The FBI raided an office and a cannabis dispensary connected to Virginia Democratic State Senate leader Louise Lucas, a key figure in the congressional redistricting battle.
The raid, which took place on Wednesday morning, was related to a public corruption investigation, a source familiar with the search told The Daily Wire. Fox News correspondent Alex Hogan told Fox News host Harris Faulkner that federal agents were executing &#8220;court-authorized criminal search warrants&#8221; at Lucas&#8217;s office in Portsmouth, Virginia — and a dispensary next door.
WATCH:
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NOW: An FBI raid is unfolding at the office of Virginia Democratic State Sen. Louise Lucas — and it’s already drawing serious attention.
Multiple people on the scene are reportedly being taken into custody as agents move through the area.
The office sits near several cannabis… <a href="https://t.co/WIcn9xrzOy">pic.twitter.com/WIcn9xrzOy</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/2052047300961182188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The FBI is currently carrying out a raid at the office of Senator Louise Lucas in Portsmouth, VA. Here at this nearby cannabis dispensary, at least three people were taken into custody. Federal law enforcement say they’re conducting “court authorized criminal search warrants”. <a href="https://t.co/UL2c7yAk0L">pic.twitter.com/UL2c7yAk0L</a>
— Alex Hogan (@AlexHoganTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexHoganTV/status/2052049720147640820?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;All of the staffers inside this building were told to come outside, I could hear them saying that they were not allowed back in the building,&#8221; Hogan said, reporting from the street in front of Lucas&#8217;s office. &#8220;Throughout the last hour, we&#8217;ve been seeing the FBI come and go, carrying boxes out of the building.&#8221;
&#8220;Just across the parking lot, next to where I am, there&#8217;s a cannabis dispensary, we know that the state senator is associated with several cannabis locations and dispensaries, and what we&#8217;re seeing is there a completely different scene with SWAT teams arrived with guns drawn, telling anyone in the building to come out of the building with their hands up.&#8221;
Hogan said that she&#8217;d also seen three people taken, put on the ground, cuffed, and taken into custody as the events of the morning had played out.
Lucas herself appeared on the scene at one point during the raid, and when Hogan asked for her reaction to the law enforcement action, she said that she had &#8220;no idea&#8221; what the FBI was doing there. Hogan confirmed that at least ten locations were being &#8220;looked at&#8221; by federal agents in connection with the same case.
The probe, Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin reported, was launched during former President Joe Biden&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2052089902561476706">administration</a>.
Lucas, the President Pro Tempore of the Virginia Senate, was a key player in her party&#8217;s efforts to gerrymander a dramatic Democratic advantage in Virginia&#8217;s congressional map. She has often jabbed at newly elected Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), claiming that she has a &#8220;credibility problem.&#8221;
Wednesday&#8217;s raid was not Lucas&#8217;s first <a href="https://www.whro.org/local-news/2020-11-16/judge-dismisses-charges-against-sen-louise-lucas">brush with the law</a>, as she was previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-democrat-charged-with-multiple-felonies-for-her-alleged-role-in-destroying-statue">charged</a> with felony conspiracy and <span data-subtree="aimfl,mfl" data-processed="true" data-copy-service-computed-style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);">injury to a monument exceeding $1,000 after she took part in a 2020 protest where a Confederate monument was vandalized.
Her Democrat allies in the state, from then-Governor Ralph Northam to former-Governor Terry McAuliffe, suggested that Lucas was only charged because she was black. Portsmouth <a href="https://www.whro.org/local-news/2020-11-16/portsmouth-police-chief-angela-greene-fired">Police Chief Angela Greene</a>, who charged Lucas and 18 others who participated in the protest, was also black. Greene was fired before Lucas&#8217;s case was even heard, and the city officials responsible for her termination would only say that it was &#8220;a personnel matter&#8221; and that she could be fired at any time because she was an &#8220;at-will&#8221; employee. The charges against Lucas were dropped later that same year.
She also made headlines during the 2025 Virginia election cycle when she backed Attorney General Jay Jones (D-VA) after text messages surfaced in which he&#8217;d fantasized about shooting a Republican lawmaker. Posting an image that said &#8220;Virginia is for lovers, not snitches,&#8221; Lucas made it clear that her anger was directed at the people who&#8217;d exposed Jones rather than the candidate himself, who&#8217;d advocated for political violence.
As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Luke Rosiak <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-virginia-dem-depicts-jay-jones-assaulting-opponent-lashes-out-at-snitch">reported</a>, Lucas announced her plan to push ahead with her extra-legal redistricting efforts even then.
<blockquote>Lucas also reposted a comment calling her “ruthless,” and said she intends to redistrict the state (where Republican candidates received 43%, 45%, and 47% of the vote on Tuesday) has only a <a href="https://x.com/SenLouiseLucas/status/1985946539311702233" target="_blank" rel="noopener">single Republican</a> in Congress.
That would involve a similarly ruthless move. Democrats enacted a 45-day early voting period, which caused some people to vote before learning about Jones’ support for violence. But for purposes of amending the Constitution to get rid of nonpartisan redistricting – which requires giving voters the chance to punish politicians at the ballot box for trying such a move – they ignored the fact that many had already cast ballots before they initiated the controversial move, counting only Tuesday as the “election.”
Outgoing Attorney General Miyares issued an opinion saying that it would be illegal, but Lucas <a href="https://x.com/SenLouiseLucas/status/1983333834138759316" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said,</a> “Your opinions are sh*t. They’re f*cking sh*t.”</blockquote>
The newly drawn <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-legal-fight-over-virginias-redistricting-has-just-begun">Virginia map</a> passed in an April election, but legal challenges have put the measure on hold.

Investiture Held For Cleo Powell, First Black Chief Justice Of Virginia’s Supreme Court

A Dem Power Broker’s Wild Morning As FBI Raids Hit Her Cannabis Dispensary

Feds Raid Office And Dispensary Tied To High-Powered Democrat

abigail spanberger

Confederacy

Redistricting

Statues

Virginia

In a move that underscores a commitment to religious freedom and moral accountability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Tuesday that they have successfully replaced a statue of Jesus in the southern Lebanese village of Debel. The original religious monument had been damaged by a lone Israeli soldier, sparking immediate condemnation from Israel’s military leadership and a swift effort to make amends.
The IDF’s Northern Command spearheaded the restoration, working in &#8220;full coordination&#8221; with the local Christian community to ensure the sacred symbol was replaced.
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A short while ago, in full coordination with the local community of Debel in southern Lebanon, the damaged statue was replaced by IDF troops. The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident.
The IDF… <a href="https://t.co/nGh1s1iia1">pic.twitter.com/nGh1s1iia1</a>
&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/2046597268904558765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In a <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2046589834341351758">statement</a> released on X, the IDF expressed &#8220;deep regret&#8221; over the incident, characterizing the destruction as a &#8220;moral failure&#8221; that contradicts the fundamental values of the Jewish state and its military.
Beyond merely replacing the physical property, Israel took decisive disciplinary action to uphold its standards of conduct. The soldier who damaged the statue and the individual who filmed the act have both been removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days of military detention. Furthermore, the remaining troops present during the incident have been summoned for clarification discussions, with the Chief of the General Staff reinforcing that such behavior &#8220;far exceeds any acceptable standard.&#8221;
This swift restorative justice stands in stark contrast to the treatment of Christian institutions in many neighboring Muslim and Arab states. While Israel officially recognizes ten Christian denominations and grants them internal autonomy, other nations in the region continue to enforce systemic prohibitions. In Saudi Arabia, the construction of public Christian churches remains strictly forbidden under a rigid interpretation of Islamic law. In Somalia and Yemen, open Christian worship is virtually non-existent, often carrying the threat of execution by extremist groups like al-Shabaab or the Houthis.
The honorable conduct displayed in Debel also highlights a growing global disparity in religious safety. While Israel took immediate steps to punish its own for a single act of vandalism, Christian communities elsewhere face far more lethal threats. In Nigeria, militant groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP continue to bomb and burn churches, with over 3,400 Christians killed in 2025 alone. Similarly, in Pakistan, &#8220;mob justice&#8221; frequently leads to the destruction of dozens of churches over mere rumors of blasphemy.
By taking responsibility for the actions of a few and working with Lebanese locals to restore their religious heritage, Israel has demonstrated a Western-style tolerance that remains rare in the Middle East. The IDF has pledged to reinforce procedures regarding religious symbols for all troops, ensuring that the protection of faith remains a cornerstone of its operational ethics.

Silhouette of soldier saluting with Israel flag on background of sunrise or sunset. Armed forces of Israel concept

After Jesus Statue Is Vandalized, Israel Takes Swift Action

Christianity

Global Politics

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Lebanon

Religion

World

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1911-ilhan-omar-admits-she-wants-president-trump-dead?elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
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Zohran Mamdani is very, very upset because the federal government has reportedly removed the rainbow gay pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument.
Here’s what Mamdani had to say:
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I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.
Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/2021308844308045912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Credit: NYCMayor/X.com
First of all, this is a bit of vindication for me because when everyone was saying that Mamdani was going to establish Sharia law in New York — saying he&#8217;s some kind of Islamist terrorist — I said, you know, would that it were so simple. In some ways it would be preferable if he were a serious Muslim; you can kind of talk to a Muslim.
I think it&#8217;s worse. I think he&#8217;s not just a far-leftist but a millennial leftist who plays up the Muslim thing because of identity politics. He knows it will help win over some immigrants. There’s also a radical Left and Muslim alliance because they have a common enemy, which is America and the Church and the white man or whatever — you know, the usual enemies of the Left.
And so, I said that&#8217;s true. But if push comes to shove, he&#8217;s going to side with leftism over Islam. Just like when push comes to shove, Joe Biden says he&#8217;s Catholic and he&#8217;s liberal. But when there&#8217;s a conflict between the two, he always picks liberalism. He never picks Catholicism. So his real faith is liberalism.
And that was my argument with Mamdani. And I think I&#8217;m totally vindicated in that. 
Now, Mamdani is very upset because Trump took the pride flags away from Stonewall.
What is Stonewall? The Stonewall Inn was a filthy, truly degenerate, disease-ridden, Mafia-run bar. It was a hive of crime, decadence, and debauchery in New York City. And then, when the cops raided the filthy, illegal Mafia-run bar — not illegal because it was hosting gay people  — when that happened, a bunch of sexual deviants, including famously a trans-identifying guy, started chucking bricks at the cops. As a result, we now side with the gay Mafia bar attacking cops. That is the thing that we&#8217;ve exalted as a national monument. But because it&#8217;s a national monument, the federal government has a say over it.
And Trump has come out and said, look, you can fly the US flag at federal properties, you can fly certain military flags like missing-in-action, prisoner-of-war flags, but that&#8217;s basically it. You know, the flag of the Army or the Navy or something where that&#8217;s appropriate, but that&#8217;s it. We&#8217;re not doing the BLM flag. We&#8217;re not doing the gay flag. We&#8217;re not doing the trans flag. We&#8217;re not doing the terrorist trans flag — I call that the terrorist gay flag. So the federal government said we&#8217;re not doing that.
But it begs the question: why do we have a national monument to Stonewall in the first place? What do we have a national monument to weird sex stuff? And why is a liberal New York politician, the most prominent left-wing New York politician, why is he all of a sudden so concerned about tearing down monuments? 
The left has spent ten years tearing down monuments to all of the men who built this country. Monuments to Christopher Columbus — there was a big push for that in New York — constantly defacing the Columbus monument in Columbus Circle. There were also attacks on even Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Thomas Jefferson, and certainly on Robert E. Lee.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1911-ilhan-omar-admits-she-wants-president-trump-dead?elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show on DailyWire+.</a></h3>
So all these guys — we&#8217;ve got to tear down all these monuments — and the only monument we have to keep up, the only monument we can&#8217;t tear down, is the weird sex flag on the weird sex place, which was actually a bar run by the Mafia.  
Now, before Republicans get too high on our horse, I just want to point out what the libs are doing is destroying history and tearing down the traditions and fabric of our country, in some cases tangibly, which is bad.
But we want to tear some things down too — maybe not in as blunt a way as the libs do, maybe not in as blunt a way as the Taliban does. We&#8217;re not blowing up the Buddha statues, okay? But we do want to tear things down in the way that you prune a garden, not the way you blow up a Buddha in Afghanistan, but the way you prune a garden. I do want to get rid of the Stonewall National Memorial. It&#8217;s ridiculous. It&#8217;s ridiculous that we have a monument to a Mafia-run gay bar best known for assaulting police officers and for spreading diseases. We should not have a monument to that. That&#8217;s degrading to our country.
You can be nice to people who have some weird sexual behaviors. You can be nice to them. You can be somewhat tolerant of that without putting up a freaking monument to the Mafia gay bar. That&#8217;s insane. Not only should we be taking the pride flag away from that, we should be removing that as a national monument. 
I don&#8217;t want monuments up to people like Malcolm X or Angela Davis. Even if they&#8217;re figures from American history, they represent bad stuff. 
I don&#8217;t want monuments up to the Rosenbergs who were communist spies. 
I don&#8217;t want a monument to someone like Alger Hiss.
I don&#8217;t want them. I don&#8217;t want monuments to people who are bad for this country.
Once again, I made this point in my book Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds about speech. The false dichotomy when we&#8217;re talking about free speech is between free speech and censorship, when really the real battle is between competing sets of standards, because all societies have standards.
The same thing is true here. The real debate is not: Do we tear down the statues or do we leave them standing? The real question is: Who is worthy of a statue? Who&#8217;s worthy of a monument? Who&#8217;s worthy of veneration as a political matter?

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference

Mamdani Cries Foul Over Removal Of Pride Flag

Michael Knowles

monuments

New York City

Pride Flag

Zohran Mamdani

The markets are responding positively to a vast shift in the direction of the Trump economic policy direction (a little change that I&#8217;ve been calling for since well before Liberation Day). I&#8217;m very happy about it as well.
There’s a reason that&#8217;s vitally important: Right now, the Republicans have a lot of running room, and one of the reasons they have a lot of running room is because the Democrats continue to be insane.
I don&#8217;t just mean they&#8217;re insane in terms of their policy preferences, although many of those policy preferences are quite crazy. I mean, culturally speaking, the Democrats seem determined to do ridiculous things. People on the Left in big cities continue to push ridiculous policies and imagery that is going to make them more unpopular, which gives Republicans a lot of running room.
Here&#8217;s the latest bizarre example, although it&#8217;s symptomatic of a broader crisis inside the Democratic Party, courtesy of Times Square in Manhattan.
There is a brand-new 12-foot statue in Times Square titled “Grounded in the Stars” by an artist named Thomas J Price. What is this 12-foot tall statue that is “grounded in the stars?”
It appears to be a slightly to moderately overweight black woman wearing jeans that are too tight for her, wearing a T-shirt that she apparently got at Walmart, and staring angrily at the cashier at CVS.
There&#8217;s nothing about this that is aspirational. There&#8217;s nothing about this that is inspiring. This person is completely anonymous. We have no idea what makes her a hero or heroine.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2195-member-exclusive?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Apparently, just being kind of grumpy in front of a TSA agent is enough to make you one of the heroes of American society. The statue was meant to be a stark contrast to two other statues in Duffy Square: One of Father Francis Duffy and the other of George M. Cohan, the founder of Broadway, the Great White Way. 
Father Duffy was a Canadian-American soldier, a Catholic priest and a military chaplain who served in the 69th Infantry Regiment on the Western Front in France during World War I. Duffy Square is named for him.
These are actual-heroic and world-changing figures.
But the new statue is meant to be a contrast, because this person is just a person who might need a dose of Ozempic and looks frumpy and mad and uninspiring.
According to the website for this particular work, the statue was created with the idea of “disrupting traditional ideas.” The Left is constantly attempting to disrupt traditional ideas.
But perhaps a traditional idea is good, such as, “You should have to do something heroic for us to build you a statue.” It shouldn&#8217;t just be a random black lady, although I do understand that for the Left, the basic idea is that every hero of the past is actually a villain, and the only person for whom you put up a statue is a person who is completely anonymous, has no background, no bad social media posts, and never did anything. Those are the people to whom we should build statues.
There&#8217;s nothing from the statue that makes this person in any way important to anyone else, and yet this self-centered statue is supposed to represent the future of America and the future of Western civilization.
According to the website, “Price&#8217;s work offers viewers a unique opportunity to experience Times Square in a new light and share in a moment of personal reflection and empathy amidst the hyperactivity of the district.”
That&#8217;s ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous. If you just want to see random people standing around in Times Square, you could do that with random, actual humans. You don&#8217;t need a 12-foot statue to accomplish this.
It&#8217;s silly, but that silliness has an underlying depressing message: There is no such thing as heroism. There is no such thing as iconic status that can be achieved by accomplishment. The only thing worth worshiping is a bizarre narcissism of do-nothingism.
If that&#8217;s the sort of stuff the Left wants to embrace, the Right has a lot of running room.

US-ART-PRICE

Why The Left Keeps Losing: A 12-Foot Warning In Times Square

Ben Shapiro

Democrats

Heroism

Manhattan

Opinion

Republicans

Times Square

World War I

A new statue of an overweight black woman placed in Times Square in New York City is inspiring a lot of reactions online, especially since it&#8217;s being compared to Michelangelo’s “David.” 
Times Square Arts recently erected the statue by artist Thomas J Price, which is called &#8220;Grounded in the Stars,&#8221; as a temporary display in the tourist-heavy area of Manhattan. There will also be a “Man Series” of billboards displayed in the area.
The Times Square website <a href="https://www.timessquarenyc.org/tsq-arts-projects/grounded-in-the-stars">says</a> of the piece: &#8220;Price’s multi-channel presentation on the screens and sculptural installation on the plaza below forms a two-part takeover in Times Square that foregrounds the intrinsic value of the individual and amplifies traditionally marginalized bodies on a monumental scale.&#8221;
The website notes that the statue depicts “a fictionalized character” who was “constructed from images, observations, and open calls spanning between Los Angeles and London.” 
“The young woman depicted in Grounded in the Stars carries familiar qualities, from her stance and countenance to her everyday clothing,” it says, noting that her “stance is a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David.”
The site also says, “the woman in Grounded in the Stars cuts a stark contrast to the pedestaled permanent monuments — both white, both men — which bookend Duffy Square, while embodying a quiet gravity and grandeur.”
Social media users have had overwhelmingly negative reactions to the statue.
“They tear down statues of American heroes and replace them with statues of random obese black women. That’s because the Left has no historical heroes. Everyone who was born before approximately 2005 is inherently problematic,” Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh <a href="https://x.com/mattwalshblog/status/1920116456454328758?s=43&amp;t=BDz6oekueqrSVJ50bM62xw">wrote</a>.
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They tear down statues of American heroes and replace them with statues of random obese black women. That’s because the Left has no historical heroes. Everyone who was born before approximately 2005 is inherently problematic.
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— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1920116456454328758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“In 2021, NYC removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall due to ‘racism.’ The city has now erected a huge statue of a rotund woman in Times Square,” conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey <a href="https://x.com/conservmillen/status/1920201578516263221">wrote</a>. 
“So, we’re taking down monuments to people who accomplished some of [the] greatest feats in human history, from which we are all still benefitting (sic), and instead honoring random people who have zero notable contributions. Doomed,” she added.
“Statues aren’t just art. they’re markers of who we are and what we stand for. But the Left doesn’t want heroes, they want a blank slate to push their woke agenda,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/OneXOneY/status/1920118030673072397">added</a>.

Grounded in the Stars

New NYC Statue Of Overweight Black Woman Touted As ‘Contrast’ To Monuments Of White Men

New NYC Statue Of Overweight Black Woman Touted As 'Contrast' To Statues Of White Men

General

History

New York

Race

U.S.

The recent unveiling of a statue to honor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nba">NBA</a> star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dwyane-wade">Dwyane Wade</a> by the Miami Heat quickly sparked reactions from fans, who mostly agreed the tribute looks nothing like the man himself.
The statue was commissioned by the Heat and created by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León from Rotblatt Amrany Studio. It was intended to celebrate Wade’s lasting impact on the franchise, but many fans saw nothing but the fact that the features didn’t resemble Wade.
Wade was honored with a ceremony, and the new statue was unveiled outside the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday. The statue is supposed to be of Wade doing the &#8220;This is my house&#8221; pose, per <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/miami-heat-dwyane-wade-statue-roasted">Sports Illustrated</a>.
“The Miami Heat should’ve had a contest where they showed this picture to 1,000 fans — and anyone who guesses it’s Dwyane Wade gets to keep the statue,” one social media user <a href="https://x.com/JeffDarlington/status/1850668926671241616">wrote</a> on X.
“This statue is so bad it’s making me forget what Dwayne [sic] Wade actually looks like,” another comment <a href="https://x.com/OG_Rad_Hatter/status/1850663483488239826">said</a>. “The longer I look, the harder it is for me to picture his real face.”
“They did him dirty with that sculpture. In no way does that remotely look like Dwyane Wade,” another wrote.
“Why is Dwayne Wade [sic] unveiling a statue of Laurence Fishburne??” another wondered.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Wade also seemed to react to the lack of resemblance, saying during his speech, “Like that’s crazy, I can’t believe it, like who is that guy?” while gesturing towards the statue. 
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Dwayne Wade on his statue: 
“WHO’S THAT GUY.” 😭😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/NGL7ZN2NYX">pic.twitter.com/NGL7ZN2NYX</a>
&mdash; NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentel/status/1850662727477235726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Wade was not the first athlete to see a statue meant to resemble him go viral for the wrong reason.
A bronze bust of NFL star Peyton Manning made headlines after its unveiling in 2021, with fans saying it didn’t even come close to capturing the look of the former top pick of the NFL draft. 
Soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo was honored with a bronze bust that was mocked for looking nothing like him, leading to his brother having a new statue <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2781589-ronaldo-sculptor-emanuel-santos-devastated-as-bust-swapped-at-madeira-airport">commissioned</a> just one year after its unveiling in 2017. 
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Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade Statue Mocked By Fans Who Say It Looks Nothing Like Him

Celebrities

Florida

Miami

Sports

Country music legend <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/johnny-cash">Johnny Cash</a> was immortalized in bronze at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday &#8212; the first time a musician has ever been honored in the Capitol with a statue.
During a ceremony at the United States Capitol Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by 100 members of the Cash family as the statue of the likeness of the “Man In Black” was unveiled in the National Statuary Hall, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/09/24/nashville-johnny-cash-statue-unveiled-us-capitol-arkansas/75361784007/">The Tennessean</a> reported.
Created by artist <a href="https://www.kevinkresse.com/">Kevin Kresse</a>, the 8-<a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1838603265392398630">foot-tall statue</a> of the Arkansas native shows the “Folsom Prison Blues” hitmaker with his guitar slung over his shoulder, his head hung low, and carrying a bible in one hand with his other hand over his chest.
&#8220;Today, we have the pleasure of recognizing — get this — the first musician to ever be honored with a statue here in the Capitol,&#8221; Speaker Johnson said. &#8220;And Johnny Cash is the perfect person to be honored in that way. He was a man who embodied the American spirit in a way that few could.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Johnny Cash Statue Unveiling in the U.S. Capitol. <a href="https://t.co/ErfipvXmdC">pic.twitter.com/ErfipvXmdC</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1838603265392398630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
The legendary singer’s daughter, country singer Roseanne Cash, spoke on behalf of the family at the ceremony, calling it a “remarkable day.&#8221; She added, &#8220;In my wildest dreams, I couldn&#8217;t have imagined.&#8221;
“Words cannot come close to expressing our pride to see my dad accorded such a singular privilege, the first musician in history to be included in the Statuary Hall Collection,&#8221; Cash’s daughter said. &#8220;I&#8217;m very careful not to put words in his mouth since his passing, but on this day, I can safely say that he would feel that of all the many honors and accolades he received in his lifetime, this is the ultimate.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
&#8220;Thank you, Kevin Kresse, for capturing his very essence in bronze,&#8221; she added. &#8220;You see this statue and you know this is no one else but Johnny Cash.&#8221;
The legendary country singer died in 2003 at the age of 71. Cash’s statue is joined by one honoring civil rights leader Daisy Bates, whose statue <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/daisy-bates-statue">debuted</a> in May. The hall displays statues of two well-known residents from each state, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/johnny-cash-statue-coming-to-u-s-capitol">reported</a>.
Cash and Bates’ statues replace two others that honored residents from Arkansas — 1800s attorney Uriah Milton Rose and Governor and Senator James P. Clark — following a vote in 2019 by the Arkansas General Assembly.
Kreese previously talked about how thrilled he was with the state’s decision to represent a musician like Cash rather than a “power politician from the early 1800s.”
“One of the quotes that the [Cash] family gave me was something that he told his kids,” Kresse told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/05/11/1250756743/arkansass-new-statues-at-the-u-s-capitol-are-of-daisy-bates-and-johnny-cash">NPR</a>. “It’s about the fact that we all have the ability to make a choice in this life between choosing love or choosing hate. And he says, &#8216;<a href="https://x.com/CashMuseum/status/1268977521007251457?lang=en">I choose love</a>.'&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/johnny-cash-statue-coming-to-u-s-capitol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Cash Statue Coming To U.S. Capitol</a>

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash Statue Unveiled At Capitol

Country Music

Entertainment

U.S. Capitol

Freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) launched a tirade against the Republican-led Secure the Border Act — H.R. 2 — and claimed that if the House Republicans acted to secure the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/border-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S.-Mexico</a> border, they should also be in favor of scrapping the Statue of Liberty.
Frost held up his own bill — which would remove the iconic statue from New York&#8217;s harbor — telling Republican lawmakers that he had &#8220;taken the liberty of drafting it&#8221; and suggesting that they could pass it alongside the &#8220;bigoted&#8221; H.R. 2.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Freshman Democrat Rep. Max Frost: Republicans might as well take down the Statue of Liberty if they&#39;re going to demand a secure border! 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/6yAHno9n7l">pic.twitter.com/6yAHno9n7l</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1747728002530648426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;My colleagues from the other side of the aisle, let’s be honest with immigrants who deserve better than what you’re offering them. Don’t welcome immigrants if you plan to reject them. If you keep pushing your bigoted H.R. 2 bill, then also pass this bill. I’ve taken the liberty of drafting it for you,&#8221; Frost announced, waving the paper at them. &#8220;It removes the Statue of Liberty, our largest symbol that tells people to come here.&#8221;
&#8220;This is who you are, removing the fabric of America,&#8221; he accused his colleagues. &#8220;So, I want to know which Republican, who supports and voted for H.R.2, will introduce this bill. If you’re gonna support H.R.2 and these bigoted measures, the least you can do is not be a damn liar.&#8221;
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) responded to Frost&#8217;s tirade, saying, &#8220;This is the kind of serious policy debate we’ve come to expect from @DebbieforFL’s top surrogate. Excited to hear where Debbie stands on this debate. For the record, I’m pro-border security and anti-taking down the Statue of Liberty.&#8221;
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This is the kind of serious policy debate we’ve come to expect from <a href="https://twitter.com/DebbieforFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DebbieforFL</a>’s top surrogate. 
Excited to hear where Debbie stands on this debate 🧐🧐
For the record, I’m pro-border security and anti-taking down the Statue of Liberty. <a href="https://t.co/b9EaYqqsx2">https://t.co/b9EaYqqsx2</a>
&mdash; Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottforFlorida/status/1747793027706302912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;There’s only one party in this country that wants to tear down statues, and it’s not Republicans,&#8221; Mark Hemingway added.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There’s only one party in this country that wants to tear down statues, and it’s not Republicans. <a href="https://t.co/zBTKqxHPKg">https://t.co/zBTKqxHPKg</a>
&mdash; Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) <a href="https://twitter.com/Heminator/status/1747752460188254270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Despite Frost&#8217;s speech, 14 members of his own party <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/14-house-democrats-vote-to-denounce-biden-admins-open-borders-policies">voted with Republicans</a> on House Resolution 957, &#8220;Denouncing the Biden administration&#8217;s open-borders policies, condemning the national security and public safety crisis along the southwest border, and urging President Biden to end his administration&#8217;s open-borders policies.&#8221;

Congressional Integrity Project Accuses MAGA Republicans Of Prioritizing An Impeachment Of President Biden Over Other Issues At A Press Event At The United States Capitol

Democrat Rep: U.S. Must Scrap Statue Of Liberty If Border Is Secured

Border

Border Crisis

Democrat

Illegal Immigration

Politics

Statue of Liberty

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/national-park-service">National Park Service</a> announced that it is reversing course on removing a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/statues">statue</a> of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a> founder William Penn from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/history">historical</a> park due to massive backlash against the decision. 
The organization announced on Friday that it would remove both the statue and a replica of Penn&#8217;s home from Welcome Park, a recreation area within Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
Per the original <a href="https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/news/park-seeks-input-on-the-rehabilitation-of-welcome-park.htm">announcement</a>, the NPS was seeking “to rehabilitate Welcome Park to provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors.”
The stated replacement for Penn’s statue and home included an homage to American Indians.
“The proposed rehabilitation of Welcome Park includes expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia and was developed in consultation with representatives of the indigenous nations of the Haudenosaunee, the Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma,” the update said.
The NPS invited public comment on the change, which led them to scrap the plans altogether following public outrage.
&#8220;The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned,&#8221; an updated NPS statement <a href="https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/news/park-withdraws-review-of-welcome-park-rehabilitation-proposal.htm?fbclid=IwAR3lDfWxt1cL8janQW5Koe_dPuRoPB-EzlAS5uekAF5nUOeoDP5428Z6Cac">said</a>.
Critics of the plan, including politicians, expressed their opinions online. 
State Representative Martina White (R-PA) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/repmartinawhite/posts/pfbid02ttMHiahZLeQoV65fBozbc7CkcTpzestfjrpwXDs6Hy4yjT4F2J4c7WQ28q6gGJc3l?amp%3B__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">wrote</a> on Facebook, “I hope they will find a way to incorporate the statue into the renovations,” while inviting constituents to share their opinions with the NPS on the proposed changes.
A lot of the backlash came via X.
“It started with Confederate statues. Now they&#8217;ve arrived at William Penn,” entrepreneur Michael Seifert <a href="https://twitter.com/realmichaelseif/status/1744410326353821871">wrote</a> in one popular post. “It doesn&#8217;t matter that he supported religious freedom, opposed slavery, and treated Native Americans with respect. It was always about replacing the history of the United States.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro seemed to agree with the NPS’s course reversal, <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorShapiro/status/1744502454048178194">writing</a> in an X post, “My team has been in contact with the Biden Administration throughout the day to correct this decision. I’m pleased Welcome Park will remain the rightful home of this William Penn statue — right here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Penn founded.”
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“Yay!” X owner Elon Musk commented, while another commenter <a href="https://twitter.com/RecoverRepub/status/1744508800973828547">thought</a> “the only reason why this decision was stopped is because the public got wind of it and became rightfully outraged.”
“Make no mistake: the Biden Administration tried to tear down a statue of William Penn as part of its toxic obsession with &#8216;equity.&#8217;  They only stopped because they got caught,” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1744738325645447195">wrote</a> of the controversy.
William Penn was an influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era. The deeply religious Englishman was an advocate of democracy and religious freedom and was well-known for making fair and lasting treaties with native tribes as he helped establish the commonwealth.

William Penn statue

Statue Of PA Founder William Penn Won’t Be Removed From Public Park Following Backlash

Statue Of PA Founder William Penn Won't Be Removed From Public Park Following Backlash

National Park Service

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Social Issues

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Missouri</a> county named for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/andrew-jackson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Jackson</a> will remove two statues of the former president despite county residents previously voting to keep the monuments up. 
City officials in Jackson County, Missouri, will remove statues of Jackson outside courthouses in Independence and Kansas City after the Jackson County Legislature <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/jackson-county-to-remove-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/">voted</a> 7-1 to remove the statues. The vote came after the county legislature had previously decided to let residents vote on the fate of the statues in a ballot initiative in November 2020. 
At the ballot initiative, voters in the county voted to keep the statues, with over 72% of county residents <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Jackson_County,_Missouri,_Question_2,_Removal_of_Andrew_Jackson_Statutes_(November_2020)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting against</a> a proposal to remove the statues of Jackson, who was president from 1829-1837. 
“I remain committed in my belief that the statues of a man who owned slaves, caused thousands of Native Americans to die and never stepped foot in our County should be removed from our public facilities,” <a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/your-local-election-headquarters/jackson-county-residents-vote-to-keep-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/">said</a> County Executive Frank White after the November vote. 
The statues of Jackson, who is credited with orchestrating the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans against the British during the War of 1812, were in front of the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City and the Historic Truman Courthouse in Independence. 
According to the Jackson County Historical Society, the county was <a href="https://www.jchs.org/history-of-jackson-county#:~:text=Jackson%20County%20was%20organized%20on,minuscule%20settlement%20near%20a%20spring." target="_blank" rel="noopener">organized</a> on December 15, 1826 and named for Jackson, who had been a U.S. senator for Tennessee and was nationally known thanks to the Battle of New Orleans. 
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In 2021, the county added a plaque to the statue that referenced Martin Luther King Jr.
 “This statue of Jackson reminds us we are on a path that, in the immortal words of Martin Luther King Jr., bends towards justice. In turn, we must acknowledge past injustices to help us create a greater nation built upon humane policies to light our way and the way of humanity everywhere,” the plaque <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/jackson-county-to-remove-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a>. 
Last month, Legislator Manny Abarca introduced a <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-12/jackson-county-legislator-wants-andrew-jackson-statues-removed-from-kansas-city-area-courthouses#:~:text=%22It%20is%20in%20the%20moral,groups%20or%20proponents%20of%20slavery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> taking aim at Jackson over his ties to slavery and the Trail of Tears. 
&#8220;It is in the moral interest of Jackson County to immediately create separation from these moments in our nation’s history through the removal of statues or monuments associated with them so as to not accidentally bestow honor on individuals who were engaged in the genocide of indigenous groups or proponents of slavery,&#8221; the resolution said. 
The statues have been a target of vandalism in recent years, with some labeling the former president as a racist. After the county legislature’s vote, they will be removed and stored by the city.

Kansas City Cityscapes And City Views

County Named For Andrew Jackson To Remove Monuments To Former President

American History

Andrew Jackson

Missouri

It used to be that when someone made a statement, then made another statement that implied something completely different, we had a name for that. We called it a contradiction. And it wasn&#8217;t considered a good thing. Not too long ago, contradictions could end political careers in this country. When Tim Murphy said publicly that he was pro-life, but then privately told a woman to kill her baby, he had to resign from Congress. Al Franken met the same fate, after he bought into the #MeToo hysteria, then fell into its crosshairs himself.
But a lot&#8217;s changed in the few years since Tim Murphy and Al Franken were forced out of Congress. All of a sudden, contradictions are everywhere, particularly in the political world. The only way to ensure world peace is to fund a war, foreign policy experts tell us. We&#8217;re a sanctuary city or state, but we don&#8217;t want any more illegal migrants, say Gavin Newsom and Eric Adams. Men can turn into women, gender studies professors shriek. Euthanasia is healthcare, the Canadian government insists. All of these statements are contradictions, but you&#8217;re hearing them all the time now.
In revolutionary periods, this is nothing new. Mao even wrote an essay entitled &#8220;On Contradiction&#8221; a century ago. Mao understood well that contradiction drives social change. Maybe the most important contradiction that revolutionaries must embrace, Mao argued, is the relationship between construction and destruction. On their face, these two concepts are polar opposites. Tearing something down means ruining it. Building something means creating it. If you want to build something new, you lay a foundation and get to work. You don&#8217;t wreck what you have. That&#8217;s how the bourgeoisie saw it. 
But Mao didn&#8217;t see it that way. A half-century ago, Mao famously explained, &#8220;There is no construction without destruction.&#8221; In other words, there&#8217;s a logical relationship between the two concepts. Creating a new society — one totally unlike whatever came before — requires wrecking the old society. Creating new symbols requires wrecking the old symbols. 
Mao&#8217;s teachings led to, of course, tens of millions of deaths, the destruction of historic artifacts, and mass starvation. The last thing you would ever want our political leaders in this country to do is follow his ideology and try to emulate it. But that&#8217;s exactly what&#8217;s happening. This weekend in Albany, the capital of New York state, we saw maybe the clearest example in recent history of both construction and destruction happening simultaneously. Under the cover of darkness, at 5:30 in the morning, the city removed a statue of Revolutionary War hero and U.S. senator Philip Schuyler. And at the very moment that workers took Schuyler&#8217;s statue away, the so-called &#8220;progress Pride flag&#8221; was waving in the background, for the first time in Albany&#8217;s history. Here&#8217;s what it looked like.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
One of the defining images of our era
City Hall removes Revolutionary War hero General Philip Schuyler
Pride flags wave in the background <a href="https://t.co/0hkhl4bHL8">pic.twitter.com/0hkhl4bHL8</a>
&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1667755085936447488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Notice the multiple Pride flags flying proudly as the statue is hoisted away, including the brand-new nonbinary/BIPOC/trans flag. 
Now, if that seems like a carefully engineered juxtaposition, it is. It&#8217;s choreographed to deliver a very clear message. Mao&#8217;s disciples in the New York state government know that if they want their new flag to have any kind of legitimacy, then Philip Schulyer&#8217;s statue can&#8217;t remain. You can&#8217;t have construction without destruction. If you want a revolution, you can&#8217;t introduce a new idol without erasing the one that came before. So that&#8217;s exactly what the local government did, as explicitly as they possibly could have done it.
If you&#8217;re not trying to engineer a revolution — if you&#8217;re just an average person living in New York, with reasonable political views — then none of this really makes sense. What was wrong with that statue, exactly? As far as we can tell, no one ever bothered to ask a significant number of New Yorkers that question. No one ever ran a poll on this, at least not one that we could find. There was certainly no statewide referendum on whether people actually wanted Philip Schuyler&#8217;s statue removed. 
A few bureaucrats in New York just decided to do it a few years ago, and this weekend, they cut through the red tape and did it.
A local news station did conduct a man-on-the-street-style interview with a couple of residents to get their perspective. None of them could explain why this statue was being removed, even the people who said they supported removing it couldn’t explain why:
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w3.mp.lura.live/player/prod/v3/anvload.html?key=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%3D" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Yes, a century-old historic artifact memorializing a Revolutionary War hero was not only taken down, it was taken down at the behest of a group of teenagers. The primary reason, as we heard in the clip, is that the absence of the statue will make city hall more &#8220;welcoming.&#8221; But welcome for who? If the standard is that any &#8220;unwelcoming&#8221; statue needs to go, then why exactly can&#8217;t we destroy the monument of George Floyd that sits outside city hall in Newark?
&#8220;But George Floyd didn&#8217;t own slaves,&#8221; you might say. That&#8217;s true. All George Floyd ever did was break into a woman&#8217;s home with five other people and hold a gun to her chest. And then, after getting out of prison, all George Floyd did was take enough opioids and meth to kill a horse, before trying to rob a store and fighting with several police officers. 
Despite all that, you&#8217;re not allowed to even criticize the George Floyd statue. You&#8217;ll lose your job if you do. Under the new rules, George Floyd&#8217;s statue is &#8220;welcoming.&#8221; The Revolutionary War general is &#8220;unwelcoming.&#8221; Understood? Probably not, but then you aren’t supposed to understand. Part of the point behind these arbitrary decisions is that they make no logical or moral sense. You are meant to go along with it whether you understand or not. We might ask “why?” but The Powers That Be will treat us like we’re children and they&#8217;re our impatient parents: “Because I said so,” they respond.
It&#8217;s all so contrived. Philip Schuyler is an iconic figure of the revolutionary era. He&#8217;s one of the reasons this country exists today. Multiple towns and forts are named after him in New York. And curiously, no one had a problem with him until very recently. Ten years ago, in an article, the Albany Times Union described Schuyler this way: 
<blockquote>&#8220;Philip Schuyler was a leading American statesman and a key general in the American Revolution who served at the pivotal Battle of Saratoga. He was named a representative to the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia and an adviser to Gen. George Washington, who stayed at Schuyler&#8217;s mansion in Albany.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Times Union went on to describe Schuyler as:
<blockquote>&#8220;instrumental in the victory of the American colonists at the Battle of Saratoga in the fall of 1777, a turning point of the Revolutionary War. Residents of Albany, fearful that their city might be occupied by British soldiers, instead celebrated an unexpected victory at Saratoga. It was the first major win for the colonists and the residents of Albany rang church bells, fired cannons, roasted an ox and gathered around a large bonfire. Schuyler returned to the city of his birth as a hero.&#8221;</blockquote>
You can read that whole article. It&#8217;s still on the Times Union&#8217;s website, from 2013. There&#8217;s not a single mention of slavery or slaves in the entire piece. Guess how the Times Union describes Schuyler now? Here&#8217;s a recent article from the paper, from this year. 
<blockquote>&#8220;While noted as a politician and Revolutionary War hero, Schuyler enslaved over a dozen people at his Saratoga and Albany homes.&#8221; </blockquote>
The Times Union of 2023 goes on to cite — and this is not a joke — a report by five high schoolers who say that Schuyler is a bad man, and his statue has to be removed. That&#8217;s the report you heard referenced in that news clip, as well.
Here&#8217;s how the Times Union describes the findings of these high school students:
<blockquote>&#8220;The report, titled, &#8216;What To Do with Phil? — A 2022 Report from the Young Abolitionist Leadership Institute,&#8217; was created by five Albany High School students who met between October 2021 and June with two adult facilitators. While the report notes Schuyler&#8217;s accomplishments as a Revolutionary War general and politician, his legacy is still marked by owning human beings, it says.&#8221; </blockquote>
This is also the report that the Albany government relied on to justify removing the statue.
Facile does not begin to describe this. In the 18th century, no one had the same attitudes towards slavery that we do now — even the people who opposed it. Which relatively few people did back then. It’s not surprising that a bunch of dumb, arrogant kids would lack the proper historical perspective and think themselves qualified to pass moral judgments on historical figures who lived 250 years ago. But that’s where adults are supposed to step in. The problem is that there aren’t very many adults left in this country.
What&#8217;s really going on here is that Schuyler — like Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, and all the other historical figures who&#8217;ve had their monuments destroyed — is a hero of a different nation. One that the city of Albany considers to be a foreign enemy. And they know they have to erase him if they want their revolution to succeed.
The Biden administration understands this as well. Look at this grotesque display currently hanging at the White House:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, the People&#39;s House – your house – sends a clear message to the country and to the world.
America is a nation of pride. <a href="https://t.co/ZZS9oTpDww">pic.twitter.com/ZZS9oTpDww</a>
&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1667715777145847808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That’s a Pride flag hanging on the White House, in between two American flags. There are similar displays all over the country, at 30 Rock and so on, but putting this flag at the White House, just like the flag at Albany City Hall, has particular implications. Most conservatives are saying that it&#8217;s horrific and evil for the White House to not only fly the Pride flag but to give it a place of primacy in between the two American flags. It is, of course, both of those things, but what they don&#8217;t understand is that the White House is also properly representing its own nation, which is not our nation. We are two nations in one. There is the old United States that conservatives still cling to and cherish, and there&#8217;s a new country with its own flag, its own traditions, its own heroes and foundational myths.
That&#8217;s the nation that the Biden regime, the media, academia, Hollywood all speak to and represent. Why do you think the city of New York took down Teddy Roosevelt&#8217;s statue? Liberals used to love him. He was one of the greatest presidents this country ever had. He broke up the big monopolies. He was well-read. He saved the middle class. He established national parks. He was an explorer and a pioneer. They took down Teddy Roosevelt&#8217;s statue in New York for a specific reason — which was to replace it. Instead of Teddy Roosevelt, New York recently put up a horned statue of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
That&#8217;s now happening, at scale. The nation we had before is being replaced. It&#8217;s not just the demographics that are changing. The activists who are leading this revolution, like all totalitarians, understand that to take full control, they need to erase our shared history. They&#8217;re executing their plan right in front of us, as obviously as they possibly can. While conservatives are debating the proper positioning of the American flag in relation to the Pride flag at the White House, the government is going out in the middle of the night and destroying the symbols they don&#8217;t like. They&#8217;re not asking your opinion on it. They&#8217;re just doing it. 
With that in mind, it&#8217;s not hard to wonder: What else will they take away before you even realize it? A lot more than statues. Soon the government may be able to kidnap your children if you don&#8217;t subscribe to the cult of gender ideology. That&#8217;s an actual bill in California right now. They’ll label you a child abuser and likely put you in prison for wrong-think, so the state can raise your child. That&#8217;s the ultimate goal of this push for &#8220;inclusion,&#8221; which of course is fundamentally about excluding anyone with traditional views (and in particular religious views). The totalitarians running the government, like all totalitarians throughout history, are obsessed with using their power to make future generations subservient to their rule. That&#8217;s the reason they&#8217;re sponsoring &#8220;Pride parades&#8221; that expose children to deviant sexual fetishes. That&#8217;s the reason they&#8217;re destroying and replacing everything they can.
It took the single deadliest famine in world history to stop Mao. What will it take to stop the revolution that&#8217;s taking place right now in this country? The longer this goes on — the longer sane people stay quiet and watch as all this happens — the more likely it is that, unfortunately, we&#8217;re going to find out.

Matt Walsh 5

Why Creating A New Society Requires Wrecking The Old Society

American Revolution

Communist China

Matt Walsh

Readers Pass

A state court building in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> unveiled a new art project that is not going over well online.
The sculpture, entitled &#8220;NOW,&#8221; was installed on the roof of the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State, First Department on Madison Avenue last week as part of an art exhibit from artist Shahzia Sikander. The statue is meant to represent the legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but New Yorkers and other viewers on Twitter noticed that the statue is both unsightly and unsettling.
Corporate consultant Andrew Beck shared pictures of the art installation in a Twitter thread. &#8220;A new statue atop a New York City courthouse,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;The artist says it’s part of an &#8216;urgent and necessary cultural reckoning underway as New York reconsiders traditional representations of power in public spaces and recasts civic structures to better reflect 21st-century social mores.’”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A new statue atop a New York City courthouse. The artist says it’s part of an “urgent and necessary cultural reckoning underway as New York reconsiders traditional representations of power in public spaces and recasts civic structures to better reflect 21st-century social mores.” <a href="https://t.co/4IFRj7hCsf">pic.twitter.com/4IFRj7hCsf</a>
— Andrew Beck (@AndrewBeckUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewBeckUSA/status/1618248543537606656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
The roof of the court building is lined with statues of famous lawgivers from history and legend. The statue is situated on the corner of the building, with brazen metal standing out against the weathered stone statues next to it. It depicts a woman with hair braided into long spirals like ram&#8217;s horns, and a web of tentacle-like protrusions at each arm, wearing a lace apron like the one Ginsburg wore over her robe, and standing on a pink lotus flower.
A profile for the statue written by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/arts/design/discrimination-sculpture-madison-park-sikander-women.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> said that the statue is the first female figure placed on the court building. “She [the statue] is a fierce woman and a form of resistance in a space that has historically been dominated by patriarchal representation,” Sikander told The New York Times. Sikander said she entitled the piece &#8220;NOW&#8221; because it is needed in the current year when abortion rights are being challenged in the wake of the Supreme Court returning abortion law to the states in Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization.
Sikander has another piece with similar designs placed in the area. That statue, an 18-foot tall recreation of the same figure, but with a metal cage symbolizing a hoop skirt, is entitled &#8220;Witness&#8221; and is placed in Madison Square Park across from the court building. The two statues together are entitled, &#8220;Havah…to breathe, air, life.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” Never fading words by Coretta Scott King. Inspired and humbled that Havah..to breathe, air, life’ ‘NOW’ &amp; ‘Witness’ are open on MLK day Jan16, 2023 ✊🏽❤️⚖️ <a href="https://twitter.com/MadSqParkNYC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MadSqParkNYC</a> <a href="https://t.co/TSpDl5C4TH">pic.twitter.com/TSpDl5C4TH</a>
— Shahzia Sikander (@shahziasikander) <a href="https://twitter.com/shahziasikander/status/1615129164465729536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
But Twitter users immediately pointed out that besides being visually unpleasant, the sculpture idolizes abortion and has pagan or even demonic motifs.
&#8220;They turned abortion into a pagan idol to worship and put it on a courthouse,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyGribbin/status/1618289675122388992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1618289675122388992%7Ctwgr%5E30efe78ae6474befa57361f37ae990cc0100fe42%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FBillyGribbin2Fstatus2F1618289675122388992widget%3DTweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billy Gribbin</a>, communications director for Republican Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick, wrote on Twitter.
&#8220;The New York Courthouse has added this aesthetic atrocity to its sculptures of great lawmakers,&#8221; Daily Wire podcast host <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewklavan/status/1618335013480828930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1618335013480828930%7Ctwgr%5E77b5ab54309b7133ba8f47f37b91ec38f0e65aa4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fandrewklavan2Fstatus2F1618335013480828930widget%3DTweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Klavan</a> wrote. &#8220;It is meant to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg&#8217;s pro-abortion stance by depicting a woman with demonic goat-horns who has clearly lost the power to reproduce. Or something.&#8221;
&#8220;The next Republican mayor of New York should not only remove but publicly destroy this monstrosity,&#8221; Daily Wire host <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/1618358045003874306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1618358045003874306%7Ctwgr%5E3a37c265f9e10933f3eb042594bc830d02ba9df4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fmichaeljknowles2Fstatus2F1618358045003874306widget%3DTweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a> added.
&#8220;New York has put an androgynous baphomet with tentacles digging into its own torso on top of the courthouse in order to ‘better reflect 21st century social mores.’” writer <a href="https://twitter.com/NoJesuitTricks/status/1618330987339059200?s=20&amp;t=K550eA55xVco3ZOA2HVw_w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brandon Meeks</a> said. &#8220;Sounds about right.&#8221;
&#8220;[T]he ugliness is the point,&#8221; New Founding and American Firebrand digital director <a href="https://twitter.com/loganclarkhall/status/1618290699845373953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1618290699845373953%7Ctwgr%5Ec9a4b5813dfee00c9d3ccbaa2ab44f549fce81dc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Floganclarkhall2Fstatus2F1618290699845373953widget%3DTweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Logan Hall</a> added.
&#8220;What a visual desecration of the landscape,&#8221; America First Legal Foundation founder <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1618290002139701248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1618290002139701248%7Ctwgr%5Ea05c992adddc6075e77e9266e6cb27f1b7edc6db%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FStephenM2Fstatus2F1618290002139701248widget%3DTweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen Miller</a> tweeted.
&#8220;WOW the baphomet/Aries symbolism is… a lot,&#8221; one Twitter user chimed in. &#8220;Especially given the opposite or sister sign Libra represents the scales of balance or ‘arms’ of Justice.&#8221;

NYC Court Sculpture

‘They Turned Abortion Into A Pagan Idol’: New York Courthouse Installs Statue Symbolizing Abortion And RBG

New York Courthouse Installs Statue Symbolizing Abortion And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, And Social Media Has Thoughts

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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