Iran and the U.S. Perhaps the timing–July 4–is coincidental. The Telegraph headlines: “Supreme leader’s funeral expected to draw 20 million Iranians to streets of Tehran.” Around 20 million Iranians are expected to pack the streets of Tehran for the funeral of Ali Khamenei, the country’s »
July 2, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Can Europe Be Saved?

Featured imageAs a result of third-world migration–some say, invasion–much of Western Europe is no longer recognizable. Mass third-world immigration is unpopular nearly everywhere, but European elites, being unhappy with their populaces, seem determined to replace them. Campaigners including Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Martin Sellner have proposed the Save Europe Act, which you can read about here. The proposal strikes me as entirely reasonable. It petitions the European Union to exercise its right »
July 2, 2026 — Bill Glahn

A pardon too far

Featured imageFrom Bill Melugin of Fox News, For Tou Vang, child rape is “normal in his culture.” Then let us each act according to our national customs and deport Vang back to his homeland, where he can practice his cultural traditions as he sees fit, and see where that leads. The details of the Vang case are horrific enough. But now we have the added outrage of Democratic politicians trying so »
July 2, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Iran: Realism or appeasement?

Featured imageMelanie Phillips posted her interview with Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster of the British podcast TRIGGERnometry under the title “Realism or Appeasement?” TRIGGERnometry gave it the title “Has Trump surrendered to Iran?” The discussion takes up the possible folly of President Trump’s stalemated war on the Iranian regime. Neither title quite captures the gist of the conversation. Phillips provides this summary at her Substack site: While in London, I was »
July 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Socialism and Women’s Sports

Featured imageI was on the Media Show on Sky News last night. It was a quick appearance, just over five minutes. But the topics are interesting: the Supreme Court decision on men in women’s sports, and the growing radicalism of the Democratic Party. Given that it is just five minutes, I think it is worth your time: »
July 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

The Suicide Charge that Saved America

Featured imageIndependence Day is always a good time to recall the heroes of American history, even more so during our 250th anniversary. So let’s take a moment to remember Minnesota’s First Volunteer Regiment. The First Minnesota was the first unit to be volunteered in response to President Lincoln’s call for troops following Fort Sumter. Because the U.S. Army had not yet organized itself into Eastern and Western departments, the First was »
July 3, 2026 — Scott Johnson

Gratitude

Featured imageWe will celebrate the Declaration of Independence tomorrow in our accustomed style, quoting Abraham Lincoln and Calvin Coolidge. Implicit in the tributes of Lincoln and Coolidge to the Declaration is an expression of gratitude — for our liberty — to the men who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to win it. To express our gratitude properly, we need to bring them to mind, recall their names, »
July 2, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Not Everyone Hates Trump

Featured imageIf you follow Democrat news sources, you would think that the entire country had turned against President Trump. There are headlines about Trump’s “record low” approval ratings and stories about Trump voters who regret their votes. But not everyone has turned against Trump. This week he went to Medora, North Dakota to open the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The library is an impressive project, and a point of pride in »
July 2, 2026 — Scott Johnson

1776 Live

Featured imageManny Marotta is the “curator” of the X thread 1776 Live — “[l]ive-posting as a reporter embedded in history.” The X thread has been of particular interest over the past few days and should continue in this vein for the foreseeable future. Thomas Paine publishes an open letter in the Pennsylvania Evening Post, under the name “Republicus,” which advocates for the name “United States of America” for the new nation »
July 1, 2026 — Steven Hayward

Podcast: “Divided Over the Declaration,” with Bobb & Williams

Featured imageMy final conversation with authors of new books about the Declaration of Independence before this Saturday’s formal observance features the co-authors of Divided Over the Declaration: How an Enduring Debate Sustains the Vision of America. The authors of Divided Over the Declaration are David J. Bobb and Tony Williams, who are colleagues at the indispensable Bill of Rights Institute, and old pals. Bobb and Williams have hit upon a unique »