“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires
in people’s minds.” – Samuel Adams
August 3, 2026
THE SOCIALISM MENACE
Be Very Afraid
By Roderick T. Beaman
TCCR Staff Photo
The socialist sweep at the New York polls a few weeks ago was frightening. We might be in the culmination of a nearly century long process of step-by-step introduction & imposition of one socialist program after another. Their existence has now become so permanent & ubiquitous that they are just supposed to be there. People cannot imagine life without them. This is dangerous.
It began in earnest under Democratic Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt but there were hints of it even 100 years before with the introduction of government education. By the time of FDR, the communist goal of tax funded public education was an established fact and its validity without challenge. Roosevelt unleashed a torrent of new programs and threw them at the public. Congress cooperated, the people acquiesced & grew used to them. Since FDR, government’s role as a solution to any problem, real or imagined, has been within the realm of reason.
When I was junior or senior in high school, a young woman from Social Security came to our civics classes to extol Social Security. One of the things she warned about was that without Social Security, beneficiaries might have to go on welfare, another dubious government program.
Think about that for a moment. A representative of one questionable program using another to warn about the dangers of the necessity of having to rely on a third. We never heard a contrary argument.
The New York sweep was followed in Colorado where Melat Kiros, a socialist, defeated fifteen-term House member Diana DeGette in the Democratic primary for the nomination in the First Congressional District. During her campaign, Melat Kiros, issued assurances about the socialism advent by pointing to how much socialism is already in place. She cited education, zoning laws & other things as examples (I wish I could remember all of them.) Quite so. It might be time for us to reassess all of them.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the battering ram of this entire movement, defeated a ten-term Democratic House member, Joseph Crowley, for her House district’s nomination in 2018. Since then, she has been in the forefront of the socialization movement.
In Seattle, Katie Wilson whose working experience included being president of The Transit Riders Union that she had helped found. In the final election, she won by 50.2% to the incumbent’s 48.6%.
Although she is socialist, she ran as a Democrat. She backs Seattle's Jump Start tax, a payroll tax on private employers to fund affordable housing and proposes closing the city’s budget deficit of $500,000 by taxing ‘the wealthy.’ It’s never really a tax on the wealthy but a tax on high earners, which is not the same thing. (Since it’s an expropriation of earnings, doesn’t that make it partial enslavement? Just asking.)
It is important for everyone to realize that it’s been at least two decades since The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) threw its lot in with the Democratic Party. In 2008 & 2012, it endorsed Barack H. Obama for president and called the defeat of Donald J. Trump crucial.
Sashay now to Wisconsin, for years a swing state. We have the spectre of a socialist governor. Francesca Hong is now the likely Democratic candidate for governor. A former chef, she stands alone as a Democratic candidate for the nomination. She could win the election.
In Texas, James Talarico is trying to turn the seat of Republican Sen. John Cornyn, Democratic. Talarico had a very radical voting record in the Texas legislature. Now, knowing that Texas border areas are highly supportive of strong security, he is trying to cast himself as strong on border security but, no matter what, the remainder of his record is socialist.
Longevity used to be an assurance of political survivability but is becoming a vulnerability. There have been only a few Democrats warning about this socialist sweep. Democratic strategist James Carville, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, comedian Bill Maher, Marxist commentator Van Jones and Colorado Gov. Jared Folis are the most prominent.
Every other prominent Democrat, (Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Elizabeth Warren. etc.) has been cheering on these radical socialists. They might not be aware that the members of the Squad, who all call themselves Democratic Socialists, believe in take-no-prisoners. Schiff, et al are in danger of being primaried out of office, a la Diana DeGette & Joseph Crowley.
In 1989 and 1990 the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites collapsed, just 36 years ago. In addition, several former Soviet Republics became independent republics. The soviet socialism of Vladimir Ulyanov Lenin and Josef Stalin had lasted less than 70 years.
There are problems with bad ideas. Too many of them take on lives of their own.
Karl Marx’s (Communist) Manifesto was published in 1848. It was largely ignored for decades and might have withered & been forgotten except for its being resurrected by Lenin after his older brother was hanged for insurrection.
In 1917, Lenin became the leader of Soviet Russia and in 1922 his Bolshevik Party received about 25% of the vote. By the time of his death, in 1924, he had consolidated power in the Soviet Union, the USSR’s last free election. This led to the deaths of 125 million people.
In 1933, Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party received 44% of the vote. He formed a coalition and led Germany into the Third Reich & its horrors under which about 21 million died. Under Joseph Stalin’s tyranny, 20-30 million people died.
Both Hitler & Stalin were pitiless on their erstwhile allies. Hitler purged his erstwhile allies from the government during the Night of the Long Knives. At least 100 were killed. When Leon Trotsky fled the Soviet Union, Stalin had him hunted down in Mexico City and stabbed in an eye with an ice pick. Trotsky died the next day.
Today we have socialist surge in America. How soon they forget, if they were ever really taught about the evils of socialism is in our socialist educational system. Under these radical socialist regimes, majorities have not been necessary. The only rights have been the governments’. The individual citizens have few, if any.
Will a leader emerge from this fray as the centerpiece of a personality cult as Hitler, Stalin and Napoleon did? Time will tell. With this history and with what is happening here in America right now, be very afraid.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6ExLRStBZIDjjzM_Vm_TIw
Like our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/towncrier2010/
July 27, 2026
Major Tea Party Historical Movie in the Works
The St. Augustine Tea Party’s Town Crier Committee has announced that a major movie is underway detailing the Tea Party Movement’s creation and its current state. According to Lance Thate, SATP’s long standing Chairman and a founding member, “The decision to undertake this historic production is the direct result of the very successful event with the Dartmouth at the Castillo de San Marcos on July 4, 2026”.
Thate went on to report that the parking lot, in front of the fort, was closed for parking. The State of Florida had parked two semitrailer vans filled with Historic displays. Tea Party volunteers revealed that the public was more interested in being photographed with the newly restored Dartmouth than being involved with the government displays.
TCCR Staff Photo
Like our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/towncrier2010/
July 10, 2026
The Restored Dartmouth’s Big Day
Dartmouth’s big day started the day before its showing at the Castillo de San Marcos on July 4, 2026. We have put together a short video for your enjoyment. An appearance such as this event takes the efforts of many individuals and for some it is a 20 hour experience.
July 5, 2026
A Joyful People Celebrate the 250th
The Birth of Liberty
When Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, it marked a turning point in American history. The idea that ordinary people could claim liberty was new in a world ruled by kings and empires. The signing is often seen as the beginning of the Revolutionary War, which dragged on until 1783, but the real spark came earlier—in 1773, when Sam Adams and his “Sons of Liberty” dumped British tea into Boston Harbor. They boarded three ships—the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver—and threw overboard 92,000 pounds of tea to protest the taxes King George III had put on the colonies. Adjusted for today’s money, that’s about $2.3 million worth of tea gone in a single night.
Fast forward to recent times, and the legacy of the Dartmouth lives on. In 2009, Glenn Lord built a replica of the historic ship, and Billie Tucker Volpe—then Chairman of the First Coast Tea Party—wrote about its beginnings. She called Glenn’s creation “magnificent,” describing it as a living symbol of the Tea Party movement. People were drawn to the Dartmouth. Children climbed aboard for photos, veterans came to salute, and it became a touchstone for anyone wanting to connect with history.
The St. Augustine Tea Party (SATP) acquired the replica when it was five years old, and for a while, it looked as grand as ever. But over time, changes and neglect chipped away at the ship’s character. Weather took its toll, and disputes over ownership and access meant the Dartmouth sat unattended for two years. By the time SATP finally regained possession—thanks to a court order enforced by the Putnam County Sheriff on May 14, 2026—the ship was in rough shape, with holes in the hull, missing trim, and rotting wood.
TCCR Staff Photo
When Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, it marked a turning point in American history. The idea that ordinary people could claim liberty was new in a world ruled by kings and empires. The signing is often seen as the beginning of the Revolutionary War, which dragged on until 1783, but the real spark came earlier—in 1773, when Sam Adams and his “Sons of Liberty” dumped British tea into Boston Harbor. They boarded three ships—the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver—and threw overboard 92,000 pounds of tea to protest the taxes King George III had put on the colonies. Adjusted for today’s money, that’s about $2.3 million worth of tea gone in a single night.
Fast forward to recent times, and the legacy of the Dartmouth lives on. In 2009, Glenn Lord built a replica of the historic ship, and Billie Tucker Volpe—then Chairman of the First Coast Tea Party—wrote about its beginnings. She called Glenn’s creation “magnificent,” describing it as a living symbol of the Tea Party movement. People were drawn to the Dartmouth. Children climbed aboard for photos, veterans came to salute, and it became a touchstone for anyone wanting to connect with history.
The St. Augustine Tea Party (SATP) acquired the replica when it was five years old, and for a while, it looked as grand as ever. But over time, changes and neglect chipped away at the ship’s character. Weather took its toll, and disputes over ownership and access meant the Dartmouth sat unattended for two years. By the time SATP finally regained possession—thanks to a court order enforced by the Putnam County Sheriff on May 14, 2026—the ship was in rough shape, with holes in the hull, missing trim, and rotting wood.
With the 250th Independence Day fast approaching, it was clear: the Dartmouth needed a full restoration. SATP Chairman Lance Thate took charge, acting as both architect and general contractor, determined to bring the ship back to its former glory in time for the celebration. The restoration was completed, and the Dartmouth was unveiled at the Castillo de San Marcos, the old Spanish fort that’s stood in St. Augustine since 1695. For more than a decade, the Dartmouth has appeared there every July 4th, but this year, restored to “like-new” condition, it stood as a vivid reminder of the Tea Party’s story and the issues that launched a revolution.
TCCR Staff Photo July 4, 2026
https://eyeonjacksonville.com/the-dartmouth-a-tea-party-symbol-that-refused-to-sink/
On July 4, 2026 the fully restored Dartmouth created the same photo frenzy that happened in 2009. Tea Party volunteers took pictures of people, with the public’s cameras, who wanted themselves and their families to be associated with the historic event that the Dartmouth portrayed. The Tea Party estimates that 3500 pictures were taken of about a thousand groups of people. Often there were people standing in line to be photographed with the Dartmouth, Betsy Ross and the Town Criers in period clothes. But the main attraction was the Dartmouth. No one dared to challenge the Dartmouth’s presence. Zero push-back.
There was joy on the 250th. Hope too. The story continues with the pictures.
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026 Cameraman Dave
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
TCCR Staff Photos 7-4-2026
.