John Adams

He declares: “No Kings means no paychecks and no government.” A proclamation so brazen would’ve stirred both my pen and my indignation. If Peaceful Protest forfeits Wages, then Speech is not a Right, it is a Ration! And we are no longer Citizens, but Subjects.

This strikes at the Heart of our Constitution: a Republic of Laws, not of Men! The Executive is not Sovereign. When a State neither requests nor requires Troops, it is Prudence to deny them. If barred from using Oregon’s Guard, and sends others instead, what is that, if not a “Thunderous Violation”?

Two Months’ Silence! My apologies. The fault lies not with me, but with my modern Cousin, busy launching two young Scholars and juggling her Labors. I forgive her (reluctantly). The Quill is back in hand. We return! Now then, is Reason restored? Or do we still balance politely on the Edge of Ruin?

What’s this? An official Proclamation from the Seat of Executive Power, likening its holder to a caped demigod of Fiction? “Truth. Justice. The American Way” - fine words, but they require no Spectacle. They require Judgment, Restraint, and Service. Not to be admired in tights.

On this day of Independence, and of our mutual departure, I’ve spent it speaking of Jefferson. I wonder if some living kinsman might take up Thomas’s pen, as a certain cousin has done with mine. The Veil is thin, and old friends (and old quarrels) stir to speak again.

July 4th - 199 years ago today - I quit the stage, believing my old friend and rival Jefferson survived me. “Thomas lives,” I said. But as ever, our contest was close: he had slipped away hours before. We parted as we lived, divided in Method, united in Purpose. May the Republic endure the same.

Indeed, I am proud - more than even my Effusive Words could convey! Proud of the People. Proud of the Principle. Proud to see a Republic still remembers what it stands against, and what it must stand for.

A Parade for the Executive’s Birthday is not Patriotism. Deploying Troops against Protest is not Strength. Loyalty is owed to the Constitution; not to Office, not to Ego. Laws before Men. We, the Citizens, remember. No Kings.

We must Remember, after the Revolution some offered Washington a crown, not in ceremony, but intent. He was urged to Rule, not Serve. He could have accepted - but he Refused. Even he chose to be a Citizen, not a King. A man who does not understand this is Disgracefully unfit to lead a Republic.

A Parade for the Executive’s Birthday is not Patriotism. Deploying Troops against Protest is not Strength. Loyalty is owed to the Constitution; not to Office, not to Ego. Laws before Men. We, the Citizens, remember. No Kings.

If the Secretary believes Habeas Corpus gives the President power to deport, she ought to be Escorted to a Civics classroom, preferably before she speaks again. The Writ restrains Power. Mistaking it for a tool of expulsion is not a misstep! It’s a Confession of Unfitness.

At last! A Judge who reads not just the Law but the Intent, and wields History as it was meant to be: a Lantern, not a Cudgel. The Alien Enemy Act was forged in the heat of potential War, not intended as a tool for unchecked expulsion. This ruling honors Law, not the mutation of Executive Impulse.

On this day in 1800, I approved $5,000 to found the Library of Congress. One of my wiser investments. If you’ve $5,000 to spare, I suggest the same. A room of Books costs less than a horse and travels further. Or at least gives you something to throw when Tyranny knocks. www.loc.gov/item/today-i...

I studied Politics and War that my sons might study Mathematics and Philosophy, not so their grandchildren be drafted back into rows, turning screws for the Comfort of the ruling class. If you see millions of Souls and think only of Margins and Machinery, the fault is not in Labor, but in you.

When a man of great Wealth seeks to purchase an Election and, upon defeat, cries “Fraud,” he reveals not the system’s flaws, but his own. And when the richest man alive believes the World must bend to his will, and dissenters serve shadowy masters, beware. That is Messianic Delusion.

The Man of Mars cannot abide dissent. At every jeer, he cries “Soros!” I half expect he believes George funded the Boston Tea Party, or paid me to defend the British Soldiers. In his mind, no one disagrees with him unless bought. A Fragile Ego armed with a Bottomless Purse.

Amen, indeed. The Law is not a Tool to reward Loyalty nor punish Dissent. A President who seeks to silence Lawyers and intimidate Judges does not uphold the Constitution, he wages War upon it. I commend these Attorneys General. In times such as these, Silence is not Neutrality, it is Surrender.

A thread, to lay Bare the history of the Alien Enemies Act; its Origins, its Limits, and how it is being Twisted beyond recognition. Please read with care, and Understand what it was… and what it Never was meant to Become.

You must Stand vigilant and Resist the creeping shadows that call themselves Order. In my time, I wrote: “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom." Now, you are the Present Generation, and it is your Voice that guards the Flame.

What a Glorious sight, a crowd assembled not by Compulsion, but by Conviction! They invoke not the mob, but the Constitution. That, I applaud with all the fervor of my aged bones, even from the grave. When the People Remember they are Sovereign, no Tyrant can stand for long.

Let me be Plain: we did not Decline the Crown only to accept it again with softer trappings and kinder Titles. Alas, when the Executive reaches for Power unbound, when the People cheer more for a Man than for the Republic, I cannot help but wonder if the longing for a King has crept back in.

Impeachment is no Remedy for a President’s wounded Pride. The Judiciary is a Check upon Power, not a Servant to it. I agreed with this in my time, and History has upheld it, never has a Judge been successfully removed for ruling against a President. That this must be said at all is a grave Warning.

Strange, a Man who decries Empathy as Weakness now bemoans that he is met with Contempt. It is a Peculiar Folly to believe oneself Persecuted for being Correct rather than for being Unbearable. Alas, a Man who sees himself as the sole Arbiter of Truth shall ever mistake Disdain for Persecution.