Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Watch "Message from a Vietnam War Soldier" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/2Yx1y-tX3Qk?si=rnCTiT6dsVnie6wQ

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Watch "Henry McClure "Live" 11" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/CwykhZ-wSJE?si=lKGVzKFbQbCQZkTH

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Watch "Henry McClure "Live" 3" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/gt_eUe7ZB8A?si=UqjsI8ytxVhcNjtu

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Did it really end

The document that officially ended World War II in Germany was the German Instrument of Surrender, a formal act of unconditional surrender by the German High Command to the Allies, first signed in Reims, France, on May 7, 1945, and then reaffirmed in Berlin on May 8, 1945, which became Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) (https://www.facebook.com/usarmyreserve/posts/%EF%B8%8F-today-we-remember-ve-dayvictory-in-europe-dayon-may-8-1945-the-allies-accepted/1241080737683990/). While this ended the fighting, the Berlin Declaration of June 1945 formalized the Allied assumption of supreme authority over Germany, and the later Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (the "Two-Plus-Four Treaty") in 1990 truly settled German sovereignty, but the military surrender document marked the end of the war in Europe. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]  
Key Documents & Events: 

• May 7, 1945 (Reims): German Chief of Staff Alfred Jodl signed the initial Instrument of Surrender, effective May 8th at 23:01 CET. 
• May 8, 1945 (Berlin): The Soviets demanded a second signing, with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signing the definitive surrender at the Soviet headquarters in Karlshorst, solidifying the end of the war in Europe. 
• June 5, 1945 (Berlin Declaration): The four main Allied powers (US, UK, USSR, France) assumed joint supreme authority over Germany, taking the first steps towards administration. 
• September 12, 1990 (Two Plus Four Treaty): This final peace treaty settled the external aspects of German reunification, restoring full sovereignty to a united Germany, say historians (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/surrender-of-germany). [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]  

So, while the Instrument of Surrender ended the fighting, the Berlin Declaration and the Two Plus Four Treaty addressed the post-war legal and political status of Germany, say military historians (https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-europe/german-surrender/signing-instrument.html) and archivists. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]  
Would you like to know more about the specific terms of the Instrument of Surrender or the political significance of the Berlin Declaration? 

AI responses may include mistakes.




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You can't quit.

BREAKING: The Trump Kennedy Center has announced it is filing a $1 million lawsuit against jazz musician Chuck Redd after he abruptly canceled his scheduled performance.

Not because of illness.
Not because of travel issues.
Not because of a contract dispute.

He canceled because the Kennedy Center was renamed to honor President Trump.

Tickets had already been sold.
Staff had already prepared.
Audiences had already planned their night.

And then, at the very last moment, Redd walked away to make a political statement, leaving a nonprofit arts institution to absorb the cost and chaos.

That is not courage.

That is not conscience.

That is not art standing up to power.

It is ideological punishment.

Trump appointee Richard Grenell responded with a letter that deserves to be read carefully, because it cuts straight through the performative outrage.

"Your decision to withdraw at the last moment—explicitly in response to the Center's recent renaming, which honors President Trump's extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution. Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center."

There is nothing extreme about that statement.
It is factual.
It is measured.
And it is exactly right.

This was not a private disagreement quietly expressed.
This was a public act designed to signal ideological purity and pressure others to comply.

The same people who endlessly sermonize about inclusion suddenly have no tolerance for institutions that refuse to mirror their politics.

The same voices that claim to defend artistic freedom immediately demand boycotts and cancellations when a new name appears on a building.

And the consequences are not theoretical.

Nonprofit arts organizations operate on tight budgets.
Last minute cancellations cost real money.

They hurt stage crews, ushers, technicians, administrators, and patrons who had nothing to do with a political decision.

This is how cultural intimidation actually works.
Not through debate.

Not through persuasion.

But through withdrawal, punishment, and public shaming.

Grenell called it bullying because that is exactly what it is.

An attempt to make artists afraid to perform unless they conform.
An attempt to turn a national cultural institution into an ideological checkpoint.
An attempt to enforce silence through economic pressure.

If an artist refuses to perform for a Republican-named venue, that is somehow framed as moral heroism.

If a conservative artist refused to perform at a left-wing institution, the media would call it extremism.

That double standard is no accident.
It is the entire point.

The Kennedy Center is meant to be a place where art exists beyond political coercion.

Walking away at the last second was not a stand for values.
It was an act meant to send a warning.

And the lawsuit makes something very clear.

Nonprofits do not have to quietly absorb financial damage to satisfy ideological tantrums.

Art does not belong to one political tribe.

And intimidation dressed up as virtue is still intimidation.



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