This weekend, I had the honor of serving as the Constitution Day speaker for Grand Lake, Colorado. The town, established in 1881, is one of the most irresistibly charming places that I have ever encountered. Located next to Rocky Mountain National Park, it sits adjacent to Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake. Nestled between the mountains at roughly 9,000 feet above sea level, Grand Lake seems untouched by time.
The annual celebration in Grand Lake is one of many held around the country as part of the Constitution Day and Citizenship Day mandate, as outlined in 36 U.S. § 106. There is often financial support for these celebrations, and other towns need to join those like Grand Lake that make these parades and celebrations part of their culture and community.
If you are concerned about the decline in civics education in our schools, this is a way to reinforce such knowledge, as well as a sense of patriotism, across political lines. At a time of political division and violence, people of good faith can come together on this day to celebrate our shared commitment to the Constitution.
Grand Lake is approximately two and a half hours from Denver and situated high in the Rocky Mountains. It is best to do the trip during the day since the dark winding road can be a bit unnerving. During the day, you will also see breathtaking scenes, particularly now as aspens and other trees are turning bright yellow, red, and orange. You can see nature repairing the extensive fires from around five years ago outside of Grand Lake. It makes Constitution Day a big draw for many in the area. I met people who drove in from Wyoming and distant parts of Colorado to experience Constitution Day in Grand Lake.
I had the good fortune of staying at the Gateway Inn, which offers a fantastic view of Grand Lake and the surrounding mountains.
This is a family-run hotel with a popular local bar where local bands play at night. It is a great place to stay for those coming to fish, hike, or just contemplate the Rockies. You can wake up to the sun breaking over the Rockies as I did:
I came to Grand Lake after my friend Ron Paul served as the prior speaker. I was told that the annual celebration, featuring a parade down Main Street, was an experience not to be missed, as people from the town and Colorado gathered in this town to celebrate our constitutional history and shared values.
The sincere pride in our nation was evident everywhere in this town as citizens of all ages to reaffirm their shared identity.
We were led by a wonderful local fife and drum band, shown here (from left to right, Karen McGuire, Patrick Milan, Joe Carroll, Amanda Brown, Joshua Milan, Noah Milan, Nathaniel Moylan).
I was asked to ride in the parade and took some pictures from that vantage point in driving down main street.
Along the streets of this town were families and their pets gathered to cheer the Constitution and our nation. Working in Washington, you can become cynical as patriotism becomes a soundbite or a joke. It is in towns like Grand Lake that you can return to the headwaters of patriotism in our country, a place where patriotism is not some forced demonstration or performative moment.
After the parade and the speech, I returned to the Gateway Inn and later met with around 80 residents and talked in the night about the many issues dividing our nation from AI to immigration to elections. We then went outside to watch the town’s fireworks over the lake. Families put out their chairs to watch a spectacular display as the fireworks reflected off the mirror-like surface of the lake. Families cheered with each explosion as the fireworks brought an end to a wonderful day.
It was hard to leave this town, but I felt restored and rejuvenated by simply being part of their celebration of our Constitution. As difficult as it is to return to tribalism and cynicism of the Beltway, I felt stronger just knowing that there are still places like this that exist in our country.
Thank you, Grand Lake.
Great Refreshing Visit to a place where America still shines.. Thank you, Prof. Turley, for having us in mind when you took so many wonderful photos to make the visit meaningful for us, too……………… and most especially.. would have loved to have been one of the 80 lucky people in the room sharing conversation with you……………..!
Born and raised in Colorado. I have happily and thankfully exited the perved out Blue sh*t hole
How’d you get up there?
Jonathan: Tom Homan is the latest DJT administration official to come under scrutiny. Back in the summer of 2024 Homan had a private consulting firm in Texas.. Homan let it be known that he would be appointed as “Border Czar” under a second DJT administration and could assure contracts on border protection would go to those companies who paid him off. The FBI and DOJ, under Joe Biden, got wind of Homan’s illegal scheme. So FBI agents, disguised as executives of companies seeking government contracts, met with Homan on 9/20/24 and gave him $50K in cash. The whole meeting was captured on secret video.
The FBI/DOJ continued to monitor Homan’s criminal scheme to see whether he would make good on his promises. They knew Homan was not yet an official of the government so they could not charge him with bribery. Then Biden lost the election. DJT new FBI/DOJ put the Homan investigation on the back burner. FBI agents who had been in charge of the Homan investigation became frustrated and apparently leaked to the press the $50K bribe.
K$h Patel was forced to issue this statement: “This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors. They found no credible evidence [???] of any criminal wrongdoing” [by Homan].
So what we can conclude from this attempt to bury the Homan investigation? We now have two coverups. The Epstein file scandal and now the coverup to protect DJT’s Border Czar.
^ CCP troll. Ignore. ^
Oh look, Dennis McInliar is back.
Based on JT, and his minions on this site. It was bad, terrible, for Biden’s son to take money for anything.
However, it is perfectly acceptable for trump, his kids, and anyone else that works for him, to get as rich as they possibly can, any way they can, because they only have 3 more years and papa trump is done. Wealth for me but not for thee. Which goes along with JT’s 1st amendment rants which are really about free speech for me but not for thee.
^ Paid DNC troll. Ignore. ^
Hunter AND Joe – according to now 3 different CHS agents SOLICITED $5M each while Joe was VP in return for the exercise of the official powers of the VP of the United states.
The allegation here – somewhat muddled and self contradictory is that Homan took money for his influence on contracts to be awarded in Sept 2024 and was paid because he MIGHT be part of the new administration – 5 months AFTER the contracts were awarded.
If True – and Homan denies this – not a crime, and not the same as Clinton or Biden.
AS YOU said – Homan was not part of the administration – there was no bribery.
I have no idea what you actually -have – and I have zero trust in your accurately reporting anything.
Nor do I have any trust in the FBI under Biden – we have massive lists of corruption there.
But if you actually have anything of substance – lead with facts and evidence
Searching for actual facts on a story that you can not be trusted on the allegation is that Homan took cash to assure that people would be awarded contracts that were awarded in sept 2024 – that is when Biden was president.
Homan had nothing to do with those contracts, and has had nothing to do with procurement since.
Nor do we have any evidence that Homan received any money, but if he had – former government officials CONSTANTLY are paid because of their ability to influence those currently in the administration. It is perfectly legal.
After all Bill receive 1/2 million from the Russians and Hillary received hndreds of millions through the clinton foundation WHILE IN OFFICE.
I doubt the entirety of the story, but even if true there is nothing that Democrats like Pelosi have not done daily.
I had to work hard to find this – because almost no one is covering anything this stupid.
IF there ever was a ‘cover-up’ of the ‘Epstein files..’ it was under the BIDEN ADMN.. they had ample time to expose everything that Garland-Wray found in all their raids… obviously there was nothing in there that would hurt DT or they would have used that in the Election.. WHY is it such a big deal now if it wasn’t a big deal then? As far as Tom Homan.. so far all we have is hearsay stories like yours.. very convenient.. Knowing Tom Koman, he would have not been stupid enough to start taking bribes at the same time he was fully expecting to play a major role under DT…..
I do not know the truth of this – and I highly doubt you do.
I am NOT trying to say you accurately represented the facts.
But if the FBI came to Homan and offered him Cash in return for illegal acts.
That would be entrapment.
Government actors can NOT initiate or suggest the illegal act.
I do not beleive your reporting is accurate – and that is just one reason why.
Why is it “patriotic”?
OT
Today UK’s Starmer recognized a Palestinian state.
Where will his ambassadors go, Gaza City, Ramallah, or London? Looking all the same culture these days.
Hamas has declared a victory.
It isn’t.
Starmer has made it absolutely necessary for Israel to finish the job quickly and absorb Gaza and the so-called West Bank and to expand its industry so that it does not rely heavily on European products essential to its survival.
Britain under Starmer has become an enemy of Western Civilization and simple decency.
Young
Israel does not want to absorb Gaza and the west bank.
There are plenty of palestinians in Israel, they are citizens and they have full rights.
But they are a minority.
Absorbing the West Bank and Gaza would result in a majority palestinian nation
Israel is not going to let that happen.
While there may be fights over borders Israel wants a two state solution.
The most religious fundimentalist israelis wan all palestinians expelled from Israel and the west bank and gaza.
Regardless there is no incorporate Gaza and the West bank solution.
John,
Naturally I assume Israel will kick the savages out of Gaza and the West Bank. Jews were murdered or kicked out of their homes throughout the ME without a whisper of criticism from the West.
Apparently nobody expects them to live in peace together, so they must go by their own rules.
What do you think would happen if these monsters achieved ascendancy over Israel? Horrors.
And idiots like Starmer would turn away. He has brought Britain to the brink of civil war and, by this measure, has brought the rest of us closer to a world war.
And I have heard enough about the ‘innocent civilians’ in Gaza. They rushed out of their homes to cheer and celebrate while the body of a brutally murdered Israeli woman was driven through the streets in the back of a pickup. They share and exult over videos of rape, torture and murder. Who cheers such atrocities. Soulless monsters, that’s who.
If Starmer likes them so much, let him take them in.
Absolutely no one on the planet wants the Palestinians – Jordan took some – long ago, and they assassinated the king and nearly toppled the country.
Kuwait took some and the cheered Sadam on as he invaded.
Egypt will not even allow Gazans into secure camps in the Sinai, They will not take them even into refugee camps in the desert.
No one on earth wants the palestinians – they are murderous terrorists everywhere they have ever gone.
This is part of why the problem is intractable.
So true John.
As for Britain:
https://archive.is/2025.09.17-235637/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/weimar-britain-lessons-from-history-in-radical-times
“While there may be fights over borders Israel wants a two state solution.”
Most Israelis today consider any discussion of a conventional two-state solution abominable, especially after October 7. As a matter of law, the modern borders of Israel, like those of most Middle Eastern states, were fixed in the post–World War I settlements through the League of Nations mandates and successor treaties. Within that framework, a two-state arrangement already exists: Jordan emerged from the eastern portion of the Palestine Mandate, while Israel arose from the western portion. To press now for a second partition of western Mandatory Palestine is, in effect, to reopen Israel’s boundaries and invite similar challenges to other mandate-era borders grounded in the same legal process. Under that legal framework, boundaries may be altered only by treaty and with the consent of the state that would cede territory. In past negotiations, what remained in dispute were demands that, if granted, would have removed the conditions necessary for Israel’s continued viability as a sovereign Jewish state; for that reason, reinforced by decades of rejection and violence, Israelis overwhelmingly reject a “two-state solution” in its conventional diplomatic sense.
S. Meyer– “Within that framework, a two-state arrangement already exists: Jordan emerged from the eastern portion of the Palestine Mandate, while Israel arose from the western portion”
Thank you for that bit of historical clarity.
SM. I am dealing with the facts on the ground – not specifically the history.
The fact is there are about 6M palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
There is not a country in the entire world that wants them.
No one. Egypt will not even agree to take them into camps in the Sinai desert while Gaza is rebuilt.
So no matter what – they are stuck where they are. They are not going anywhere else.
Sending them anywhere else is a complete non-starter.
Next – there is absolutely zero chance that Israel is going to accept them as part of Israel.
Any one state solution with the Palestinians as part of israel means that the Jews would be immediately outnumbered in their own country. So that is not happening.
So that really only leaves two solutions – leave them as a stateless people occupying the west banks and gaza but administered in some way by Israel, or some form of statehood.
You can make various permutations of this – semi-autonomy.
But you can not move them, and you can not add them to israel.
There are not alot of options left.
John Say: “The fact is there are about 6M palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Strange that the Israelis who are superb at just about everything are incompetent at ‘genocide’ particularly since they, more than anyone, know how it’s done.
Years of ‘genocide’ and there are still 6 mil ‘Palestinians.’
We are, again being lied to.
John, you can deal with population numbers, but that is not reality. The reality is that Gaza hasn’t stopped warring on Israel since Israel unilaterally removed its settlers and troops out and then, as Israel relaxed security, permitting more Gazans easier entry into Israel for work, those same people mapped out Israeli security measures and individual shelters for Israeli citizens to hide in if attacked. You know the end of the story; October 7.
” leave them as a stateless people”
Yes, or perhaps some type of autonomous zones where Israel maintains sovereignty over the land. The Nation of Islam wants separation as well, but they will continue to live under the sovereignty of the United States. There will be no statehood for either group.
There are other possibilities like Egypt providing the unused Sinai as a homeland, but without such a thing happening, all the Palestinian has to do is learn to live in peace.
As I said before, and Trump said recently, Gaza had the chance to be Singapore on the Mediterranean, but preferred killing Israeli civilians and then hiding behind their wives and children so they would be killed instead.
When Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza, removing troops and settlers who created thousands of acres of productive greenhouses and hothouses (very profitable), those profit centers were turned over intact to the Gazans. Additionally, Israel had built irrigation systems, water pumps, and other valuable entities, including roads, water and gas lines, which were turned over to the Gazans.
The Israeli government bulldozed Jewish homes and synagogues, leaving the profitable agricultural and commercial facilities intact. The fledgling industry and agricultural profit centers were quickly looted and destroyed by the Gazans. Pipes from irrigation and plumbing systems were among the materials later repurposed for rocket fire to use for launching missiles at innocent Israeli civilians. For twenty years, the Israelis suffered under the tens of thousands of missiles fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians.
There is an option for Gazans that remains. Live at peace, and their standard of living will soon be higher than most Arabs living in the surrounding Arab nations.
That’s not exactly true. There are a long list of laws within Israel which institutionally discriminate based on ethnicity. For example, since 2011, a law permits smaller Israeli towns to reject residents who do not suit “the community’s fundamental outlook”, based on sex, religion, and socioeconomic status.
This has been used to deny Arab-Israelis the right to move to these towns. If the US allowed small towns to reject a white person’s right to live in the town or a Christian’s right to live in the town, would you say that America gives all the same rights to white people/Christians?
Of course not. We rejected discrimination in college admissions. This is way worse. And that’s only one example.
I’ve been to Israel, am Jewish, and support Israel’s right to exist. But it is very wrong to suggest that Arab-Israelis have the same rights as Jewish Israelis.
Anon– “This has been used to deny Arab-Israelis the right to move to these towns. ”
Good! Now do a Jewish person’s right to settle in Saudi Arabia.
Here’s a look at ‘innocent’ Palestinians cheering and filming executions conducted by Hamas in the street. They are monsters if ever there were such, even worse than Nazis.
https://x.com/jonsac/status/1969817523324322272
You have unearthed the completely predictable result of Israel’s years long war. Unfortunately, it was always likely to lead to the radicalization of more civilians than it neutralized.
If you lost your home and family and are now starving, would you love the folks that are responsible for it? It is way easier to radicalize people in that environment.
“If you lost your home and family and are now starving, would you love the folks that are responsible for it?”
No.
I would not love Hamas or Iran.
I would, though, love Israel for freeing me from those butchers and tyrants.
In your world ignorance prevails.
Thank you, Young, for adding pictures to my previous note explaining the situation in Gaza.
Why would Saudi Arabia’s laws be relevant to evaluating whether Israel affords the same rights to Arab and Jewish citizens?
Do you factor in Canada’s laws when evaluating equality in America?
Young, I think the law referred to by anonymous involves Kibbutzim and some small farming areas. It’s a complex situation that I lack full understanding of, but discrimination based on religion, I think, is banned.
However, here in America, I own a co-op in Manhattan. To buy the co-op, I had to appear before a board for approval and meet a lot of personal criteria. That seems to have similarities with the Kibbutz.
S. Meyer–
I don’t think the Amish have to accept just anyone into their communities. They likely wouldn’t accept me and I am fine with that..Freedom of association. I suspect but don’t really know that some of their communities are like Kibbutzim.
I have hopes for Trump at the UN. That is one corrupt organization that is overdue for a few big spoonsfull of Trump medicine.
“I have hopes for Trump at the UN. “
I hope we throw the UN out. It is an organization mostly run by tyrants. It certainly would clear up some of the traffic and parking spaces illegally utilized. Not only that, but on October 7th, some of the terrorists slitting throats worked for the UN.
Presumably the law you cite also allows predominately palestinian towns in Israel to refuse to accept jews.
*. Looks like a nice community. 9000 ft. Elevation? Must be quite nice.
Thank you for sharing this with your readers!
Thank you for sharing
Love Grand Lake. Glad you’re enjoying it, Turley.
Thing is, you speaking on behalf of patriotism is an insult to those with relatives who’ve died in service of this country. You work for an active purveyor of Russian mis and disinformation and have actively sold out in the pursuit of dismantling the democratic principles of this country. Only when history regards you as such will it be anywhere near accurate.
Other than that, have a fine weekend…, Onward to the further collapse of the nation.
Anon 12:30pm Your comment sounds like an audition for “The View.”
Oh snap. Good one for a cretin.
Wish you had posted this earlier, we would have made a journey there. It is on our calendar for next year.
How wonderful! 🇺🇸
Turley’s speech and Q&As somehow Exceeded my expectations, thanks for speaking at this Pro-Constitution event in the Highest State in the Nation!
Colorado is one of my ancestral homes, beautiful pictures. 😊😊
Thank you for sharing! Beautiful!
It’s clear that Prof. Turley has an affection for America and its people and practices. This fact separates him from most other academics.
Jonathan, why are you still a Democrat???
He is probably Jewish and they simply cannot get their act together. Year after year they vote for the thing that hurts them. Being God’s ‘chosen’ people, they are not the sharpest.
He’s not Jewish. His mom was Italian and his dad Irish, both Gentles.
Looks like a museum celebrating dead animals. Ah, the good ole American West.
Well the museums in DC feature lots of dead people, Ah the good ole District of Columbia.
guess i am missing your point.
What’s Chicago? Chopped liver?
The electorate in D.C. features many dead people too…..all Dimunists.
Sorry to interrupt this pretty post, but… Washington Free Beacon: “The Jewish Voice for Peace chapters at Georgetown University, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, and American University are rebranding as the Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front, a new group promising to be even more aggressive.”
Prof. Turley, anything to say about that?
Groups can rebrand however they wish
They can speak however they wish.
They can not engage in violence, destruction of property or infringement on the rights of others.
Good visit. With Ron Paul having served as previous speaker and you for this year, it sounds like you visited the Colorado of 30 or more years ago. It looks like at least a few remnants remain in tact.
Uplifting…As always, thank you
Thanks Professor. You sure do go to some interesting places.
Now back to Washington D.C. and the Swamp.