Declare Your Independence From Propaganda and Lies

In the aftermath of the disastrous "debate" between President Joe Biden and his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, the media maelstrom rivals Hurricane Beryl in intensity -- and possible destructive impact. Will Biden step down or be forced out? Will Vice President Kamala Harris be tapped to take his place? Will it be California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (or both, on a completely new ticket)?

The future is murky. But a few things are clear.

First, claims of surprise and astonishment about Biden's mental and physical state are pure posturing by the politicians and media elites. Everyone in those groups -- not merely "White House staff" or "Biden's closest advisors" -- has known about Biden's decline. The diminishment of Biden's capacity was already evident during the 2020 presidential campaign, and the situation has worsened precipitously in the years since.

So much of what has been told to the American public over the past few years has been exposed as propaganda and deceit, utilized for political gain. Consider these debunked claims, once touted as gospel:

"Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election." No, he didn't. Claims of "collusion" were part of a political hit job unlawfully funded by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The Democratic Party knew it, and the FBI certainly knew it, since they lied to a federal court to unlawfully obtain warrants to spy on Trump, his campaign and his administration after he won. The three-year, $30 million-plus "investigation" was a sham to cover up these unlawful activities and public lies -- which is why it produced ZERO evidence of "collusion."

"COVID-19 started in a wet market." No, it didn't. COVID-19 most likely leaked from the virology lab in Wuhan, China, where "gain of function" research (seeking ways to make bat viruses jump to other species, including humans) -- funded at least in part by the United States -- was taking place under inadequate safety protocols; a fact our own State Department warned of years before the pandemic.

"The COVID-19 'vaccines' prevent contraction and transmission of the disease." No, they didn't.

"The COVID-19 'vaccines' are safe." No, they aren't. There have been thousands upon thousands of documented ill effects caused by the shots, including myocarditis and death. In an article published last month in Forensic Science International, researchers who studied hundreds of deaths that followed within two weeks of a COVID-19 shot concluded that "there is a high likelihood of a causal link between COVID-19 vaccines and death."

"The material on Hunter Biden's laptop is Russian misinformation." False. The information on presidential son Hunter Biden's laptop showing salacious, sexually explicit and illegal behavior was absolutely authentic, and both our government and the media knew it and suppressed it to help Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

"Our borders are secure." No, they aren't. Our borders have been wide open since 2021 because this administration has insisted upon it. Millions of people have since come into the country illegally, a significant number of whom are committing violent crimes against Americans, not to mention the drug and human trafficking the open border has enabled.

Even the least astute among us should be able to see the pattern by now.

And that means you should be able to see through the latest hysterical "predictions" the media and Democratic Party (but I repeat myself) are warning will come about if Trump is reelected to the presidency.

Trump was not a dictator in 2017, nor would he be in 2025. To the contrary, it is this administration that has punched fist-sized holes in the Constitution and the rule of law, imprisoning Americans without due process, prosecuting legitimately peaceful protesters, targeting Catholics, censoring truthful information and using the legal system to cripple, bankrupt, prosecute and potentially imprison Biden's political opponent, Trump.

Nor does the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States portend the horrors that politicians, media personalities and Hollywood celebrities have parroted.

The court's decision states only that the president is immune from criminal prosecution for acts that are within his or her "official duties"; the office's "core constitutional powers."

Those powers are set forth in Article Two of the U.S. Constitution.

The president's primary job as head of the executive branch of the federal government is to enforce the laws of the United States. Section One provides the president's oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section Two makes the president commander in chief of the U.S. military and gives the president the power to enter into treaties and appoint ambassadors, certain federal officers and federal judges (including Supreme Court justices), subject to the approval of the U.S. Senate.

Section Three authorizes the president to give a State of the Union address, to convene both houses of Congress when necessary, and to receive foreign officers and ambassadors. It also obliges the president to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.

In other words, notwithstanding the latest hyperventilating propaganda, the president's official duties and core constitutional powers do not include taking bribes, selling secrets to hostile powers or having his or her political opponents assassinated. Section 4 of Article Two states explicitly states that the president can be convicted of "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" (and thereafter impeached and removed).

Last week's debate revealed a weakened and debilitated president. That fact shocked millions of Americans who have been pawns in a misinformation war waged against them for years. This nation has been placed in great danger by those in power, and by their shills in the media willing to cover up for them, protect them, repeat and reinforce their falsehoods.

This Fourth of July, declare your independence from information manipulation and start questioning what you're being told. The truth is there -- and increasingly obvious -- if you're just willing to see it.

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To find out more about Laura Hollis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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