Veronica Smith

[Corey Brooks “RoofTopPastor” @CoreyBBrooks]

We’re arguing about ICE while Chicago burns. 47 shot. 13 killed. No outrage, no leadership. If we don’t confront the violence destroying our own neighborhoods, what are we even fighting for?
https://t.co/EnDfGcEGA9

[Corey Brooks “RoofTopPastor” @CoreyBBrooks]

Starting January 1, 2025, my 6-year generosity journey begins: a mission to make $100 million and give $100 million away. It’s not just about money—it’s about impact, faith, and building hope. Let’s walk this journey together. #100MillionGenerosity #FaithInAction #WhenYouGiveYouWin

[@Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 @Chicago1Ray]

@elonmusk Check this out

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Crazy week. Spent part of it in South Dakota, visiting trade schools and telling the incredible story of Build Dakota, a scholarship program similar to mikeroweWORKS that’s assisted nearly 3,500 kids with over $43 million dollars. I’ll tell you more about that later, and about how South Dakota is leading the country in the race to reinvigorate the skilled trades. For now, I just want to share some video from a ride-along I did on my way back to the airport. As it happens, the annual Buffalo Round-Up took place yesterday in Custer State Park - another one of things I’d always wanted to see. Well, I finally saw it, and all I can say is holy crap!

Thirteen hundred buffalo who preferred not to be relocated, versus a couple dozen expert cowboys and cowgirls determined to get them out of the hills, into a valley, and through a narrow gate that led into a large corral. Assisting the riders were half-a-dozen F-150’s driven by park employees – one of which I was allowed to occupy. So much fun. Thousands of people showed up on a gorgeous morning to see what could possibly go wrong, and marvel at the sight of a buffalo herd on the move. The people lined the ridges above the valley, and watched for a few hours as the buffalo stampeded and the horses galloped and the riders cracked their whips and the trucks accelerated over the wild and rocky terrain, trying to keep the herd headed in the right direction.

My driver, Cory, told me to buckle up and hang on.

“You got one job, Mike. Keep an eye out for big rocks hidden in the grass. They’re all over the place. Last year, a driver hit one and snapped the chassis in two. Had a Senator on board. Not good.”

Perhaps if I hadn’t been on the lookout for rocks, the attached video would look more professional, but it should give you an idea of what’s it looks like to chase a herd of buffalo in a pickup truck. In short, it’s a blast, but it’s also a bit unsettling. As we sped over the plains and over a massive prairie dog town, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the buffalo suddenly all decided, together, to resist our best efforts to push them into a place they didn’t wish to enter. In other words, what would we do if the herd stopped acting like a herd, and realized that they were in fact, the superior force? Probably something similar to what happens when bipeds grow weary of being pushed in directions they don’t wish to go.

I was about to share that philosophical observation with the other passengers in the pickup, when Cory ran over a large rock that I had neglected to spot.
“Rock!” I yelled, a second too late.

“Thanks,” said Cory, as his head bounced off the ceiling.
Moments later, Cory’s walkie-talkie exploded with an urgent alert.
“Rider down! Rider down.”

Someone one the other side of the herd, hopefully not in the middle of the herd, was on the ground, and there was nothing we could do. A couple of EMT’s in a Razor were quickly dispatched to render assistance. I’m not sure what happened, but given the many thousands of prairie dog holes all over the sprawling landscape, I was worried for the horse as well as the rider. Herding buffalo on horseback is dangerous, and as I as tried to focus from keeping Cory from hitting anymore big rocks at high speeds, I couldn’t help but consider the business of hunting buffalo 200 years ago on this very land.
Back then, at the beginning of the 19th century, there were something like 50 million buffalo in North America. They say the herds stretched for miles in every direction and moved like a massive wave over the prairie. To be a Dakota Sioux back then, riding a horse without a saddle into a vast herd of stampeding buffalo with nothing but a bow and arrow was amazing enough. To somehow bring one down and then live to tell the tale is mind-boggling. But maybe not as mind-boggling as what we did to the buffalo population in the decades that followed. That was nothing short of genocide, just as bringing them back from the brink of extinction was nothing short of a miracle.

“Rock!” I yelled.

Cory swerved to the left just in time, and then accelerated as a dozen animals broke away from the herd and tried to bolt back up the hill. I couldn’t help but notice they crapped as they ran - a lot. So much so, it made me wonder about the sheer volume of turds that 50 million buffalo would have produced two hundred years ago. (After 20 years of Dirty Jobs, my brain is still wired to ponder the impact of feces from every species.) Yesterday, the buffalo poop was literally everywhere. It was impossible not to walk in, ride over, or drive through. The tread on our tires was packed with scat, and that’s just from chasing down 1,300 of them. What would the poop from 50 million of these things look like? It must have been a foot deep for miles in every direction. And what would the impact of all that poop be on the early pioneers used to travel these same plains? How did their wagon wheels get any traction in all that dung?

“Rock!” I yelled, again, just in the nick of time.

The mind wanders when you’re riding shotgun in a buffalo chase vehicle, even when you only have one job to do. But if you ever have the chance to ride along on a round up like this one, do it. The sight will stick with you, even as you find yourself pondering the history of our great country, the impact of feces from every species, and the great good fortune of those lucky Dakotans who make their home here today.

A home, where the buffalo roam.

[George @BehizyTweets]

WATCH: A Democrat who volunteered at the DNC just publicly came out against the party after witnessing the corruption that's taking place

"As the years gave gone by, I found myself getting more and more disillusioned with the Democratic party."

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

I began this post with the intention of thanking the many supporters of mikeroweWORKS for their incredible generosity but got distracted by a few statistics in the attached article. Perhaps they will distract you, as well, along with the rest of the country.

• Two-thirds (66%) of Americans who lost their full-time job during the pandemic say they are only somewhat active or not very active at all in searching for a new job.
• About half (49%) are not willing to take jobs that do not offer the opportunity for remote work.
• More than a quarter (26%) say it will never again be essential for them to return to work.
• Almost a quarter (24%) say government aid packages during the pandemic have incentivized them to not actively look for work.

On top of these recent revelations, is another statistic that's been with us for nearly a decade, and can no longer be ignored. For every five baby boomers who leave the workforce, two come in. That’s a 5:2 ratio, and it’s even worse in the trades. Today, the average age of a skilled tradesperson in America is 55. There’s not a single construction company that isn’t desperate to hire skilled workers, or train those who are willing to learn.

The jobs are clearly there – over 8 million of them, waiting to be filled. But who is willing? How can we inspire the next generation to roll up their sleeves and learn a skill that’s in demand? How can we make a more persuasive case for a career in the trades?

These were the questions that led me to start mikeroweWORKS 16 years ago, and my answer today is no different than it was then – better PR. The trades are, inexplicably, surrounded by stigmas, stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions that have kept millions of kids from giving them an honest look. And to be clear, these myths and misperceptions were not fostered by our kids. Gen Z wasn’t born with the belief that the skilled trades are beneath them, or that they can't make six figures working with their hands. They had to be taught that nonsense, just as they had to be taught that an expensive four-year degree was the only way to live a prosperous life. The result? $1.6 trillion in student loans, millions open positions that don’t require a university credential, and a workforce that’s becoming smaller and less skilled with every passing year.

I know I’m a broken record on all this, but I only mention it now because this article reminded me that Dirty Jobs was, first and foremost, a love letter to American work ethic. I visited every state half a dozen times on that show, worked as an apprentice on hundreds of jobs, and listened to lots of small business owners talk about “the war on work,” and the widening skills gap, and the increasing difficulty of finding workers with an enthusiasm for the trades, or a willingness to work.

Back in 2005, a farmer in Indiana said, “Something is broken, Mike. Our country is encouraging all the wrong things. We’re making work the enemy.”

In Ohio, a 50-year-old foreman on a construction site pointed to his crew and said, “These guys are the best. Too bad they’re all older than me.” That was in 2006.
In 2007, I met a septic tank cleaner who was nearly 60, and worth several million dollars. When I asked him why he still worked six days a week, ten hours a day, he said, “Because I love to work, Mike. I just love it. Ain’t no other reason.”

Those comments, and hundreds of others like them, inspired me to launch a non-profit foundation whose purpose was to reinvigorate the skilled trades and elevate the American work ethic. That was the goal of mikeroweWORKS in 2008, and that’s our goal today. And so, before I thank our generous supporters for allowing me to award over $12 million in work ethic scholarships to over 2,000 recipients, I want to remind everyone, (myself included), that our scholarship program – now the largest of its kind - is not the main purpose of this foundation. Because the truth is, no matter how many people we assist, scholarships alone will not reinvigorate the trades on a national level.

Moving forward, mikeroweWORKS will continue to award work ethic scholarships to qualified applicants and help as many people as we can get the training we need. But now, I’m recommitting myself and this foundation to the business of sharing those stories with the largest audience possible. True stories of regular Americans who have prospered by foregoing a mountain of college debt, mastering a skill that’s in demand, and applying those skills with a work ethic that we simply must encourage and reward at every turn. That's how we reinvigorate the trades, and that's why mikeroweWORKS exists.

Ain't no other reason.

Having said all that, please join me in thanking this year's key donors.

@Ferguson
@DEWALTtough
Tom and Marilyn Moyer Foundation
J&K Trash Removal
@ckochfoundation
@StandTogether
@WilliamsUpdates
@americangiant
@moen
@SenoxCorp
Ron Kall and @GDBAProtects

I also want to thank the @DAVHQ American Veterans for helping us promote our scholarship program to veteran communities, and everyone on this page, who has supported us since 2008 in so many different ways. Including all those who purchased, (and enjoyed!) a bottle of Knobel Spirits Tennessee whiskey online. On behalf of everyone at mikeroweWORKS, and all the scholarship recipients, thanks very much.
https://t.co/xzxWa76nCu

[Denise Aguilar @InformedMama209]

As rumors are flying around regarding Gavin Newsom replacing Biden I want to show you what exactly Newsom has done to families and Californians.
He hates us and is only interested in special interest groups that line his pockets.
This election register people to vote , ballot harvest , connect with churches and tell everyone what the progressive policies have done to our state.
And one of the most important things you can do is vote differently this year.

I’m running for California Assembly because our leadership has failed us. To support the campaign Visit https://t.co/5Sbi8f4Bqp because all politics is local

[Denise Aguilar @InformedMama209]

I’m looking for a van or shuttle to help our campaign and get our volunteers canvassing without worry of gas or transportation. If you have a working vehicle you’d like to sell or like to loan out I would love to hear from you.
Please contact me at [email protected]

[Rodney Smith Jr @iamrodneysmith]

Update on my van: After it broke down for the second time in Nebraska, Anderson Ford in Lincoln, NE reached out to me. This happened thanks to a mother of a child in our program who contacted them and explained what we do. They called me, expressing their desire to help, and arranged to have the van towed to their location in Lincoln from Columbus, NE, which is about an hour and twenty minutes away.

Upon inspection, they confirmed my suspicion—it needed a brand new engine, having over 300,000 miles on it. Additionally, they discovered several other issues, bringing the total repair cost to just under $20,000.

After discussing the problems, Anderson Ford shared their appreciation for our work and wanted to take care of it for us!!! I am incredibly grateful for their support. With a brand new engine, the van will run almost good as new!

The repairs should be completed in about a week. Once ready, I will fly into Lincoln, NE, and resume my journey to Colorado and Idaho to visit the three kids who completed our 50-yard challenge and were waiting for my visit before the van broke down.

In the next 2-4 years, we may need a new van, and we'll start setting aside funds for that as donations come in.

Thank you again to Anderson Ford in Nebraska! I look forward to meeting you in Lincoln. Special thanks to Nancy, the mom of Urijah, who is participating in our 50-yard challenge that reached out to them!

Anderson Ford of Lincoln North

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

There are forces at play - powerful forces - that believe the only way to effectively promote the release of a new movie in 2024, is to go on every podcast, every radio program, and every TV show in America, and talk about the film until you're a hollowed out shell. Which is pretty much what I've done for the last week. I can't help but wonder though, if a super simple video shot in my hotel room and shared on this page, might accomplish the goal in a more efficacious fashion. In other words, please save me from another week of traditional press, by helping me get America to watch the trailer and reserve a ticket for what my mother is calling “the feel good hit of the summer.” https://t.co/RLT6Y1fQlZ

[Katie Pavlich @KatiePavlich]

Rockets launched from southern Gaza into Beer Sheva this morning landed on a kindergarten playground with kids in the shelter. Less than 48 hours after Biden declared Israel shouldn’t finish Hamas off in Rafah.

[Denise Aguilar @InformedMama209]

Im “well rounded” enough to know that these policies do not represent the people of California.

Their sentence didn’t include assault, we need to do better.

We have failed leadership in every aspect of our government. We need change.

Grateful for the work of @womaniiwomaninc as they advocate for those who feel tossed aside.
https://t.co/5Sbi8f4Bqp
https://t.co/YuGkV4s5Gw
@PioneerMama

[Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes]

This Hasn’t Been Shared Enough Until EVERY Voter In America Sees It

“The federal government spent over $66 billion on illegal immigrants in 2023, according to the Federation for American Immigration”

“Does anyone wanna guess how much we've spent on homeless veterans? 3 billion”

“3 billion on people who have laid down their lives for this country. Can anyone explain up there why that makes sense?”

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

If we want to change the perception among so many well-intended parents that a four-year degree is the best path for the most people, we need to show kids that a skilled trade is a thing to aspire to. If you're me, that means getting animated from time to time, and bursting into song.
Big thanks to #TheTuttleTwins, for launching their new season with yours truly, with a premiere episode called "The College Conundrum." Modesty aside, it's really good, really funny, and maybe even really important. Check it out, May 7th.

[JudoTv.com @judotvcom]

Maruyama style stretches far and wide! 🥋🤗

#JudoTV #Maruyama #Judo

[Corey Brooks “RoofTopPastor” @CoreyBBrooks]

Proud to be an American where the land of opportunity isn't just a slogan—it's a reality. Our journey is proof that in America, dreams can become achievements, and ideas can build futures. #LandOfOpportunity #AmericanDream Donate Today: https://t.co/wQ9D9pUhcB

[Denise Aguilar @InformedMama209]

I know I don’t look like a politician and that’s because I’m not. I’m just a very pissed off Californian who’s tired of feeling squeezed out of my state.
I’m a lifelong San Joaquin county resident, my roots are here, my family is here and I will do whatever it takes to place protections for my community.

Our families deserve representation. While I’m not a politician I have worked in politics for almost a decade and have seen first hand the corruption and collusion.. I’m tired of it.

My campaign mission is to FLIP democrat voters and so far things are looking great. November is coming up quickly and I need your help to talk to the community and let people know I’m running. If you would like to volunteer or donate please visit my website Denise4Assembly13.comm

[Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes]

American Farmer Spreading Awareness, Read Every Word Of This 👇

“The seed companies are essentially bullying farmers into buying their seeds, which is another reason why your food is becoming so expensive”

“Farmers can be and will be sued if they plant their own seeds”

“Farmers don't own the rights to the genetics of their own seeds unless they're using heirloom seeds. So in order to have the right to plant these seeds, we have to pay a fee.

The seed company can actually come on to your property, check your plants, and if the plant has any trace of their genetics, they sue the farmer.

So all that hard work growing the plant, yeah, we don't own it. And the seed companies love to remind us this, by saying, we know you bought our seed last year, so if you don't buy seed again from us, we're gonna be auditing you.

So my order of three totes just came in, enough to plant 300 acres of soybeans, and to have the right to plant them cost me over $30,000”

[Denise Aguilar @InformedMama209]

The narrative of “housing shortage” can be heard from progressive Dems across the state and nation.
But do they speak on why ? Is it the extensive Environmental Impact Reports that take so much time money and bureaucracy or is the that these companies are buying single family homes and renting at increased prices or .. is it all of it ?
Every election season we hear candidates talking about all the great they have done without addressing how and who got us into this mess.
The over regulation is allowing for this to happen while destroying the American dream of home ownership