Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
America just sent astronauts to the far side of the moon and back – and sent them the furthest from Earth that any human has ever gone. And by all accounts, the mission was 100% successful. The bravery of these astronauts and their expertise, combined with that of our engineers, scientists, and manufacturers, can not be understated. American astronauts last landed on the moon in December 1972 – over 50 years ago. No astronaut has since landed on the moon. This trip, which included circling the moon, was in preparation for an eventual permanent station on the moon.
AMERICA MILITARY LEAVES NO ONE BEHIND UNDER TRUMP
Another Amazing Feat by Americans
The Rescue of the downed F-15E pilot and weapons systems officer.
This article in Navyseal.com gives a detailed timeline and description of the rescue, including this summary:
The successful recovery of the “Dude 44” crew stands as a landmark achievement in modern special operations. It was a “no-fail” mission that tested the limits of American technology, intelligence, and bravery. From the CIA’s deception tactics to the Night Stalkers’ precision flying and the sheer endurance of the downed airmen, the operation proved that the U.S. military will go to any length to ensure no one is left behind.
This has been a week of American Grit, Courage, and Exceptionalism
Without a doubt America proved in the course of one week what it is capable of in terms of commitment to our people and the mission. Both the rescue of the downed F-15E airmen and the safe and successful trip to the far side of the moon and back by Artemis II took years of America’s finest minds solving complex problems.
Our military found a man hidden in a rock crevice through a device that can detect a heart murmur miles away. NASA sent four astronauts further than any person had gone in space and successfully landed them back on earth.
These feats are a culmination of vision and leadership and the courage by individuals to carryout these treacherous missions. Are Americans paying attention? If they are, do they understand the historic and significant events that just occurred?
And moreover, what’s the likelihood that these events would have occurred under a Kamala Harris presidency?
General Frank McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command, spoke on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” with political correspondent Ed O’Keefe. on April 5, 2026. His comments are worth noting.
Gen. Mckenzie’s remarks about the mission:
So I think I’d draw two lessons from it, Ed. First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot, to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly. It’s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory, we have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them. It’s a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women. So that plan swung into action. I think it was executed pretty effectively. As always, you’ve got somebody on the ground, may be injured. They got to get to a position where they can hide until you can get to them. All that seemed to work out very well. And you know, we did, in fact, lose a couple of aircraft in that in that mission. But I would just tell you, it takes a year to build an aircraft. It takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind. You take the aircraft trade any day in a situation like this.
In case you read past the full comment – this was the critical statement:
“It takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind.”
The military used hundreds of personnel, multiple planes, helicopters, built a temporary airstrip, deployed the best of the best warriors, and set up a diversion using multiple intelligence units to rescue one weapons systems officer.
Those actions build an ethos that penetrates to the very last soldier, sailor, and airman and builds loyalty and commitment necessary to win on the battlefield. It’s this type of commitment we owe to those who put themselves in harm’s way for us. For more about this, read The ‘Moral Imperative’ Behind the Rescues in Iran
The feats displayed this week are not possible without a culture that supports meritocracy and understands the enduring battle we confront to preserve our constitutional republic. In Illinois, that battle is front and center as the progressive Left continues to insist on DEI policies instead of meritocracy; support millions of illegals who refuse to assimilate; undermine our institutions by frauding taxpayers, and destroy our education system.
Our West Point Class of 1987 motto is “Our Country We Strengthen.” The motto is one that every American should consider individually and collectively. It crosses my mind with nearly every news story and policy debate. Is this person acting in furtherance of American exceptionalism and in accordance with our founding principles? Does this policy support people’s right to self-determination and individual liberty?
Here’s a look at just a few things that are obviously concerning with regards to the above. Are these people and their policies strengthening our country?
University of Illinois President Tim Killeen testifying in Senate Education Appropriations Committee 3.31.26
41% of Students Attending University of Illinois Pay No Tuition or Fees
The University of Illinois President testified in the IL Senate Appropriations Committee that 41% of his students pay no tuition or fees.
The President said that among their three campuses, they have a total of 101,000 students. Some of those are graduate students; still, it could be well over 30,000 undergraduate students who pay nothing for their college education. Who are the students who pay nothing? No one asked in committee.
They are not all in the ROTC program, athletic recruits, or merit scholars with near-perfect ACT or SAT scores. Some are likely receiving The Illinois Promise Scholarship. It provides tuition, fees, housing, and other support for low-income Illinoisans through grants, scholarships, and a minimal work requirement. But do these students make up the majority who are attending for free?
How many of these students are not citizens since Illinois opened up taxpayer-funded financial aid to non-citizens? Just this week, another bill, sponsored by State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, a Democrat representing Aurora, passed that would give illegal aliens in-state tuition. She’s trying to codify an already ongoing practice of giving illegals special benefits that citizens don’t receive and it is a practice that the federal government is suing Illinois over. Read more about that in this article –
President Killen also mentioned that enrollment is up overall, with Black enrollment up 10% and Hispanic enrollment up 9%. So what – are they qualified? His chancellors from UIC and UIS noted that the universities are geared to “student success,” and they touted their summer bridge programs. Those programs are for academically challenged students.
They receive summer remedial classes to bring them up to speed before they start regular classes in the fall. This isn’t new. They’ve been doing it for years, but it begs the question if the students should even be admitted.
Wrap-around services continue as well. Student intake includes assessing them for qualifying for Medicaid, food stamps, or taxpayer-funded child care. Since when did college students qualify for these benefits?
There are so many unanswered questions following this hearing. At what rate do these academically challenged students receiving free education stay in school and graduate? And what do they study?
Needless to say, the university president requested more money for this year’s budget. How about starting with every student having skin in the game, being a citizen, and being fully qualified before receiving any taxpayer funding? His budget increase request could be filled by all those paying nothing, just working in the summer, to pay $1,000 towards tuition and fees.
Chicago Teachers Union and Illinois Federation of Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates
Arguably, nothing the CTU or IFT stand for leads to American exceptionalism. They represent literal failure factories in public education that waste money and leave children behind. Now they plan on taking May 1st off from school as a “Day of Civic Action” that involves both teachers and students. They vow to stand up for worker rights and against President Trump. On May Day, they are encouraging no work, no school, no shopping for the day. Chicago Tribune noted the following in its editorial on the CTU’s plan:
“curriculum CTU recommends teachers use on that day goes well beyond teaching about labor history and dives into full-blown political advocacy.
For example, the union wants preschoolers to do a group project making protest signs. “Write a sign about something you think is unfair and want to change,” the directions read. We can imagine parents might be a little confused to see their 3- and 4-year-olds engaged in mock political protest.
The plan for older students is blatant. CTU has abandoned the idea that education is meant to teach kids how to think and jumped straight to telling them what to think, with an entire portion of the high school curriculum labeled, “Things Donald Trump Did This Year You Might Have Missed,” presenting a one-sided case against the president.”…
For the record CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Macquline King opposes the CTU May Day plan and insists that schools will remain open on May 1st and operating as normal.
The CTU’s May Day plan can be read HERE and includes this statement.
Millions of people – families, students, workers, and educators – are planning to make May 1st a powerful day of standing up for democracy, standing up to tyranny, and the next step in civil society to reclaim our country from the authoritarian billionaire in the White House.
Will Stacy Davis Gates be pulling her own teenager out of the PRIVATE SCHOOL he attends that day to join his mom for a day of political activism?
How about Speaker Chris Welch will he have his kid pulled from private school to join in the fun? This week Welch bragged in an X post that his son will attend Nazareth Catholic School in the fall. His kid currently attends private school Timothy Christian.
Strengthening America? None of these bills will make the slightest difference to our nation or state.
This week the Illinois House of Representatives passed 133 bills – none of them capped property taxes, ended the sanctuary state law or repealed the SAFE-T Act. Likely, none of the bills will even impact you, your family, or your business in any positive, meaningful way. Of the 133 bills, only 15 were sponsored by Republicans and even those bills were small tweaks about niche issues.
And where’s Da Bears legislation? No one knows. The only reason to care, though, is that if Da Bears get a property tax deal, then all of us should get one. Who doesn’t want a 40-year cap at a lower value on their property taxes?
Bills requiring ingredient labeling on diapers, defining “play-based education” for kindergarten, and requiring high schools to offer voter registration to students all passed the IL House. Capitol News did a summary on some of the other bills that passed in this article.
To summarize, it’s been a historic, amazing week in America. Certainly, manufacturers, scientists, and engineers located in Illinois or educated here played a part in both the rescue of the airmen and the successful Artemis II mission. We are a state that in the past has contributed much to America’s success, and we can say that specifically in regards to the University of Illinois, after all, the first transistor was developed at UofI. But our big institutions need to weed out all the nonsense and return to systems that are run on meritocracy – our nation’s strength depends on that.
Other stories to read.
Average Single-Family Home Property Tax Bill Rose 3 Percent in 2025
Illinois has the highest property tax rate. The article has the rate for every county in the U.S. so you can compare your county to others inside and outside the state.
Wisconsin sheriff suing local woman, Cook County commissioner over detention claims
Democrat HOAX – Wisconsin’s Dodge County Sheriff suing Cook County Board Commissioner and failed Congressional candidate Kevin Morrison for $1 million.
CEJA workforce hubs deliver hope – Not really, read the article.
Another taxpayer scam. Paying students $13/hour to become employable in the renewable energy sector. Only 15% job placement. Plus, a bridge program to teach soft employment skills before teaching actual job-related skills. The community college gets state money to put this on. All of this is fueled by higher taxes and increased electric bills.