Weekly Roundup # 75
A collection of interesting articles you may not have seen by authors you may not have read
The Weekly Roundup is a feature offered to my readers in addition to my regular articles. The Roundup is a collection of mostly recent articles you probably haven’t seen by writers you may not have read. The intent is to provide some interesting reading for you while providing some exposure for some great writers. Enjoy!
Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day, often referred to as the Fourth of July. As evidenced by the July 4th reference I think that over time many Americans have forgotten the true meaning of the Independence Day holiday and what we are or should be actually celebrating. Scott Johnson of the Powerline Blog has been publishing the following speech by Abraham Lincoln describing the true meaning of Independence Day each July 4th since 2004. If you feel like you may have drifted away from a true understanding what we are celebrating, take a few minutes to read Lincoln’s words in The Eternal Meaning of Independence Day.
In addition, Johnson also annually publishes a short excerpt from a 1926 speech by President Calvin Coolidge given on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that describes “the history and thought underlying the Declaration”. President Coolidge’s words are still relevant today, 150 years later. If you feel a little rusty on the subject, please take a few minutes to read The Eternal Meaning of Independence Day (2), you’ll end up with a greater appreciation for what we have.
Another take on celebrating Independence Day comes from D. Parker in reminding us to remember what made independence possible. The war for independence started by an attempted gun confiscation by the British sparking the battles of Lexington and Concord. Our eventual independence would not have been possible were it not for the firearms possessed by most of the colonists. The idea that the public needs to be disarmed by those in power hasn’t changed much in 249 years so why not celebrate that which keeps us free. D. Parker explains in Celebrating the firearm freedoms that made independence possible.
Many of us believe that the ATF is a destructive agency that spends more time intimidating and persecuting law-abiding gun owners than it does pursuing actual criminals and that it should be abolished. While we don’t appear to be any closer to dissolving this rogue agency, there could be worse alternatives than leaving it in place. Mike McDaniel explores one of those bad ideas in ATF/DEA merger: a good idea?
A second piece by Mike McDaniel provides a great example of why the ATF needs to be abolished. Gun writer Lee Williams has been covering this story from the beginning and we’ve featured his work in the Roundup in the past. Mike McDaniel takes a crack at the subject in The strange ATF case of Patrick Adamiak.
The team at the Gun Websites Blog offers another example of what the ATF actually does in ATF Targets Gun dealers and Sheriffs Over Machine Guns.
The Weekly Roundup now includes a humorous meme to lighten the day. The weekly meme is chosen from dozens posted in the Week in Pictures originally created by Steven Hayward but now carried on by his colleague John Hinderaker of the Powerline blog. Powerline features excellent reporting and analysis of American politics and culture. I’ve been reading the work of Hayward and his colleagues for over fifteen years.
Enjoy this week’s meme.
©2025 Joseph T Drammissi
This article and more of Joe’s work covering the Second Amendment and other topics can be found on Substack at
All good articles to take in this weekend, as usual.
The Coolidge speech, is timeless.