Happy July 4th!

Today, the good ol’ U.S of A celebrates its 247th birthday. After securing the unanimous vote for independence from England on July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress on this day voted to approve the Declaration of Independence.

General George Washington wasn’t in Philadelphia for the vote. He was busy actually fighting the British. But he did have some thoughts on the birth of the nation, God’s crucial role in making it happen and what he saw in the new country. Plus he offered a bit of hope for our own troubled times.

We were honored to “sit down” and talk with the Father of Our Nation at Gadsby’s Tavern, some 8 miles up the road from his home at Mount Vernon.

“Stream July 4th Exclusive: An Interview With George Washington”

One comment of his that bears repeating, today of all days: “Do not let anyone claim tribute of American patriotism if they even attempt to remove religion from politics.”

Trading Drones for Fireworks … Besides, Fireworks are Racist

Citing fire dangers and air quality concerns, several cities, including Salt Lake City, will be putting on drone shows tonight rather than launching fireworks.

While you can’t blame municipalities that are as dry as a tinder box, please don’t give the climate crazies any more ideas. Soon they’ll come after fireworks all together.

And here’s the problem with satire. I was about to say, “Before long, they’ll say fireworks are racist.” But sure enough, Google “fireworks are racist” and you are immediately led to a 2021 New York Post story titled “National Geographic tweet suggests July 4 fireworks are racist.”

Scientists found that vulnerable people and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution from firework celebrations https://t.co/L0FQgthTAK

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) July 4, 2021

Biden Considers Blocking the Sun to Cool the Planet

The Biden Administration is toying with the idea of trying to stop global warming and cool the planet by blocking sunlight. Yes, the same government that couldn’t manage to get baby formula onto neighborhood grocery shelves, or protect our skies without shooting down hobby balloons, wants to toy with the fundamental forces that sustain life on the planet.

Or perhaps Joe is just tired of wearing those aviator shades.

The idea is called “solar radiation modification” or SRM, or solar geoengineering. And a report on it was published June 30 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Greenhouse gasses warm the climate by blocking a portion of outgoing longwave radiation that would otherwise be emitted into space. By contrast, SRM cools the climate by reflecting a greater amount of incoming solar (shortwave) radiation back into space … SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years.

Conspiracy theorists are already pointing to the sky, “See the chem trails? Told ya!”

But there’s a catch: “Ramifications which are now poorly understood.” Some of the simulations listed in the report, according to Epoch Times:

The procedure can trigger changes in stratospheric temperatures, a rise in sea levels, acidification of oceans, and alteration in precipitation patterns. It can also affect terrestrial vegetation, biodiversity, ecosystems, crop production, and coral reefs.

They left off what the report said about “more frequent extreme drought or precipitation events” — which, ironically, is precisely what the climate alarmists say will happen if we don’t immediately address climate change. Even more alarming, the SRM might “irreversibly alter the Earth’s climate system.”

The good news: Greta Thurnberg won’t yell at you. The bad news: You may well cause an ice age that kills hundreds of millions.

The White House insists they have no plans to actually launch an SRM program.

Biden Ordered Aides Not to Include Hunter’s Love Child as a Grandchild

Wow. That’s cold. The New York Times, of all places, reports that Joe Biden ordered aides to ignore Hunter’s daughter Navy Joan, to keep pressing the messaging that he has six, not seven grandchildren.

Apparently, shunning the child is a way to maintain his “family man” image.

Image it is. Joe lied about the cause of his first wife’s death. He lies about his son’s death. He lies about his business relationships with his other son, the one whom Biden’s Justice Department just protected. Then there’s daughter Ashley’s diary, which would have ended the career of any politician with an (R) by his name. As would have the nine family members (and counting) whom House Oversight says were funneled foreign cash.

And now Biden’s ordering taxpayer-paid government workers to pretend that his own flesh-and-blood doesn’t exist?

Hunter just reached a settlement with Navy’s mom, Lunden Roberts. Part of the deal is that Roberts drops her effort to give the little girl the Biden name.

Who needs Solar Radiation Modification to chill things when you’ve got Ol’ Joe?

Joe Pushed to Get Another Granddaughter Into University of Pennsylvania

We were actually going to pass on the president-ordered-silence-on-his-granddaughter story, until we saw this timely doozy from the Washington Free Beacon. Seems Joe won’t give little Navy the time of day, but he was willing to strong arm the University of Pennsylvania to help another granddaughter, Maisy.

According to the Free Beacon, the university has an only 5.9% acceptance rate, and academically Maisy wasn’t setting the world on fire. But Joe’s granddaughter wanted Penn. Texts show how Joe and Hunter put the heat on school, including Joe meeting personally with the school president Amy Gutmann. Remember the name. He also hit up the Dean of Admissions.

The pressure worked. Maisy got in. (She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Congrats.)

Not for nothing, but the Biden pressure took place in 2018 and 2019 when China was pouring tens of millions into the school’s Biden Penn Center.

So Joe brought not only the juice of being a former VP, but he was responsible for a huge wash of Chinese cash filling university coffers.

And this is the kicker. Just days ago, Biden launched a full-throated assault on the Supreme Court for its affirmative action decision. He’s even ordering the Department of Education “to analyze what practices help build more inclusive and diverse student bodies and what practices hold that back — practices like legacy admissions and other systems that expand privilege instead of opportunity.”

You want to talk expanding privilege?

Oh, and that University of Pennsylvania President, Amy Gutmann? In 2021, Biden named her his Ambassador to Germany.

Happy 4th!

May you have a festive and safe Independence Day, soaking in the gift that the Founding Fathers left us: The chance to exercise our God-given unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Along The Stream

Richard M. Reinsch has offered, “What the Declaration of Independence Teaches Us About Our Rights, Duties as Americans.”

And did we mention we interviewed GEORGE WASHINGTON?!?!?

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.