American Independence – 250 Years!

I have been reflecting on the officers I served with in the Navy. For the most part, they were very good. Many were mustangs, which means that they knew what it was like to be enlisted. The military needs good officers, and the men and women who serve deserve good leadership. Having been an officer, my opinions may be skewed. I feel the same way about political leadership. Late in his life, after retiring from the presidency, James Monroe drafted his own history. He was still struck, five decades after the War for Independence, by the “high character of that epoch and of those in whose hands its destiny fell.” He looked back and saw that war was “a school of practical instruction.”

President Trump is not a perfect man, nor a perfect leader, but he embodies the ideal of a patriot and donates his salary. He pledged his life, his sacred honor, his reputation, and his personal fortune to making America great again. The media hates him the way they hate all patriots. They revel in the rot and corruption of curs like the Obamas, Clintons, and Bidens. The deep state, as reflected in the Bush legacy for all it is and isn’t, is a real thing, and a shadow government is not something to be cultivated.

Smooth seas do not make great sailors. Ease and comfort don’t make good officers. Living a life of greed and envy doesn’t create good people. To be a great and free nation, we must first be a righteous nation, which requires a reverence for the All-Mighty and for his presence (however you define it). Gratitude may be one of the cornerstones of who we are or should be as a people because it requires humility to be thankful. Generosity without ulterior motives is another cornerstone of greatness because it too requires a measure of humility and self-sacrifice. The commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” with an eye backward to the foundations that were laid at such great personal cost for us to enjoy freedom, prosperity, and peace, also requires humility.

The Constitution of the United States defines the limits, and the Bill of Rights sets limits on government, not on citizens. We are constantly at war with the government and its mechanisms. Our Founding Fathers understood that very clearly.

Today is more than backyard BBQs and fireworks as we look backward 250 years and forward 250 years. These are my thoughts on Independence Day that I share with you here on Virtual Mirage.

E Pluribus Unum

Bullet Points:

** In a 6-3 decision of Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, SCOTUS has overturned the extremely left Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling. Justice Alito asserts in his opinion that immigrants have not arrived in the United States when they are in Mexico. This is a massive immigration win that upholds the standard for asylum-seekers. In the concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas, he adds that “the relief that the District Court provided may well have unconstitutionally infringed on the President’s inherent authority to exclude aliens from the country.”

** When MSNBC sends a reporter to Springfield, Ohio, to cover the human toll of a Supreme Court ruling, the numbers their own correspondent surfaces do more for the conservative case than any cable segment. The SCOTUS 6-3 ruling—authored by Justice Samuel Alito—gives the Department of Homeland Security 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 to terminate Temporary Protected Status with virtually no judicial review. For Springfield, a city of 58,000 in Ohio, the math is stark. MSNBC correspondent Alex Tabat reported live from Springfield: “20% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘩𝘪𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦.” That’s roughly 𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟏𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 in one mid-sized Ohio city, facing what Tabat called “𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯”: return to Haiti, run by gangs who will target returning migrants as presumed wealthy Americans, or stay here without legal status—afraid to buy groceries or take their children to school. Haitians, go home.

** The Federal Bureau of Investigation lied about the statistics of when citizens stopped shooters in an attempt to push propaganda designed to remove the Second Amendment. Citizens have stopped 52% of shooters in non-gun-free zones and 36% in gun-free zones. The FBI claimed it was only 3.7%.

** British experiment with the secret menu and eat animal style. Who can argue with that?

** “He was a strapping fellow, entirely fearless,” Roosevelt said — and he meant it. Side by side in Cuba, Theodore Roosevelt and young John Campbell Greenway forged a bond born of dust, danger, and the hard climb toward San Juan Hill. Greenway was one of Roosevelt’s hand‑picked fighters, the kind of man he admired most: disciplined, athletic, uncomplaining, and brave when it counted. In the Rough Riders’ brief but brutal campaign, the two men came to trust one another completely — Roosevelt leading from the front, Greenway never more than a stride behind. Their friendship lasted long after the war, but it was here, in the heat and chaos of 1898, that it was made: two soldiers, two leaders, sharing the kind of loyalty that only battle can forge.

** Voting Behavior – I was reviewing some of the people running for statewide office in Arizona. In a couple of cases, I said to myself, “How old is X?” I checked. In each case, they were over 75, and one was in the mid-80s. No, sorry. Republicans have to do better than that. Since it was a primary election, there were younger alternatives, but I didn’t like them because they were all “professional politicians” moving from one elected office to another. I can’t vote for the communists, but I’m not entirely happy with the system that offers me a career as a politician in those myriad down-ticket races. By the time you’re 70, you need to step aside, IMHO. Yes, there are exceptions, but not many.

** The British make these announcements from time to time. They are intended to reinforce the Potemkin Village that is the UK. Yes, somebody may wish to do this, but if you wish in one hand and crap in the other, which is heavier? The UK is broke. Its navy can’t afford to fix the ships it has – and it doesn’t have very many.

** A discussion of the USA national dipping sauce.

** Reverend Manning asks who you are inside.

** Cyprus – Cyprus is an EU member state but not a NATO member, making it a unique political buffer zone. For decades, the island’s lax financial regulations and “golden passport” schemes allowed it to serve as a financial and intelligence “beachhead” for Russian security services (like the FSB) looking to operate within the European Union. Concurrently, the island’s divided state—separated by a UN buffer zone from the occupied northern territory—fuels ongoing counterintelligence friction involving Turkey and Greece.  What do you think, MikeW?

** After all, how different are we?

** Results are in. June 2026 has been officially declared by the left as the most “homophobic” Pride Month they’ve ever witnessed. By which they mean: corporate America finally stopped writing the check. Sponsorships for Pride events are down 𝟔𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟕𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 from prior years across New York, Salt Lake City, Louisville, St. Louis, Orlando, and Pittsburgh (Campaign Live, 2026). Tampa Pride canceled all 2026 events outright, citing funding collapse and what organizers called “the current political and economic climate.” Pittsburgh Pride is operating on 30 to 40 percent of its previous sponsorship base (NPR, 2026).

More on the new European Addiction

A Republic or a Socialist Transition to Something Else?

(American Thinker) Not long ago, the American Dream followed a familiar script. Graduate from school, find a job, buy a modest home, start a family, and gradually build a better life than the generation before you. For many young Americans today, that script increasingly feels like historical fiction. A recent survey from Rasmussen Reports reveals a striking generational divide: younger Americans are far more likely than older voters to view socialism favorably. According to the survey, 44 percent of voters under 40 believe socialism is a better system, compared with only 12 percent of older Americans. Recent election results in New York City confirm Rasmussen’s findings.

For Americans who grew up during the Cold War — or even those with a basic understanding of 20th-century history — that finding may seem baffling. Socialism was long associated with economic stagnation, bureaucratic control, and failed political systems abroad. Yet to many younger Americans today, the word carries a very different meaning. It sounds less like state control and more like economic fairness — perhaps even a lifeline.

That expectation is fading.

Starting a family presents yet another hurdle. Childcare costs in many parts of the country rival mortgage payments. For some households, daycare for two children approaches the cost of college tuition. Not surprisingly, many couples delay having children — or decide not to have them at all.

To a generation struggling to afford housing, education, transportation, and even groceries, the promise of “free” government solutions can sound appealing — even if history suggests those promises rarely end well.

Contrast this with the economic environment familiar to earlier generations. A middle-class household could often function on a single income. A working father, a stay-at-home mother, a modest home, two cars in the driveway, and the occasional family vacation were not unusual.

Today that lifestyle often requires two full-time incomes—and even then may feel financially precarious.

Young people are also paying attention to government spending. Headlines regularly feature massive federal expenditures, whether for foreign conflicts, domestic programs, or large aid packages. At the same time, stories about fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs appear with troubling regularity.

Of course, socialism carries its own long record of economic disappointment. As former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously observed, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

History has repeatedly proven her point.

From the economic collapse of the Soviet Union to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Venezuela, socialist experiments have consistently produced shortages, stagnation, and diminished freedom. Even nations that embrace partial socialist models often struggle with slow economic growth and heavy bureaucratic burdens.

Yet for many younger Americans facing rising costs and shrinking opportunity, those historical warnings can feel distant compared with the economic pressures they experience today.

It is therefore not surprising that politicians promoting expansive government solutions resonate with younger voters. Figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have built significant political support among younger Americans by promising sweeping economic change.

OKELLO T. CHATRIE, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES

US Supreme Court No. 25–112

Okello Chatrie (right) robbed the Midlothian, Virginia, branch of the Call Federal Credit Union in May 2019. The robber was seen holding a cell phone when he entered the bank. After brandishing a gun, he left with $195,000 in cash. Chatrie was linked to the crime after police officers, with a judicially approved warrant, obtained information from Google about users in the location at the time who had the “location history” function enabled on their phones. The data showed Chatrie was in or near the location in question 10 minutes before the robbery and departed soon after.

Privacy rights advocates have raised concerns about geofence warrants, calling them a form of dragnet surveillance because the information is not just about one suspect but about anyone who was in the location in question. They have warned that such warrants could be used to target disfavored political groups, including protesters.

In the Chatrie case, Google initially provided information about 19 users, and a police officer later narrowed it down.

Chatrie pleaded guilty to federal charges of armed robbery and brandishing a firearm, and he was sentenced to almost 12 years in prison. But he reserved the right to appeal on the issue now decided by the Supreme Court.

When the case returns to lower courts, Chatrie’s lawyers will argue that the warrant was too broad and therefore violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The question is not whether Chartrie (a dirtbag) committed the armed robbery. It is not a question of whether or not the officers obtained a warrant for cell phone information.  (US Supreme Court Decision read the court’s reasoning) The question is whether the warrant was too broad. The Justices came down 6-3. The decision fundamentally alters digital data privacy law. It establishes that smartphone users maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy in their Location History data, rejecting the government’s attempt to apply the traditional “third-party doctrine” to modern cellular tracking. The majority noted that Google’s Location History is so granular that it can track precise positioning to within 20 meters, including which floor a person is standing on inside a building.

Different US States have applied different standards to these sorts of warrants in the past. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Amy Coney Barrett dissented, believing that no warrant was necessary to obtain the digital information (even though the police did obtain a warrant in the Chatrie matter). How do you feel about the case – something to think about on Independence Day.  (one more thing)

On the Other Hand

An MSNBC Analyst claims that SCOTUS has destroyed the Deep State, and it’s a cause for panic. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in TRUMP v. SLAUGHTER overturned HUMPHREY’S EXECUTOR v. UNITED STATES, the 1935 New Deal precedent that, for 90 years, shielded the heads of independent federal agencies from presidential removal. The permanent bureaucracy that runs itself regardless of election results loses its legal protection under Trump v. SLAUGHTER. Under HUMPHREY’s EXECUTOR, the FTC, FCC, NLRB, and dozens of other independent agencies operated as a fourth branch of government that answered to no one. The 6-3 majority just ruled that the Constitution doesn’t work that way.

Soon after President Trump began his second term in January 2025, he fired the FTC’s two Democratic appointees, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. He did not identify a cause under the statute. He instead told them their “continued service on the FTC [was] inconsistent with [his] Administration’s priorities” and that they were removed “pursuant to [his] authority under Article II of the Constitution.”

The majority held that “subordinates who exercise the President’s power must be subject to removal by him” to ensure democratic accountability. Without at-will removal, the majority argued, unaccountable regulators form an unconstitutional “fourth branch” of government (The Deep State).

Identify the Aircraft

1

Turning AND burning.

2

Not used in Europe

3

62 Built

4

149 Built

Parting Shot

Nothing says 250 like a Golden Eagle on the White House!

I don’t know, but I’ve been told that Navy wings are made of gold.

I don’t know, but it’s been said that Air Force wings are made of lead.

End