Mary Candee

Owner Dulce Design Photography, mom to 3, relish capturing your kids and their efforts. #AHMule Fan and supporter.

[Luna 🇺🇸 @LunaForTruth]

He wore the uniform.
He knew the law.
He knew the prison time.
He stepped onto the Capitol steps and said: IMPEACH Trump.

They arrested him. Not because he was wrong—because he was loud.

Courage isn't safe. It's standing up when silence is cheaper.

History won't forget...

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

People are traveling, gathering together, barbecuing, celebrating the 250th anniversary of this nation in various ways. And then we have this…

An American service member using his right to free speech, guaranteed in our nation’s constitution. A right given to all of us every day. Regardless of your political affiliation, read or watch Major Jason Watson’s full statement. It’s powerful. He has served and is serving. He is speaking up and out, and for that he was arrested.

Free speech, freedom of religion, a free press, the freedom to vote for who you choose, the freedom to love who you choose. These are all things we celebrate on our nation’s birthday. They are what makes us a democracy, among many other things. So as you gather, as you grill, as you plan your day, think of Major Watson, think of the freedoms you hold dear, and don’t just celebrate them, but make sure generations to come will have these rights as well! 🇺🇸

[DeSota @desota]

The MAGA Boys belting out their newest song, 'MAGA USA', like it's the national anthem at a barbecue 🤣 😂 🎶 ...

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

Trump just disgustingly posted this AI video, which uses the likeness and voices of multiple celebrities to defame them.

I pray to God that every one of these celebrities sue Trump, and donate the money to an Epstein survivor Fund.

Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, Whoopi Goldberg, Edward Norton, Rosie O’Donnell, etc.

[Kerry Holmes @KerryHolmekb]

This bartender was a life saver.

[Canada Hates Trump @AntiTrumpCanada]

🇨🇦 Here’s Canadian soccer coach Jesse Marsch - an American citizen - with a message Trump needs to hear. Canada’s strength is our unity and diversity, not division. A powerful response from an American to Trump’s ridiculous “51st state” fantasy. 🍁💪

[MLIH @myloveishoney]

I can’t get enough of this song💪🇺🇸💪🇺🇸

[PBS News @NewsHour]

New concerns are emerging about President Trump’s sweeping pardon of Jan. 6 defendants after a report found that nearly 100 of them have been arrested, charged or convicted of additional crimes since the attack in 2021.

It comes as continuing efforts by Trump and his allies to recast the events of that day have reignited debate over accountability and the rule of law.

@ElizLanders has more.

[MeemaSue6isTrueBlue @841920Meema6]

@Acyn @MeidasTouch The Obama Center opening was a joyful celebration of community voices big & small
Some of Obama's words:
"Remember how American ideals used to inspire people all over the world?"
"Will you give away your power to decide your own futures?"
https://t.co/OqUCmN127s
#VoteBlue2026

[FactPost @factpostnews]

Obama praises Minnesota ICE protesters:

I see America in people in the Twin Cities who braved frigid temperatures, risked their own safety, standing shoulder to shoulder to look out for their neighbors and sometimes look out for strangers because they knew that was the right thing to do.

[Mary Candee @macandee]

@gtconway3d Go to the pearl

[Texas Democratic Party @texasdemocrats]

Governor Abbott closed out his speech at the Texas GOP convention with a live elephant. It then peed on the floor as it left the room.

The perfect metaphor for the Texas Republican Party.

[🌸🎵 Beautiful Melody 🎶💖 @Ducnghia16]

This song still hits harder than any other from my generation. It captures that moment in time perfectly. Still resonates to this day!

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

[Crazy Vibes @CrazyVibes_1]

She Wasn't Supposed To Be In Combat. She Was Shot Down, Bled On The Controls, And Fired On The Enemy Hanging Off A Helicopter. Then The Pentagon Said It Never Happened.
That was the official position of the United States Department of Defense.
Major Mary Jennings "MJ" Hegar was an Air National Guard pilot — decorated, experienced, on her third deployment to Afghanistan. She flew medevac missions. She extracted wounded soldiers from locations no other aircraft would approach. She did this repeatedly, under conditions that most people cannot hold in their imagination.
But according to Pentagon policy, she was not a combat soldier.
On July 29th, 2009, that policy collided with reality at full speed.
Three American soldiers were bleeding out in Kandahar. Their convoy had been ambushed. The margin between their survival and their deaths was measured in minutes.
MJ co-piloted the medevac helicopter moving toward them at maximum speed.
As the aircraft approached the landing zone, Taliban fighters opened fire on it directly.
Rounds punched through the helicopter's frame. The windshield disintegrated. MJ registered the burning sensation before she understood what it was — shrapnel, driving into her arm. Then her leg. Blood soaked steadily through her flight suit.
She scanned her instruments.
"I can still fly. We're landing."
They touched down in the middle of an active firefight. Her crew moved out of the aircraft to load the wounded soldiers. MJ held the controls steady — bleeding, under fire, keeping the helicopter exactly where it needed to be while the engagement continued around her.
The wounded were loaded. The crew scrambled back aboard. MJ lifted them out.
Ninety seconds into the flight, a new emergency announced itself.
"Fuel tank's hit. We're losing it fast."
They crash-landed in hostile territory.
Four pilots. Three critically wounded soldiers. Taliban fighters converging from multiple directions.
Smaller Kiowa helicopters arrived for extraction — but their passenger capacity was limited to one person per aircraft per run. There wasn't enough capacity for everyone, and there wasn't time for repeated trips.
One option remained.
Riding the skids.
This means securing yourself to the exterior of the helicopter. Feet planted on the landing rails. One hand gripping the airframe. Fully exposed — to the rushing wind, to incoming fire, to the ground moving past at over a hundred miles an hour.
MJ secured herself to the left skid of a Kiowa. Rifle positioned across her chest. Blood still moving from the wound in her arm.
The helicopter lifted off.
Seventy yards away, a Taliban fighter emerged from cover. He raised his weapon and aimed directly at them.
MJ was suspended off the exterior of a moving aircraft. One hand on the frame. Shrapnel wounds registering with every movement.
She unslung her rifle with her free hand. Pressed it against her body.
And fired.
The fighter went down. The Kiowa banked sharply and climbed to altitude.
MJ held on.
They reached the base.
Every crew member survived. All three wounded soldiers survived.
MJ went into surgery for shrapnel removal. Weeks of recovery followed.
The military awarded her the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat.
The Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor — one of the most significant recognitions available for aerial heroism — for what she had done on that mission.
And then the Pentagon issued a statement that was extraordinary in its particular absurdity.
Women were not permitted in combat roles. Therefore, officially, she had not been in combat. None of what had occurred on July 29th could be formally recognized as combat experience for the purposes of her military career.
She had been shot down. She had bled onto the flight controls. She had engaged enemy combatants while suspended from the exterior of a moving helicopter.
And officially — it hadn't happened.
Because she was a woman. And the policy said women didn't serve in combat.

In 2012, MJ Hegar sued the Department of Defense.
She and three other female service members filed the lawsuit that became known as Hegar v. Panetta — arguing that the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy was constitutionally indefensible. That it denied women equal standing to serve, to advance in their careers, and to receive appropriate recognition for what they demonstrably, documentably did.
The Pentagon's position was that the policy existed to protect women.
MJ's response was characteristically straightforward: "I was shot down and hung off a helicopter shooting at the Taliban. Protect that."
The case generated national attention. Congressional hearings convened. A public conversation that the military establishment had successfully avoided for decades was no longer avoidable. In January 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy would be formally rescinded. By 2016, every military occupational specialty — infantry, armored units, special operations — was open to women who could meet the established standards.
A door that had been sealed for generations opened.

MJ Hegar went on to write a memoir — Shoot Like a Girl — documenting her career, the combat mission, and the legal battle that followed it. She ran for Congress. Then for the United States Senate.
She kept fighting. The way she always has.
Because her story is actually about facing two distinct and separate enemies.
The Taliban shot at her in the open. No pretense. No institutional language.
The Pentagon smiled and issued statements of support while systematically erasing everything she had actually done.
The Taliban wounded her with shrapnel from an ambush.
The Pentagon wounded her by insisting she had never been present.
She beat both of them.
The mission on July 29th, 2009 was heroism of the most direct and unambiguous kind.
The lawsuit was revolution — quieter, conducted in courtrooms rather than cockpits, but no less consequential.
There is a particular kind of courage required to fly a medevac helicopter into an active firefight in Kandahar.
There is a different kind — arguably harder to sustain — required to return from that firefight and spend years fighting your own government in court for the right to have it acknowledged.
MJ Hegar did both.
She won both.
Major Mary Jennings "MJ" Hegar. Purple Heart. Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor. The pilot who altered the landscape of American military service permanently — not by requesting permission.
By refusing to accept that the answer could be no

[The Nature Conservancy in Texas @nature_tx]

🦇 TNC's Eckert James River Bat Cave is one of the largest bat nurseries in the country. Experience the magic of a bat emergence Thursday-Sunday evenings May 29-September 6. Visit https://t.co/AXyByzDwCP for info. Call the Bat Cave hotline at 325-347-5970 before making the trip.

[The Nature Conservancy in Texas @nature_tx]

Undergraduate college students in Texas—don't miss out on this opportunity! Apply for five days of FREE outdoor learning at TNC's Davis Mountains Preserve from July 29 - August 2, 2026.

There are 15 spots available. Applications are due May 31: https://t.co/ALmtkz6hNg

[The Nature Conservancy in Texas @nature_tx]

For nearly 100 years, Skyline Ranch along the Devils River has been in the Dickinson family. Now, thanks to a coalition of conservation partners, this 6,600-acre property is permanently protected! https://t.co/mGKhPZkpYz

📷 : Kenny Braun

[Casey Telford @CaseyToGo]

FIFA painted over a beautiful, long-standing mural in Downtown Dallas.

It was gifted to the city by marine life artist & conservationist Wyland in the 90s as a reminder to protect our beloved oceans.

What an unnecessary loss, especially given no matches are actually in Dallas.

[The Nature Conservancy in Texas @nature_tx]

May flowers are here! Join us for a wildflower tour at TNC’s 1,475-acre Clymer Meadow Preserve on May 16, 2026. This rare Blackland prairie habitat is a true Texas treasure—come see it in bloom.

🌼 Reserve your spot: https://t.co/j4UpHc4IlF

[The Nature Conservancy in Texas @nature_tx]

Look who stopped by and asked to be a part of the team! Our Davis Mountains Preserve staff got a delightful surprise when this Texas Horned Lizard—a threatened species—said hello at the office door.

📷 : Kaylee French (aka Ms. Frizzle for the day)