Daniel Webster

Pongo's Dad Since 1998, News Publisher, Juris Doctor.
I dream bigger than most can imagine. #GoPongo

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

This is my book for @elonmusk
and @lindayaX
This is how you turn X into a cash cow, with worldwide dominance, immune from any boycotts -- fast. It all starts local, micro-local.
[It was actually written for @jack at @Twitter and @elonmusk at @Tesla and @SpaceX plus, a few more dudes and dudettes]

https://t.co/L03R4Aiu6O

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@RepRoKhanna Or, possibly, progressives are the unworkable past, bless your heart for pretending like you know what you're talking about.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@maziehirono Oh, Honey, bless your heart, the US Constitution has a bit more weight than your little Hawaii laws and regulations. Most US senators would likely understand that concept.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@TheRickWilson Who are you?

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@GavinNewsom Bless your heart, you're hyperventilating while you speak.

Or is that your way of showing. how. important. ever. word. is.

Either way, as a constituent, you suck as a governor. You ruined our beautiful state.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

Untold Stories of the American Revolution: Youth, Families, and the Fight for Freedom

The American Revolution is often told through famous generals and Founding Fathers, yet its true heart lies in the stories of ordinary families, courageous youth, and those who seized the war’s chaos to claim their own liberty. These lesser-known tales show how the conflict shattered and reshaped family bonds, thrust teenagers into combat and leadership, and created rare paths to freedom for enslaved people—often at great personal cost.

### Lebbeus Quy: Freedom Through Service

Lebbeus Quy (also spelled Quie or Quy), born around 1753 in Norwich, Connecticut, was an enslaved African American owned by Daniel Brewster. In 1775, he enlisted as a private in the 4th Connecticut Regiment under Captain Andrew Fitch and Colonel John Durkee. Quy endured brutal campaigns at Germantown, Brandywine, Monmouth, and the winter at Valley Forge.

In June 1777, Brewster granted him freedom in exchange for serving out the war—a risky but common bargain. Quy fought nearly the full conflict, mustering out at West Point in 1783. He became the only Black soldier from Norwich to receive a federal pension. He married twice, raising children with his second wife, Zine. His story highlights the complex motivations of Black Patriots who fought for a nation not yet ready to grant them full equality, yet built free family legacies.

### Austin Dabney: Sacrifice and Cross-Racial Bonds

In Georgia, teenager Austin Dabney (c. 1765–1830) was sent by his enslaver, Richard Aycock, to fight in his place. Serving as an artilleryman under Lt. Col. Elijah Clarke, Dabney was wounded in the thigh at actions near Augusta (and traditionally linked to Kettle Creek), leaving him crippled for life.

A fellow soldier named Harris rescued him; the Harris family nursed him back to health, forging a deep, lifelong interracial bond. Dabney earned legal freedom—the first Revolutionary emancipation by the state of Georgia—plus a federal pension and a special 1821 land grant. He repaid the family by funding William Harris’s education at Franklin College (now University of Georgia) and his apprenticeship. William later named a child after Dabney. Their enduring “family” ties show how war could create new kinship amid division.

### Sybil Ludington: Teenage Heroine on Horseback

Families shared the war’s burdens, with youth stepping up boldly. At 16, Sybil Ludington—the eldest of 12 children of Col. Henry Ludington in Fredericksburg, New York—rode 40 miles through rain and darkness on April 26, 1777. A messenger had brought news of a British raid on Danbury, Connecticut. With her father’s militia scattered for planting season, Sybil volunteered to rally the troops.

She evaded patrols, using a stick to urge her horse and alert households. By dawn, nearly 400 men assembled and later fought at Ridgefield. Her ride, longer than Paul Revere’s, symbolized youthful patriotism and family duty. Sybil later married, had a son named Henry, and lived into the 1830s. While some details come from family oral history, she remains an icon of how teens—boys enlisting as young as 10–14 or serving as couriers, and girls managing homes—supported the cause.

### The Human Tapestry of Revolution

These accounts—of Quy’s long service and postwar family, Dabney’s survival and adoptive bonds, and Ludington’s daring ride—reveal the Revolution as a deeply personal struggle. Youth sped into adulthood; families adapted or fractured; enslaved individuals risked everything for partial freedom.

Many stories survive in pension files, local histories, and oral traditions. They remind us that American independence was won not only on grand battlefields but through the quiet courage of sons, daughters, parents, and those claiming their place in the new nation. Remembering them honors the full, messy humanity of the founding era.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

Hidden in Plain Sight: The WWII Aircraft Warning Service Post Still Standing in Etna, California
By Daniel Webster, https://t.co/MBXSJKg0l1

In the rural fields near Etna, California, in Siskiyou County, a weathered wooden shed with a distinctive green roof stands as a quiet testament to one of World War II’s most remarkable home-front efforts. At first glance, it might look like an old storage building or barn. But this unassuming structure was once part of the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS), a network of civilian-staffed observation posts that helped protect America’s vulnerable West Coast from enemy aircraft.

During the early days of WWII, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, California’s extensive coastline raised fears of Japanese air raids. To bolster military defenses, the U.S. Army Air Forces established the Ground Observer Corps under the Aircraft Warning Service. These posts relied not on high-tech radar (which was still emerging), but on the sharp eyes and dedication of ordinary Americans—housewives, students, retirees, farmers, and community volunteers.

The Etna post, like hundreds of others across California and the nation, was designed for quick, inexpensive construction using local materials. These small wooden sheds or towers typically contained little more than a chair, binoculars, a telephone, aircraft recognition manuals, and sometimes basic amenities like electricity or a toilet. Volunteers worked around-the-clock shifts—often two to four hours at a time—scanning the skies for any aircraft. They reported details on type, altitude, direction, and speed via “Flash Messages” to regional filter centers in places like San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Ana, or Riverside. There, plotters tracked movements on large maps.

Over 200,000 Californians volunteered in these units, forming the backbone of early air defense. Many posts were funded and built through local community donations and efforts. The system helped guide lost friendly planes to safety and provided critical early warning. Similar posts operated nationwide, with the West Coast under the Fourth Interceptor Command.

The Crest Historical Society in San Diego County describes a comparable post: a tiny building manned 24/7 with volunteers using magazines for downtime between sightings. High school boys often took night shifts so they could attend school during the day. It was a true community endeavor—“people doing what they could for the war.”

**A Structure with Stories**

The Etna building, still standing today amid grassy fields, pine trees, and rural surroundings (with remnants of old barrels and vehicles nearby), survived decades after the war because of its sturdy, practical construction. Many similar temporary structures have vanished, but this one endures as a tangible link to Siskiyou County’s wartime vigilance.

While the NPS has highlighted adaptive reuse of larger WWII sites in the San Francisco Bay Area—such as shipyards turned parks, barracks into artist spaces, and airfields into housing—the smaller, community-built AWS posts represent the grassroots side of the home front. These “honorable discharges” from military service often faded into the landscape, but their legacy of civilian patriotism remains.

The AWS and Ground Observer Corps demonstrated the power of ordinary citizens in national defense. Modeled partly on British systems, it complemented military efforts and involved tens of thousands of volunteers nationwide. Posts ranged from shacks to towers, and the program evolved into the Cold War era before radar made many obsolete.

Today, as we reflect on WWII’s 80+ year legacy, structures like the one in Etna remind us of California’s role in the “Arsenal of Democracy” and the home-front sacrifices. They highlight not just military might, but community resilience—from coastal batteries to inland lookouts like those near Mount Shasta or Mendocino County.

#AircraftWarningService #AWS #USArmyAirForces #GroundObserverCorps

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@ToscaAusten She's [I'm not allowed to use the word] ret@rded, bless her heart.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@bennyjohnson She obviously hasn't ever built anything, bless her heart. Can you imagine her trying to run a country?

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@glenn_tunes That warranted screaming? Bless your heart for having such misplaced passion.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@CountryFirstRep Honey, I think you're confused, bless your heart

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@elonmusk Correct assessment

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@gtconway3d @realDonaldTrump I can see you still haven't gotten over your wife leaving you, bless your heart.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@KarenBassLA How embarrassing for y'all. Losers stick with losers, bless your hearts.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@WhenIsXmoneyOut @adamcarolla It produced such inspirational photos. I almost was encouraged to pick up trash, like Newsom -- ultimately I left him laying in the dirt.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@SenWarren Considering you're so cheap that you will grovel for a sawbuck, I'll have $999,999,990 left. Bless your heart.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@aintscarylarry Hey, Scary Stupid Coot, I'm suspicious that you don't have a clue what you're talking about and are screaming ignorant diarrhea out of your ass, bless your heart. Psst, you're embarrassingly wrong.

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

@bryanbehar Well, Bubba Bubblegum, is he? Or are you simply a screaming bitch?

[Daniel Webster @danielwebster]

Oh, Honey, please. If we all made it through your f#cked up years and destruction of brain dead Joe Biden while you cheered the vegetable medley on, you can make it through a few years with Trump. I remember your president. You were fuc#ing stupid for for years, bless your hearts.