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MORNING GLORY: A summer of celebration followed by a fall of mourning

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The next four months are anniversary heavy.

Before the fireworks of the 250th Fourth of July begin, try with family and friends to agree on what we are celebrating, and try as well to articulate why and how we defend what our country has long been committed to on paper and for 250 years in actual and expanding practice.

While the Semiquincentennial is upon us in a month, we are also only three months and an handful of days away from the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda on the United States.

The great and the awful anniversaries are connected by that which the first proclaimed and which the second attempted to end: freedom.

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The Declaration asserted the existence of “rights” of individuals that exist before any government — no matter its form — comes into being:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The great day of the fourth is, from beginning to end, about love of our country because our country defends our individual rights, rights inherent in the way we are formed by God and nature. While there are several ways to enumerate our natural rights, the founders of the country thought them all sufficiently important to risk everything to declare and fight for those rights. That is the core of what we celebrating next month: our freedoms.

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We ought also to spend part of this celebration in reflecting on admiration for the courage of the not just those who voted “yes” on the Declaration and who would actually sign their names to it on August 2, 1776. They did the voting and the signing in the face of overwhelming odds against their success as the American colonists were choosing war with the mighty British Empire. As Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent book for children and young adults — Heroes of 1776 — made clear, the sacrifices and suffering of our founding families were extreme and their deprivations bitter during the long war that followed.

(A celebration of the day of the actual signing of the Declaration will be held on August 2 at Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial on the shores of Lake Erie, adjacent to the town of Put-In-Bay, Ohio. There is no more appropriate place as it was there that the Revolution announced on the 4th of July in 1776 and sealed on the 2nd was actually made enduring with the defeat of the squadron of British ships by the American Navy that effectively turned the second war with Great Britain — the War of 1812 — in America’s favor.)

That first of America’s long wars ran from April 19, 1775 in Lexington and Concord where the first shots were fired until September 3, 1783 when King George’s representatives signed the Treaty of Paris recognizing the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. The second war with Britain begun formally in 1812 followed decades of tensions between our country and its motherland. Real peace with the United Kingdom was not achieved until February, 17 1815 when the Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the United States Senate, and what was effectively 40 years of conflict with Great Britain came to a close, and the rights of Americans secured from foreign entities even as the long work of perfecting them for all Americans would take up more than another 150 years and encompass a vast Civil War and our entry into two world wars as well as numerous Amendments to the Constitution and federal laws to make the example of a free people more perfect.

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The Declaration became a touchstone of “the West,” with more than half of the 192 countries now represented at the United Nations having a founding document that can be called a “Declaration of Independence.” The origins of the Declaration reach far back in history, to both “Jerusalem and Athens,” to Ancient Israel and Ancient Greece. One could even argue that Ancient Persia has a hand in forming “the West” as it was Cyrus the Great who repatriated the Jews to Jerusalem and his son-in-law Darius who endorsed the rebuilding of their Temple there. Without the return of the Jews from their exile the West could not have developed as it did.

The Declaration perfected the mission statement of “The West,” the long work of drafting of which can be understood to have begun with England’s Magna Carta, sealed by King John of England at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. The United States Constitution, when ratified in 1789, and amended to add the Bill of Rights soon thereafter, established the Republic that has successfully protected the rights demanded by the Declaration in theory, but only made real for all citizens only after a vast Civil War and decades of amendment and legislation.

The American Republic remains the model of successful governance through the rule of law protected by the separation of the powers of government both vertically between the state and federal governments and horizontally within those governments that divide legislative, executive and judicial branches into equal branches of those federal and state governments.

The First Amendment prohibits the establishment of an official religion in the United States while also protecting the “free exercise” of all faiths or none.

One of the motivating hatreds of fanatics for America — like those who attacked in 25 years ago in September and those we are fighting today in Iran and its proxies — is that Americans refuse to declare one religion to be the “true” religion. All faiths or none at all are protected here. This refusal to establish a national faith — whether religious or secular — is the source of the hatred held for us by many of our enemies.

Defining the extent of “the West” is difficult. America sets the standard for individual liberty, but many countries aspire to reach that level of ordered liberty. The West should be understood as any country in which the expansion of liberty and literacy is ongoing and where the rule of law controls life, not the rule of one or a few powerful people. If personal freedoms and literacy are on the rise in a country, that nation is either a part of or aspiring to join “the West.”

Many nations around the world have “established” religions, including Israel and all of its neighbors. (The Pew Research Center counts 80 counties that either have an official religion or favor one or more religious groups over others.) That a country has an “established religion” doesn’t exclude it from “The West.” Any nation that protects religious minorities in the exercise of their faith and the right of citizens to speak freely is clearly part of “the West.”

Many counties are on the path towards classically liberal ideals. As our own journey took almost two centuries to complete even in theory (with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act or 1965) so too other nations in the world are on their own paths towards joining wholly with “the West.”

America’s 250 years of independence is the standard by which other republics are measured. The enemies of the “American system” are many and varied but they share in common a hatred of pluralism, of freedom of speech and belief, press and assembly, and ultimately self-government.

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When America celebrates this summer, our friends around the world will applaud our progress and our role as the deliverer of the world from its would-be totalitarian rulers in the 20th century, and as the great protector of freedom of the seas and enemy of absolutism in all of its forms in the 21st.

When we celebrate on the 4th of July and the 2nd of August, we ought to keep in mind that only a few weeks later we will mourn the awful anniversary of the worst attack on America by foreigners in history. Absolutist fanatics drove the terrible events of 9/11. The fanaticism which led to the equal of the darkest of days in modern times insisted on exclusive claims of truth, claims that could not compete with those fundamental structures of the West which allow free peoples the rights of conscience.

Totalitarians can be secular or sectarian. What they always must be, however, is absolutist in their truth claims, and oppressive of anyone or country that asserts freedom of thought.

Which is why we ought to see both the “hot war” with Iran and its proxies, as well as the relatively new Cold War 2.0 with the People’s Republic of China and its allies, as part of the never-ending struggle of free peoples against those who would subjugate them. Ukraine and Israel are our allies in fact and usually in name because they embrace the fundamental commitment to the individual’s freedom. Their enemies are our enemies because their enemies want to snuff out the freedom the peoples of those country enjoy. Though their modern “foundings” are more than a century younger than ours, they have embraced the right path and are heading in the right direction. They are part of the West as is, for example, the United Arab Emirates and increasingly other countries in the Middle East and across the Pacific which are gradually modernizing their understanding of the rights of their peoples and the crucial need for the rule of law.

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We all ought to hope that 50 years hence on our tricentennial the great people of Iran and other counties throughout the Middle East have joined the Abraham Accords, and that our commitment to freedom of the individual has spread throughout our hemisphere.

We ought also to hope that the police state that is the People’s Republic of China has evolved to a government that lifts their people up and protects their freedoms rather than persecuting them for trying to exercise their natural rights Americans have long recognized and fought and died for.

This brace of anniversaries should remind every American that ours is a unique and enduring commitment to human liberty and that many in the world fear such ordered liberty and always will. But if the framers could endure on-and-off battles with the planet’s greatest power for 40 years beginning in 1775, every generation ought to know they have it within themselves to carry on that commitment to the country’s first principles.

Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT

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Tucker Carlson Officially Makes Shock Announcement — He’s Out

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Tucker Carlson Officially Makes Shock Announcement — He’s Out

A growing divide within the conservative movement is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, as longtime commentator Tucker Carlson declared that he no longer considers himself a Republican, citing frustration with what he sees as the party’s abandonment of its America First roots.

Carlson made the remarks during a podcast appearance with hosts Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong, where the discussion turned to the political landscape ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and whether voters remain satisfied with the direction of the Republican Party.

While Carlson made clear that he remains aligned with many conservative principles, he argued that some Republican leaders have drifted away from the priorities that helped fuel President Donald Trump’s rise and transformed the GOP into the dominant force it is today.

“I’m out,” Carlson said during the interview.

“And if I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out.”

Carlson’s comments came as he discussed polling data and voter sentiment ahead of the next election cycle.

“I would not support the Republican party. There’s no chance I would support the Republican party,” he said.

The former Fox News host argued that certain Republican lawmakers had betrayed their voters by supporting policies he believes put foreign interests ahead of American priorities.

“How could I or any American voter support a political party that’s not loyal to the United States? That puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens?

“It’s not possible to vote for people like that, and I’m not going to.”

Carlson’s remarks highlight a growing debate inside conservative circles over the future direction of the Republican Party.

At the center of the disagreement is not President Trump himself, but rather how some Republicans have approached foreign policy, military intervention, and America’s role overseas.

Trump built his political movement on the promise of putting American interests first, securing the border, rebuilding the economy, restoring energy independence, and avoiding the endless foreign conflicts that frustrated many voters for decades.

Many of Trump’s supporters continue to view the America First agenda as one of the defining achievements of his political movement.

Carlson suggested that some Republicans have lost sight of those principles.

“I think I’ve voted Republican my entire life,” Carlson said.

“I’ve been a consistent defender for 35 years, of the Republican party. I mean, a very consistent defender.”

“But there’s no defending this because it’s immoral and it’s exactly the opposite of what a political party in a democracy is charged with doing — which is representing its own voters, its own citizens, its own nation.”

“And they’re not doing that,” Carlson concluded.

The comments come amid an ongoing debate among conservatives regarding foreign policy, particularly following recent tensions involving Iran and the broader Middle East.

Carlson has been one of the most vocal advocates of a non-interventionist approach that emphasizes American interests above foreign entanglements. Other conservatives, including commentators and lawmakers aligned with a more traditional hawkish worldview, have argued that a strong American presence abroad remains necessary to protect national security.

The disagreement intensified after military operations involving Iran earlier this year, with Carlson and several other prominent voices warning against policies they believe could lead to deeper involvement in overseas conflicts.

Despite those disagreements, Carlson has generally continued to support many of Trump’s domestic policies, including border security, immigration enforcement, energy production, and efforts to prioritize American workers and taxpayers.

The broader divide illustrates the ongoing evolution of the Republican Party under Trump’s influence.

For decades, the GOP was largely defined by traditional establishment conservatives who favored aggressive foreign policy and intervention abroad. Trump’s rise fundamentally reshaped that coalition, bringing millions of working-class voters, independents, and populist conservatives into the party.

Today, debates like the one Carlson has raised reflect a larger question facing Republicans: how closely the party will adhere to the America First principles that helped fuel Trump’s political success.

Whether Carlson ultimately returns to the Republican fold remains to be seen. But his comments underscore a reality that many political observers have noted in recent years: the future of the conservative movement is increasingly being shaped by debates over foreign policy, national sovereignty, and what it truly means to put America first.

As those discussions continue, one thing remains clear: the America First movement that transformed Republican politics is still driving much of the conversation inside the conservative movement today.

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Top Fox News Host Suffers Deranged Meltdown On LIVE TV — Doesn’t End Well…

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Top Fox News Host Suffers Deranged Meltdown On LIVE TV — Doesn’t End Well…

A growing divide within the conservative movement spilled into public view this weekend as Fox News host Mark Levin launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy, accusing the administration of pressuring Israel while pursuing a diplomatic agreement designed to permanently prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The dispute comes as the Trump administration continues negotiations with Tehran following a series of devastating military strikes that crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, eliminated key regime leaders, and left the Islamic Republic in one of the weakest positions it has faced in decades.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have argued that the administration is negotiating from a position of overwhelming strength after demonstrating a willingness to use military force when necessary. Their goal, they say, is simple: ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon while avoiding another endless war in the Middle East.

Levin, however, remains deeply skeptical.

During a fiery monologue that lasted more than 17 minutes on Saturday, the longtime conservative commentator accused members of the administration of unfairly targeting Israel while becoming too optimistic about Iran’s intentions.

“I want to say to people in and out of the administration: stop trashing, smearing, bullying the little state of Israel. Stop cozying up to and telling us that the enemy regime in Iran is now more rational, more moderate, and a regime that we can deal with,” Levin demanded. “When just a few months ago they slaughtered 50,000 people, they’re still hanging young people today and, if they had a nuclear missile today, they’d fire it into our country as sure as I’m alive.”

Levin also rejected any suggestion that Israel should allow outside governments to dictate its security decisions.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if people think they can bully a little country, Israel — a people that have existed 4,000 years through the Babylonians and the Persians, through the Romans and the Third Reich — into surrendering their defense and their decision on how to secure their country, they get another thing coming,” Levin continued. “I think it’s outrageous.”

The criticism did not stop there.

Levin also used social media to question several administration policies, including reports surrounding a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar and modified for use supporting presidential airlift operations.

“If it’s legal and other countries do it so be it. Do you think wealthy countries should be able to lavish gifts on our government?” Levin wrote.

His sharpest criticism, however, focused on the administration’s efforts to secure a broader peace agreement with Iran and its proxies.

“Item #1 in the MOU provides there’s an immediate and permanent end to the war and that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran is Hezbollah,” Levin posted. “What’s the enforcement mechanism? Nothing. Israel defends itself after constant attacks from Hezbollah and is admonished for it. Its interests are not aligned with ours, we’re told. It’s endangering the peace deal. This is beyond nuts.”

In another post, Levin argued that current ceasefire efforts were coming at Israel’s expense.

“Apparently as long as Israeli soldiers are killed the ceasefire is holding,” Levin claimed.

The administration has strongly rejected suggestions that it is abandoning Israel or weakening its support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East.

President Trump responded directly Sunday with a warning aimed squarely at Iran and its regional proxies.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

For supporters of the administration, that message demonstrates exactly why they remain confident in Trump’s approach. They argue that no modern president has shown a greater willingness to confront Iran militarily while simultaneously seeking a diplomatic resolution that serves American interests.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both emphasized that any final agreement would require Iran to permanently abandon its nuclear ambitions, submit to extensive inspections, and comply with strict verification requirements before receiving any economic benefits.

Administration officials also note that no sanctions have been lifted, no frozen assets have been released, and no direct payments have been authorized.

Instead, they argue that Trump has successfully put Iran in a position where the regime must choose between compliance and continued isolation.

The disagreement highlights a broader debate that has been developing inside the Republican Party for years.

Traditional foreign-policy hawks often favor maintaining maximum military pressure and remain deeply skeptical of negotiations with hostile regimes.

Trump’s America First coalition generally supports overwhelming military strength but prefers leveraging that strength into favorable deals that avoid long-term military entanglements.

Supporters of the president argue that Trump’s strategy reflects the same formula that has defined much of his foreign policy: peace through strength.

Strike hard when necessary. Demonstrate unquestionable resolve. Negotiate from a position of power. And avoid the costly nation-building efforts and endless conflicts that frustrated many Americans for decades.

As negotiations continue, the debate between Levin and the Trump administration reflects a larger question facing conservatives: how best to secure American interests abroad while staying true to the America First principles that have reshaped the Republican Party.

For now, President Trump appears committed to proving that military strength and diplomacy are not opposing strategies—but complementary tools for achieving lasting peace and protecting America’s national security.

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It’s Over! The House Votes 396-13 — Trump Just Won!

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It’s Over! The House Votes 396-13 — Trump Just Won!

In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act this week, advancing a package of reforms designed to tackle America’s housing affordability crisis while delivering on several key priorities championed by President Donald Trump.

The legislation passed by a decisive 396-13 vote, reflecting broad agreement that soaring housing costs, rising rents, and limited inventory have pushed homeownership out of reach for millions of Americans.

Supporters say the bill addresses one of the country’s most pressing economic challenges by cutting red tape, increasing housing supply, strengthening lending opportunities, and helping ensure that American families—not large corporations—have a fair shot at buying homes.

The legislation combines elements of previous House and Senate proposals and seeks to address housing shortages that have contributed to record-high home prices in many parts of the country.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill praised the measure as a practical, results-oriented solution focused on expanding opportunities for working Americans.

“This bill prioritizes American families by expanding homeownership, enhancing affordability, reducing burdensome regulations that drive up costs, and increasing housing supply nationwide,” Chairman Hill stated.

“Importantly, it delivers on President Trump’s call to limit institutional investors from competing with the American people as they seek to purchase a home,” Hill added.

The legislation includes a variety of reforms aimed at accelerating housing construction and reducing barriers that have slowed development for years.

Among its key provisions, the bill streamlines federal permitting requirements, reduces lengthy environmental review processes for certain redevelopment and infill housing projects, and encourages innovative housing solutions such as modular and manufactured homes.

The measure also provides grants to local governments willing to modernize zoning laws and remove restrictions that limit new construction.

Supporters argue that restrictive zoning policies, excessive permitting delays, and government bureaucracy have significantly contributed to America’s housing shortage.

Rather than relying on massive new federal spending programs, the legislation focuses on empowering local communities, encouraging private-sector investment, and removing obstacles that make housing more expensive.

The bill also raises loan limits for multifamily housing developments, creating incentives for apartment construction and expanding options for renters and first-time buyers alike.

Additional provisions strengthen rural housing initiatives, expand support for veterans seeking housing, modernize financing for smaller mortgage loans, and increase the role community banks can play in local lending markets.

Community banks have long argued that excessive regulations have made it more difficult for them to serve homebuyers and construction projects in their local communities.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters acknowledged the seriousness of the housing crisis despite broader political disagreements.

“America is in the middle of a full-blown affordable housing and homelessness crisis, and working families are burdened by skyrocketing rents and a housing market that is pushing homeownership further out of reach,” Waters said.

One of the most notable aspects of the legislation is its effort to curb the growing influence of large institutional investors in the housing market.

For years, investment firms and corporate landlords have purchased thousands of single-family homes, often outbidding families and first-time homebuyers. Critics argue that this trend has driven up prices while transforming communities into rental markets dominated by large corporations.

The legislation includes targeted restrictions designed to discourage large institutional investors from acquiring additional single-family homes.

That approach aligns closely with President Trump’s housing agenda.

Throughout his second administration, Trump has repeatedly argued that homeownership should remain a cornerstone of the American Dream and that government policies should prioritize families over Wall Street investors.

In his National Homeownership Month proclamation earlier this month, Trump emphasized the importance of restoring affordability and expanding opportunities for future homeowners.

“During National Homeownership Month, my Administration recommits to making housing more affordable so that young Americans and hardworking families can raise children, build memories, and create a future in a home of their own,” Trump said.

The president has frequently blamed the housing crisis on “reckless spending, burdensome regulations, and failed housing policies” implemented under previous administrations, as well as “mass illegal immigration and large institutional investors” that have increased pressure on housing supply.

Trump has also taken executive actions aimed at reducing institutional ownership of single-family homes, lowering mortgage costs, and strengthening federal housing programs.

“Under my leadership, America will be a Nation where homes belong to families — not corporations,” Trump said.

At the same time, Trump has emphasized the importance of protecting the value of homes already owned by millions of Americans.

“I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes. Existing housing, people who own their homes, we’re going to keep them wealthy. We’re going to keep those prices up. We’re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody that didn’t work very hard can buy a home,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting earlier this year.

He has also repeatedly summarized his housing philosophy with a simple message:

“Homes are built for people, not for corporations, and America will not become a nation of renters.”

With overwhelming bipartisan support in the House and growing concern over affordability nationwide, supporters hope the legislation will mark a significant step toward restoring homeownership opportunities and ensuring that the American Dream remains within reach for future generations.

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