ROC Soldier

Old tank soldier thankful to be here. ROTM

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Mark Carney’s statement that “large American online platforms have become seas of racism, misogyny, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate in all its forms” and that “my government will act” is one of the most idiotic and revealing things a Canadian leader has said in years.
It perfectly exposes the authoritarian mindset: rather than have the moral courage to respond to criticism, engage with dissenting arguments, or defend his policies with facts and reason, he’d rather lead a country where speech is suppressed.
Platforms like X don’t create hate — they simply allow people to say what they actually think without government-approved filters. That includes blunt talk about mass immigration, crime statistics, cultural incompatibility, economic failures, and the consequences of the last decade of Liberal governance. When those unfiltered opinions become inconvenient, the default response from people like Carney isn’t “let’s debate this” or “maybe we got some things wrong.” It’s “we’ll act” — code for regulation, fines, deplatforming, or outright blocking platforms that refuse to censor on Canada’s behalf.
This isn’t protecting children or fighting “hate.” It’s protecting fragile political narratives from reality. True leadership would mean addressing why so many Canadians are angry enough to say these things in the first place. Suppressing the speech doesn’t make the underlying problems disappear — it just makes the government look even more afraid of its own citizens.
X exists precisely because too many governments and legacy institutions no longer trust people to hear competing ideas. Carney’s instinct to “act” against it tells you everything you need to know about which side of that divide he’s on. And will continue to hold the great potential of Canada down. @MarkJCarney

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Mark Carney’s statement that “large American online platforms have become seas of racism, misogyny, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate in all its forms” and that “my government will act” is one of the most idiotic and revealing things a Canadian leader has said in years.
It perfectly exposes the authoritarian mindset: rather than have the moral courage to respond to criticism, engage with dissenting arguments, or defend his policies with facts and reason, he’d rather lead a country where speech is suppressed.
Platforms like X don’t create hate — they simply allow people to say what they actually think without government-approved filters. That includes blunt talk about mass immigration, crime statistics, cultural incompatibility, economic failures, and the consequences of the last decade of Liberal governance. When those unfiltered opinions become inconvenient, the default response from people like Carney isn’t “let’s debate this” or “maybe we got some things wrong.” It’s “we’ll act” — code for regulation, fines, deplatforming, or outright blocking platforms that refuse to censor on Canada’s behalf.
This isn’t protecting children or fighting “hate.” It’s protecting fragile political narratives from reality. True leadership would mean addressing why so many Canadians are angry enough to say these things in the first place. Suppressing the speech doesn’t make the underlying problems disappear — it just makes the government look even more afraid of its own citizens.
X exists precisely because too many governments and legacy institutions no longer trust people to hear competing ideas. Carney’s instinct to “act” against it tells you everything you need to know about which side of that divide he’s on.

[Dave Portnoy @stoolpresidente]

Sometimes I exaggerate or say things for views. This is not one of those times. When you declare neutrality in every single World War like Belgium has done and rely on the United States to save your ass you lose your right to complain about an overturned red card 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Mayor Mamdani just delivered one of the most disgusting, anti-American speeches in recent memory on the eve of our nation’s 250th birthday.
He stood at George Washington’s desk and essentially accused large parts of this country of believing “America belongs only to those with the right shade of skin.”
That is a vile, race-baiting lie.
This man — an immigrant who came here and became Mayor of the greatest city in the world — has no idea what the United States actually is.
America isn’t defined by grievance, skin color, or the failures of the past. It’s the only country in history where your origin doesn’t determine your destiny. Where a kid from anywhere can become anything. Where we built the freest, most prosperous society on Earth by rejecting exactly the tribal, racial thinking he’s peddling.
We don’t need lectures from someone who clearly despises the country that gave him everything.
Happy 250th, America. We’re still the greatest nation on Earth — and clowns like this will never change that. 🇺🇸

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Looks like Vladimir Zelenskyy has a part time job in one of Roma’s best restaurants.

[Paul Bond @WriterPaulBond]

On this Independence Day, I present “The Patriot” starring Mel Gibson, which I’ve recommended for 26 years, as it is an under-appreciated revenge-justice movie. Detractors note historical inaccuracies, though filmmakers never claimed it was a true story. But… they did get some history right:

- The Southern Campaign was brutal warfare — exactly as the film shows. Battle sites like Cowpens and Ninety Six highlight how neighbors fought neighbors (Patriots vs Loyalists).

- Benjamin Martin (Gibson’s character) is a composite of real militia leaders: Francis Marion (“Swamp Fox”), Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens & Daniel Morgan.

- Guerrilla tactics (ambushes, swamp hideouts, supply raids) mirror Marion’s real operations and how these wore down British forces in the Carolinas.

- The film’s climactic battle draws from Cowpens (1781); Daniel Morgan’s clever double-line tactics defeated Banastre Tarleton.

- Tarleton is a bit like the fictional Col. Tavington in the film, as he was notoriously brutal. His forces once overran a surrendering American unit. His nickname, “Bloody Ban,” helped turn him into a symbol of British cruelty, boosting recruitment and morale for the Patriot side.

Anyways, that all comes from the National Park Service, which gives tours of Cowpens and Ninety Six, while its tour guides often mention the film.

Enjoy the “Battle of Cowpens” scene from the movie, where the Patriots use the double-line trick. Gibson’s patriotic flag-waving is one reason the left hates this film (another is that it downplays slavery).

[Robert Irvine @RobertIrvine]

AMERICA 250

I think it's cool to be an American.

I think it's cool to love your country.

I think it's cool…

…that this country took a kid from England with nothing but a dream and gave him every shot to build a life he never could have imagined back home

…that I get to serve the men and women who wear the cloth of our nation through the Robert Irvine Foundation

...that in the picture above, a guy who came up in the British Royal Navy is becoming an Honorary Chief Petty Officer of the US Navy

…that after 250 years, the American idea is still the boldest bet on human freedom the world has ever seen

…that no matter where you start or what your name is, America still bets on the person willing to outwork everybody else

…that the right to fail, learn, and come back swinging is the greatest gifts this country offers

…that my daughters got to grow up in a place where their only limits are the ones they set for themselves

I think it's cool to love your country.

I think it's cool to be an American.

God bless this great nation of ours.

Happy Fourth to all who celebrate.

To everyone else, grab a plate and pull up a chair. There's so much more I'd love to tell you about this place, which turned out to be everything I dreamed of and so much more. This country belongs to all who are willing to show up and do the work of building it.

That's worth celebrating.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Sad commentary and it keeps getting worse. Can the citizens of the once great Empire State do the right thing and replace this machine that has caused so much strife.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Fabulous

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

@WhiteHouse @PressSec President Trump is right.
Many of us have spent our adult lives fighting communism and radical Islam abroad. We are all committed to fighting this same threat at home until our last breath.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

https://t.co/WQXbfM34Un Predictably, mainstream-legacy coverage frames every removal, every blocked promotion, and every billet reduction as unprecedented politicization or a “purge.” The primary sources for these narratives are often retired or former senior officers who rose under the prior incentive structure—precisely the cohort Dixon would flag as products of a conformist system.

These voices, now operating as pundits and commentators, supply the institutional credibility the media needs to portray routine executive-branch personnel management as existential threat. The result is a feedback loop: natural correction of policy failure is recast as chaos; legitimate reassertion of civilian priorities is labeled “loyalty tests”; and any disruption to careers built on the old rules is treated as scandal rather than overdue course correction . .

[BostonWriter @bostonwriter]

If this sort of thing doesn’t stop you in your tracks and make even the slightest twinge of pride rise in your soul… well… I feel sorry for you.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Celebrating Somali Independence Day in Rochester—with music, the Somali national anthem, poetry, speeches, and city landmarks lit blue—days before America’s own birthday? This is exactly what’s wrong with the refusal to demand assimilation.
The United States is not a hotel or a collection of foreign enclaves. It’s a nation. People who come here are granted the extraordinary privilege of living in the freest, most opportunity-rich country on Earth. That privilege carries a clear responsibility: assimilate. Learn English. Adopt our laws, our culture, and our identity as Americans first. Preserve family recipes and stories if you want—but don’t turn public spaces and local government into platforms for celebrating another country’s political independence.
Italian-Americans and German-Americans didn’t show up demanding official city recognition for Italy’s Republic Day or German Unity Day. They became Americans. They built lives here, fought in our wars, and celebrated July 4th as their holiday. That’s how the melting pot worked. It produced one people out of many.
Publicly elevating a foreign national anniversary—complete with local media coverage and city participation—while we’re on the doorstep of our own Independence Day sends the opposite message: that loyalty to the old country matters as much as loyalty to the new one. That’s not enrichment. That’s fragmentation.
If the Republic of Somalia is worth singing anthems and lighting landmarks for, then the people celebrating it should feel free to return and help build it up. America doesn’t owe anyone a stage for foreign patriotism. It asks for Americans.

[ROC Soldier @OldRocSoldier]

Yep

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Celebrating Somali Independence Day in Rochester—with music, the Somali national anthem, poetry, speeches, and city landmarks lit blue—days before America’s own birthday? This is exactly what’s wrong with the refusal to demand assimilation.
The United States is not a hotel or a collection of foreign enclaves. It’s a nation. People who come here are granted the extraordinary privilege of living in the freest, most opportunity-rich country on Earth. That privilege carries a clear responsibility: assimilate. Learn English. Adopt our laws, our culture, and our identity as Americans first. Preserve family recipes and stories if you want—but don’t turn public spaces and local government into platforms for celebrating another country’s political independence.
Italian-Americans and German-Americans didn’t show up demanding official city recognition for Italy’s Republic Day or German Unity Day. They became Americans. They built lives here, fought in our wars, and celebrated July 4th as their holiday. That’s how the melting pot worked. It produced one people out of many.
Publicly elevating a foreign national anniversary—complete with local media coverage and city participation—while we’re on the doorstep of our own Independence Day sends the opposite message: that loyalty to the old country matters as much as loyalty to the new one. That’s not enrichment. That’s fragmentation.
If the Republic of Somalia is worth singing anthems and lighting landmarks for, then the people celebrating it should feel free to return and help build it up. America doesn’t owe anyone a stage for foreign patriotism. It asks for Americans.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

@HouseVetAffairs
What H.R. 9237 actually does is force the VA to implement rating cuts that the VA itself has been unwilling (or unable) to push through on its own via normal rulemaking.
Living with a CPAP machine strapped to your face every single night for the rest of your life may be called “effective treatment,” but it is not a cure. It is a permanent, daily degradation of your existence caused by your service. The same goes for tinnitus — constant, unrelenting ringing that no treatment fully eliminates.
“Effective treatment” does not mean the disability has been erased or that you’ve been restored to your pre-service condition. It means you are now forced to manage a diminished quality of life every single day because of what you gave in uniform. That is exactly what disability compensation is supposed to recognize.
Stop lying to veterans. Read Section 108. Veterans know the difference between managing symptoms and actually being made whole.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

@HouseVetAffairs
What H.R. 9237 actually does is force the VA to implement rating cuts that the VA itself has been unwilling (or unable) to push through on its own via normal rulemaking.
Living with a CPAP machine strapped to your face every single night for the rest of your life may be called “effective treatment,” but it is not a cure. It is a permanent, daily degradation of your existence caused by your service. The same goes for tinnitus — constant, unrelenting ringing that no treatment fully eliminates.
“Effective treatment” does not mean the disability has been erased or that you’ve been restored to your pre-service condition. It means you are now forced to manage a diminished quality of life every single day because of what you gave in uniform. That is exactly what disability compensation is supposed to recognize.
Stop lying to veterans. Read Section 108. Veterans know the difference between managing symptoms and actually being made whole.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

Celebrating Somali Independence Day in Rochester—with music, the Somali national anthem, poetry, speeches, and city landmarks lit blue—days before America’s own birthday? This is exactly what’s wrong with the refusal to demand assimilation.
The United States is not a hotel or a collection of foreign enclaves. It’s a nation. People who come here are granted the extraordinary privilege of living in the freest, most opportunity-rich country on Earth. That privilege carries a clear responsibility: assimilate. Learn English. Adopt our laws, our culture, and our identity as Americans first. Preserve family recipes and stories if you want—but don’t turn public spaces and local government into platforms for celebrating another country’s political independence.
Italian-Americans and German-Americans didn’t show up demanding official city recognition for Italy’s Republic Day or German Unity Day. They became Americans. They built lives here, fought in our wars, and celebrated July 4th as their holiday. That’s how the melting pot worked. It produced one people out of many.
Publicly elevating a foreign national anniversary—complete with local media coverage and city participation—while we’re on the doorstep of our own Independence Day sends the opposite message: that loyalty to the old country matters as much as loyalty to the new one. That’s not enrichment. That’s fragmentation.
If the Republic of Somalia is worth singing anthems and lighting landmarks for, then the people celebrating it should feel free to return and help build it up. America doesn’t owe anyone a stage for foreign patriotism. It asks for Americans.

[ROC Soldier @OldRocSoldier]

Nails it.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

@FloppingAces The Obama-Era Social Experiment and the Necessary Reset: How This Administration Is Restoring Warfighting Primacy https://t.co/fIuvgAH21G… The test is whether the force that emerges is more lethal, more adaptable, and more single-mindedly focused on its core mission.

[PaulCiminelli @PaulCiminelli]

@RepJoeMorelle
The entrenched DC establishment you’re part of has spent decades cheerleading endless wars, blank checks, and forever entanglements while pretending to care about “hardworking Americans.”
President Trump has actually worked to end those wars and avoid new ones. What’s happening now isn’t reckless endless war — it’s targeted strategic action to eliminate a direct threat to the nation, with defined objectives and a full DIME approach.
We understand real national security and decisive leadership are far beyond your experience and capabilities and the nation can work toward multiple objectives simultaneously. Sometimes it’s wiser to stay quiet than to advertise how limited you are.