Time To Talk About Veterans Day

Posted on November 11, 2023 by James Salerno

In 2023, what does Veterans Day really mean in America? Today, MAGA boomers are flooding social media with Veterans Day graphics. You know the ones I’m talking about – they have a picture of a soldier, probably an eagle, and a slogan like “thank you for keeping us free” imposed over a flag. I have nothing against the MAGA boomers. They mean well, and we are aligned on many important issues. But their line of thinking is based on the myth that the America of today still operates under the original Constitution. The systems our founders set up still work, but those pesky Democrats can’t stop messing things up! The purpose of the military should be to protect home, which truly keeps us free. But the truth is America’s veterans have not done that since 1812.

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Is “Free Speech” a Founding Principle?

Posted on February 10, 2023 by James Salerno

Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. The right to self-determination. Freedom. The right to bear arms. Free speech. These are often cited as uniquely American principles; they’re what separates us from the rest of the world. I want to focus on just free speech. Is it truly a founding American principle? The answer to that question is complex.

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

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The Worst President?

Posted on June 2, 2022 by James Salerno

The question is often asked, who is the worst president of all time? Surprisingly, you’re going to get a lot of overlap between mainstream left and right. They may disagree on specifics but look at any “best presidents” list and you will find that “do something” presidents always rank near the top. Presidents who waged war and governed as a monarch always rank high. “Forgettable” presidents who presided over times of peace and prosperity tend to rank lower. This is wrong. We should not rank presidents by how famous they are. We should not judge them based on whether they did unconstitutional things that we like or don’t like. There is one single metric for measuring how good a president was: Did they uphold their oath to defend the constitution? Based on that, who is the worst?

*The Presidents of the United States as depicted by Louis Marx*

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The 2022 Declaration of Independence

Posted on February 28, 2022 by James Salerno

Today, we are wrapping of Declaration of Independence month at Salerno Schools. The 1776 Declaration has four parts: the preamble, the philosophical, the indictments of King George and the actual declaration of action. You can check out my coverage of all 27 indictments, with modern counterparts, here. Going through this project made me realize that the things King George III was indicted for pale in comparison to the things our federal government does today. The federal government violates the Constitution and inalienable rights on a daily basis. Without further ado – here is my 2022 Declaration of Independence.

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Declaration of Independence – Indictment #27

Posted on February 27, 2022 by James Salerno

The Declaration of Independence is often misunderstood, which I wrote about here. One of the most important, yet overlooked, sections of the document is the list of indictments against King George III. The indictments are further evidence that the Declaration was never meant to be a revolutionary statement. From the Magna Carta to the colonial constitutions, George III was indicted for violating existing laws. Jefferson listed a total of 27 indictments against the King. Throughout February, we’re going to look at one indictment a day, why it was levied, and why it is still relevant.