Jay Dykeman

polite not always pleasant. to straight for the hips and to hip for the straights. married to a female warrior, and she’s married to a maniac

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

One of the richest men in all of America signed the Declaration of Independence knowing it could cost him everything. Then he left home to serve, died far away in a borrowed town, and never came back. Meet Philip Livingston.

This guy was not a scrappy underdog. Just the opposite. He was born in 1716 into the Livingston family, one of the wealthiest, most powerful dynasties in colonial New York. Manor lands, a Yale education, and a shipping empire he built into one of the biggest merchant fortunes in New York City. He had everything the British system was designed to reward.

And he spent that fortune building things that still exist. He helped found King's College, which you know today as Columbia University. He helped start the New York Society Library. He helped create the New York Chamber of Commerce. The man was basically constructing the civic backbone of New York with his own money and time.

Here's the thing though. He was not some hothead revolutionary. He actually feared independence. He worried it would bring chaos and disorder, and he was cautious about the whole idea for a long time. This wasn't a man itching to burn it all down.

But when New York finally gave its delegates the go-ahead, Livingston signed. He put the name of one of the great fortunes in America onto a document the crown treated as treason. A rich man betting his wealth against the empire that made him rich.

And the war came straight for him. When the British took New York, they seized and used his properties. He started selling off his holdings to help fund the fight, watching the empire he'd defied pick apart the life he'd built.

Then comes the ending that gets me. His health was failing, and he knew it. Congress had been driven out of Philadelphia and was meeting in the small town of York, Pennsylvania. Livingston could have gone home to rest. Instead he told his family he probably wouldn't see them again, and he went to York to keep serving anyway.

He died there in June 1778, in the middle of a session of Congress, far from home. He's buried in York, Pennsylvania to this day. He never made it back to the New York he spent his whole life building.

A man who had every reason to stay comfortable and loyal, who gave his fortune and his final months to a country he wasn't even sure would work.

Philip Livingston. He died at his post, a long way from home.

[History With Jacob @HistoryWJacob]

The vote that would create the United States was deadlocked, and the man who could break the tie was eighty miles away, dying of cancer, on the wrong side of a thunderstorm.

His name was Caesar Rodney. On the first of July 1776, while Congress argued itself toward independence in Philadelphia, he was stuck back in Delaware. He was tamping down Loyalist trouble, in constant pain from the cancer eating at his face and fighting for breath due to his asthma.

Then the letter came. Delaware's two delegates in Congress were split. One for independence, one against. Without a tiebreaker, the colonies would not stand united. And a divided front was exactly what the Crown was counting on.

He did not hesitate. He climbed onto his horse near midnight and rode straight into the storm. Lightning split the sky. The roads turned to sludge. A journey that normally took two days but he made it in eighteen hours. He stopped only to change horses, soaked with every mile.

He reached Independence Hall on the morning of July 2 just as the vote was called, still in his boots and spurs. Caked in mud. Thomas McKean never forgot the sight of him standing in the doorway.

Rodney walked in and cast his vote for independence. It broke Delaware's tie, and with that, not a single colony stood against the break from Britain.

On this day, 250 years ago, a dying man rode all night through a storm so America could be born.

America 250 🇺🇸

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@KATUNews Hey clueless, you missed the memo that nobody cares about the mental illness called transgenderism

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@KATUNews We’ve all done that…..

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@adamstatonsmith @matthewjuhren Somebody has to lead the charge on expensive appetizers

[Censored Tube @CensoredTube]

That humiliation can never be erased

[Vince Langman @LangmanVince]

I had no idea that Sophie Cunningham was a black belt in taekwondo!

This explains why the racist black lesbians in the WNBA don't want to mess with her!

[FeelGoodTales @feelgoodtale]

While driving to Walter Reed Military Hospital for a medical exam, I experienced a sudden blowout on my car’s left front tire along Interstate 495. Being a car enthusiast, I was confident I could change the tire, although the cold weather and stubborn lug bolts made the task challenging. After jacking up the car and removing several bolts, a vehicle pulled up ahead of me.

A man stepped out, noticeable because of his artificial leg. He said he recognized me and wanted to lend a hand. As we talked, I learned he lost his leg while working as a civilian employee in Afghanistan. Without hesitation, he took the lug wrench and finished changing my tire while I packed up the tools.

We both hurried on to our appointments at Walter Reed. Though I didn’t catch his name or address, he asked for a selfie, and later, I received a heartfelt message from him:

“Gen. Powell, I hope I never forget today because I’ll never forget reading your books. You were always an inspiration, a leader, and statesman. After 33 years in the military, you were the giant whose shoulders we stood upon to carry the torch forward for tomorrow’s generation. — Anthony Maggert”

Thank you, Anthony, for touching my soul and reminding me of the true spirit of this country. Let’s set aside our differences and take care of one another. You truly made my day.

[steve @bagshaw2112]

Very funny . Have to love the Hot 🔥 weather . #heatwave 🔥🔥🥵🥵☀️☀️🍺🍺🍹🍹

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@compliantvc We love the heat, it’s a dry heat you know

[Mens_Corner__ @Mens_Corner__]

What kind of shit do you have to put up with at work?

[CCTV_IDIOTS @cctv_idiots]

Modern cars 🤣

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@HappyMotorhead 58 vette, 63 riviera, 69 riviera, 64 gto, 65 442, 55 nomad, 65 f100 shortbed, 75 tr6, 71 continental, …..

[Happy Motorhead @HappyMotorhead]

Who needs autopilot when you've got a manual transmission and 100% more country? 😂

DO YOU LIKE BENCH SEATS?

​Can your electric car hold hands and shift gears, Elon? 🤠🚗💨

​#Tesla #ManualTransmission #CountryLife #TruckLife #StickShift #TryThisInATesla

[ちょ、それヤバ動画bot @lyn56252]

女子つえーwwwwwww

[Old Salty Marine @BamaSaltyMarine]

Life is simple..
Be a Man, Carry a firearm,
Drive a truck, drink caffeine
work on stuff protect
women and kids.

Hate your government, love God and your Country!

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

When George Custer died at Little Bighorn in 1876, his wife Libby was 34.

She had followed him everywhere. Lived in tents on the open plains. Slept in forts on the edge of nowhere. Then in one afternoon he was gone, and she was a widow with almost no money and a husband whose name was already being dragged through the mud.

Most women in 1876 would have remarried. She had offers. She turned every one down.

Instead she picked up a pen. Three books. Lecture tours. She built his legend with her own hands.

And she defended him so fiercely that the officers who blamed Custer for the disaster just kept quiet. They were not afraid of the Army. They were afraid of her.

So they waited. Year after year, for the widow to finally pass so they could talk without her tearing them apart in print.

She made them wait almost 57 years.

Libby Custer died in 1933, four days short of 91, having outlived nearly every man who ever doubted her husband.

She is buried right next to him at West Point.

That is what loyalty looks like.

[Pissed Off American @solar_ric]

They should make her VP of marketing A Florida woman was arrested after allegedly impersonating a Costco employee and turning an ordinary shopping trip into what witnesses described as a full-blown “warehouse happy hour.”

According to authorities, 32-year-old Brianna Keller walked into a Costco location in Tampa dressed convincingly enough to fool both shoppers and employees. Wearing black pants, a red polo shirt, and a fake name badge that read “Crystal — Beverage Team,” Keller reportedly stationed herself near the frozen food section and began offering customers tiny cups of tequila disguised as free product samples.

Investigators say the scene escalated quickly.

Using miniature ketchup cups typically reserved for condiments, Keller allegedly poured tequila shots for shoppers while pairing them with frozen appetizers and snack foods. Witnesses claimed she confidently explained that Costco was “testing a new customer experience initiative” and referred to the alcohol as part of a “weekend tasting event.”

Several shoppers reportedly believed the setup was legitimate.

“She was so confident that nobody questioned it,” one customer told local reporters. “She kept talking about flavor profiles like she actually worked there.”

Authorities say Keller became increasingly theatrical as the crowd grew larger. Witnesses described her leading chants of “Weekend mode activated!” while customers laughed, cheered, and continued lining up for more samples. At one point, shoppers were allegedly dancing near the mattress displays while holding condiment cups filled with liquor.

Employees reportedly became suspicious after noticing unusually large crowds gathering around the snack aisle and customers behaving noticeably louder than normal. Managers approached Keller after hearing her pitch what she called “Bottomless Sample Fridays” to confused supervisors.

The situation came to an end when store management contacted police.

Officers say Keller continued attempting to rally customers even as she was being escorted from the building, shouting, “WHO’S READY FOR ROUND TWO?” while several shoppers applauded the spectacle.

She was arrested on charges related to impersonation, disorderly conduct, and unauthorized distribution of alcohol.

No injuries were reported during the incident, though authorities confirmed the store temporarily shut down the sampling area while employees cleaned up the scene.

One shopper summed up the bizarre event by saying, “Honestly, for a minute I thought Costco was just evolving.”

[Kurt Supe, CPA & Retirement Planner @KurtSupeCPA]

My son graduated college last month. He started his job the following week.

I watch a lot of kids his age chasing a good time. He's serious, he's got a great job, and here's how I'm helping him start.

Here's the plan we're running:

I told him to live at home for the next 2 to 3 years. Not to coast. To build.

Stack the emergency fund first. Before anything fun, before a nicer car. A real cushion so the first flat tire isn't a crisis.

Max the Roth while he's in the lowest bracket he'll ever see. Roth 401k and Roth IRA, both. At 22 on an entry level salary, every dollar he puts in grows tax-free for 40 years. He'll never get this rate again.

Build the down payment quietly in the background. I'm charging him rent. What he doesn't know yet is I'm setting it aside and handing it back to him for his first house.

Knock out the CFP now. He's still in study mode straight out of school, no kids, no distractions. This is the easiest the credential will ever be to earn.

My whole thinking is simple. Get him started on the right foot. Teach him to save and build wealth while the habits are still forming. Help him a little for 2 to 3 years now, so I'm not bailing him out for the next 20.

The best inheritance isn't money. It's teaching them how to not need it.

[Jay Dykeman @jay_dykeman]

@adamstatonsmith We laugh all the way to the bank