Today is the anniversary of what became known as the Boston Massacre where five Bostonians were shot and killed by British soldiers.
In 2020, Camp Constitution attended the 250th anniversary of the Massacre which took place at the Old Granary Burial Ground where the victims are buried. The event was sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution with the Henry Knox Color Guard of the Sons of the American Revolution also on hand for the event.
May their memory always be honored.
Last week as I was heading from my home to a speaking engagement when the transmission in our van malfunctioned. I had the vehicle towed to our mechanic in Alton, NH. The van is a 2019 Chrysler Grand Caravan with over 178,000 miles. The mechanic gave us an estimate of between $5,500 to $6,000 to rebuild the transmission, but he recommended that due to the age and mileage of the vehicle, we not spent the money for a repair.
We decided to take his advice and will replace the vehicle. Thankfully, Roberta Stewart, a member of our board of directors, has generously allowed us the use of her truck until she returns to New Hampshire in May. We estimate that the cost to find a suitable replacement will be $30,000+. We have already received a pledge of $1,000.
We are asking our friends and supporters for donations to help cover the cost of a replacement van. Those who are able to help may donation via our PayPal accounted accessed from our website’s homepage: https://campconstitution.net/ or via check payable to Camp Constitution
Those who own a business or manage non-profits can become official Camp Constitution sponsors and be listed as a Camp Sponsor for donations of $100. or more: Camp Sponsors | campconstitution.net
Blessings,
Hal Shurtleff, Director
Camp Constitution
Alton, NH
(A picture of our van in 2019 after having Brice Socha did the signage.)
On February 27, 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed an order barring U.S. military officers from attending professional education programs at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, and MIT, among others, beginning in the 2026–27 academic year. His reasoning was direct — these institutions have become hostile to the values, mission, and culture of the American military.
The reaction from the left was immediate. Racism. Transphobia. Culture war. Political theater. Retaliation. The usual playbook.
Before accepting that framing, it is worth looking at what these schools actually did.
Hegseth didn’t arrive at this conclusion from the outside looking in. He went to Princeton. He earned his graduate degree at Harvard. He sat in those classrooms, walked those campuses, and watched how that world thinks and operates. He knows what is taught, what is rewarded, and what is quietly punished inside those walls.
When he signed that order, he wasn’t taking a political shot. He was doing what the record demanded.
And the record backs him up completely.
School by School
Columbia
The federal government froze $400 million in funding after finding the university had systematically failed to protect Jewish students. Swastikas drawn in classrooms. Formal complaints left uninvestigated for nearly two years. Columbia eventually settled — $200 million, federal oversight of its Middle East studies department, and a full overhaul of student discipline. One of the wealthiest universities on earth couldn’t bring itself to protect its own students. That is not a policy failure. That is a character failure.
Harvard
More than $2.2 billion in federal research funding frozen. President Claudine Gay was asked directly by Congress whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people violated campus policy. She couldn’t answer. She resigned shortly after — the shortest presidency in Harvard’s 386-year history — and was later found to have plagiarized portions of her own dissertation. Harvard is now in federal court fighting the freeze. They would rather litigate than lead.
Penn
$175 million in funding suspended. President Liz Magill resigned the same week as Gay, following the same congressional hearing, for the same reason. Two Ivy League presidents. One straightforward moral question. Neither could answer it.
Brown
A $510 million freeze threatened. Settled for $50 million. Brown’s administration had previously negotiated with protest encampments, promising a board vote on divesting from Israel. The board voted no. But the moment a university starts bargaining with the people shutting it down, it has already told you who is really in charge.
Yale
The ADL gave Yale a D on its 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card. The Department of Education opened two separate federal investigations for failing to protect Jewish students. Jewish students were physically blocked from entering campus events. Yale receives nearly $900 million annually in federal funding. All of it now sits under a cloud. They spent more energy watching what Harvard did than protecting their own students.
MIT
When the federal government offered universities a straightforward compact — merit-based admissions, free speech, no DEI — MIT’s president rejected it. MIT then sued the federal government to block funding cuts. When pressed on a DEI nonprofit under federal investigation, they cut ties only after being forced into the open. Brilliant institution. Wrong priorities. Every time.
The Diversity That Isn’t
These schools sell diversity as their highest virtue. It’s on every website, every banner, every commencement speech.
What they mean is representation of every identity — except the ones that built this country.
Their faculties vote for one party at rates above 95 percent. Not 51 percent. Not 60 percent. 95 percent. You won’t find conservative professors. You won’t find many Christians. Anyone who thinks differently learns quickly — keep your mouth shut or find somewhere else to work.
And Jewish students? They’re leaving. Between 2023 and 2025 Jewish enrollment dropped at Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, and Penn — nearly 100 fewer Jewish students per class. One in three Jewish students on these campuses now says they censor themselves out of fear. In 1967 Columbia’s student body was 40 percent Jewish. These schools didn’t just fail their Jewish students. They drove them out.
That is not diversity. That is a closed system that costs families anywhere from $83,000 to nearly $100,000 a year — and hands you a credential at the end.
And they don’t survive on tuition alone. These institutions collect billions in federal funding every year. Taxpayer money. Working-class money. From the very people they look down on.
And for decades, that credential has flowed directly into the officer corps of the United States military.
What the Military Needs
The American military is built on people the Ivy League has never fully understood.
Young men and women who enlisted at eighteen. Families who prayed for their safe return. Communities that buried their own and kept going.
The military promotes on merit because failure costs lives.
What it needs from leaders is moral clarity, decisiveness, and a belief in the country they defend. What it does not need is officers shaped by institutions that have spent years teaching that America itself is the problem.
Thirteen service members were killed in Kabul. The Afghan government collapsed in seventy-two hours. Billions in equipment handed to the Taliban on live television. The leadership class overseeing that outcome held the finest credentials in the world.
The diplomas didn’t help.
The Bottom Line
Trump and Hegseth are not anti-education. They are anti-failure.
Institutions that couldn’t protect Jewish students, couldn’t answer basic moral questions, and have spent decades producing leaders more comfortable with ideology than strategy are not worthy partners for the United States Armed Forces.
For years, the Ivy League told working-class America that their faith was a crutch, their patriotism was naive, and their values were relics of a less enlightened time.
They were wrong.
The people carrying this country — in uniform, in factories, on job sites, in towns far from any Ivy campus — knew it all along.
Here is something worth remembering. Harvard was founded in 1636 to train clergy. Yale was founded by ten pastors. Princeton’s original seal still reads “Under God’s Power, She Flourishes.” Columbia’s first president said the school’s purpose was to teach students “to know God in Jesus Christ.” Brown was founded by Baptist churches. These were not secular institutions that happened to tolerate faith. They were built on it.
Every one of them.
They abandoned that foundation a long time ago. What replaced it was on full display when two of their presidents couldn’t tell Congress that calling for genocide is wrong.
You either stand for something or you don’t. These schools do stand for something. Just not America. Not her military. Not the Judeo-Christian values that built this country — and built them.
The families who send their sons and daughters to fight for this country never forgot where this nation came from.
The Pentagon hasn’t either.
It’s about time.
In this short video, Hal Shurtleff, host of the Camp Constitution Report, discusses Gavin Newsom’s admitted illiteracy, what Sam Blumenfeld had to say about dyslexia and Sam’ solution: The use of phonics. Hal pointed out that the dismal results that we see in our nation’s government schools are the desired results as Sam proved many years ago.
A link to the archive: http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/
| Today, February 22, 2026, marks the 294th anniversary of the birth of George Washington, who, in this writer’s opinion, was the greatest man born in America. He is rightfully known as the “Father of His Country.” At his funeral, Major General Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee said that Washington was “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Even his enemies had profound respect for him. When King George III heard that Washington planned to resign his commission and return to his farm, he said ‘If he does that ,he will be the greatest man in the world.”
While there are numerous biographies written about this great and good man, I recommend two short books and his “Farewell Address” “Washington’s 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior” He wrote these 110 rules when he was 16 years old from a set of rules established by French Jesuits in 1595. Here is a sample of those rules: “When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually Discovered.” |
| “Show Nothing to your Friend that may affright him.” |
| “In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.”
“The Bullet Proof George Washington”: An account of George Washington’s part in the July 9th, 1755, battle during the French and Indian War. During the two-hour battle, the 23-year-old Colonel Washington had ridden on the battlefield, delivering the general’s orders to other officers and troops. The officers had been a special target for the Indians. Of the eighty-six British and American officers, sixty-three were casualties. Washington was the only officer on horseback not shot down. Following the battle, Washington wrote a letter to his brother in which he readily and openly acknowledged: “By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!” Fifteen years later, an old, respected Indian chief sought out Washington. The chief, explaining that he had led the Indians against them in the battle fifteen years earlier, revealed to Washington what had occurred behind the scenes during the conflict: “I called to my young men and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss–’twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we shielded you. Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you…I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.”
His “Farewell Address”: Washington’s plan to retire from office would come to be known as his “Farewell Address.” In 1792, when Washington considered leaving office, he had James Madison write a draft. In 1796, Alexander Hamilton did a rewrite and Washington edited it. The “American Daily Advertiser,” a paper in Philadelphia, the seat of the nation’s capital at the time, published it on September 19, 1796. Here are a few of the points that have stood the test of time: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain, would man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness” “It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding the exercise of the power of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments into one, and thus create whatever the form of government, a real despotism” and “The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible.” May this generation of Americans endeavor to keep George Washington’s legacy alive.
|
Our late friend and mentor Sam Blumenfeld was ahead of his time. He made this presentation in 1988
I grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts — perhaps the most authentic working-class community in the country, where faith, family, loss, and resilience were simply part of life.
I was raised in a large Catholic family with mostly Italian roots, with a little Irish mixed in. As the youngest, I was a little bashful. My father had a larger-than-life personality, and people greeted him wherever we went. In Gloucester — and across Boston’s North Shore — everybody knew him, and they knew all of us. I spent a lot of time at his side, listening and absorbing more than I realized at the time.
I was too young to really know my grandfathers, but their lives were always part of our family story. One was a Gloucester fisherman. The other was a Gloucester police officer.
Both sets of grandparents lived above my father’s business, directly across the street from Our Lady of Good Voyage Church. From our windows, we could see the church every day. We didn’t just attend it — we lived in its shadow. It was where every baptism, every First Communion, every Confirmation, every wedding, and every funeral in our family took place.
My father took a simple idea and turned it into an iconic place in our community. Even today, when I travel and tell people I’m from Gloucester and give them my last name, the first question is often, “Are you related to Destino’s?”
I grew up watching my father run a business that drew people from every part of Gloucester. Gloucester is also a tourist destination, and in the summer the population nearly doubles. That meant we got to know people from all over — a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
People came because they knew what they were getting — good food, fair prices, and a place where nobody put on airs.
Faith, work, and daily life weren’t separate in Gloucester. Many of our customers came straight from Mass across the street, stopping in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. People came and went all day, sitting together, talking, and keeping up with what was happening in their lives and in the city.
Before long, it became a morning routine for local leaders as well. Mayors, city councilors, school committee members, and state representatives were regulars, sitting alongside the same people they represented.
In election years, Senator Ted Kennedy would stop in for a photo. After that, the real conversations continued without the cameras.
The talk was constant—sometimes serious, sometimes heated, often filled with laughter, always real.
As a kid, I listened more than I spoke. Over time, I developed a sense for people — who was real and who wasn’t.
In 1978, when I was twelve years old, faith stopped being something I just went along with. It became something I needed. That was the year three fishing boats from our town were lost at sea. Fourteen men were lost. Close friends of mine lost their fathers. I remember praying when one of the boats was still missing and the search hadn’t been called off yet. It was the first time I really prayed.
In Gloucester, that kind of loss was never distant. It was families you knew. People you saw every day. The same people who came into my father’s place, whose kids you went to school with and hung out with. It brought me closer to my own father and made me realize how fortunate I was to still have him. Most kids my age weren’t thinking about faith. But that year, I started to see why it mattered. When something like that happens, you either turn away or you lean in. I leaned in.
Just last month, with the loss of the Lily Jean and all seven members of her crew, I saw the same thing again — the same grief, the same faith, the same community coming together the way it always has. Moments like this have a way of bringing people back — young and old — to what truly matters. We’ve seen it here in Gloucester. I believe we’re seeing it in many places right now.
Growing up here, those experiences stay with you. Having to lean on your faith in those valleys toughens you and prepares you for what comes next.
I was an athlete in high school and college, which taught me discipline, teamwork, and how to compete. Later, I built a career working with people and relationships, and I was fortunate to learn from great coaches, mentors, and professors who shaped the way I lead today.
My wife and I raised our three children here in Gloucester. We’re proud of all of them. They grew up around the same faith, families, and community that shaped me.
Growing up in Gloucester, you don’t just hear about class and culture—you see it every day. It’s one of the most economically diverse communities you’ll find anywhere.
I saw people who carried real responsibility alongside the so-called elite and credentialed class, many of whom believed their education or status gave them a better understanding of the world. Too often, they underestimated the people who actually keep communities running.
Those experiences shaped how I think about leadership, responsibility, and what truly matters. Over time, they formed what I now call The Destino Doctrine.
This is where I’ll write about faith, leadership, family, community, and the cultural and spiritual challenges facing our country — not from theory, but from lived experience.
My hope is that these reflections encourage people, wherever they are, to lead with courage, take responsibility for the people in their lives, and strengthen the communities around them. If that resonates with you, I hope you’ll follow along. The lessons I learned in Gloucester aren’t unique. They are the same lessons that built this country, and we need them now more than ever.
Help celebrate our 250th Anniversary by learning about the men who risked their lives and signed the Declaration of Independence by learning about them and helping other to learn about them. And, one of the best ways to do that is by reading Lives of the Signers a reprint of an 1848 classic B. J. Lossing. This is a 384 page paperback. The cost is $20. which includes shipping and handling.
A link to order the book: https://campconstitution.net/product/lives-of-the-signers/
Today is Presidents’ Day. One of Massachusetts’ own, Founding Father John Adams—the principal author of the Massachusetts Constitution and later our first Vice President and second President—warned in 1798:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
For decades, we’ve watched this country slowly lose its moral footing. This cultural and moral collapse didn’t happen overnight. It seeped into many of our institutions—our universities, public schools, city halls, libraries, corporate America, and even local chambers of commerce.
Sadly, in many cases it has also reached our churches. Some have drifted to become more like the world around them, losing focus on their mission to preach and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When that happens, they are no longer churches—only buildings.
Freedom only works when people can govern themselves. And self-government begins in the heart. That means faith. It means repentance. It means turning back to God.
This isn’t just a national issue. It plays out in every community. I see it here at home on Cape Ann, and many of you see it where you live.
When I was growing up, we had two strong Catholic schools in our community—St. Ann’s and St. Mel’s—both first through eighth grade, packed with students and families deeply connected to their faith. These schools were not just places of learning. They were pillars of our community. They strengthened the moral foundation of generations of children through faith, discipline, and religious education, while also supporting and sustaining the local Catholic Church and parish life.
Today, both are gone, and they are missed deeply. As those institutions disappeared, much of that shared foundation weakened. Many families were left with fewer choices, and increasing numbers of children were pushed into government-run education, which in many places has continued to decline in quality and performance.
St. Peter’s Catholic Church in East Gloucester closed more than 20 years ago and has since been converted into condos. When I was growing up, it was a vibrant, healthy parish filled with families and deeply connected to the life of the community.
These changes did not happen overnight. They unfolded over years. This cultural and spiritual drift is not new. It has been building quietly for decades.
These battles don’t start in Washington. They start locally—in our homes, our churches, and our schools. The alarm is sounding. More people are waking up. The question is simple: Can we recover?
Yes—but only if we turn back to God first.
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven… and I will heal their land.”
— 2 Chronicles 7:14
For decades, people of faith were told it’s not polite to talk about faith or politics. You’ve heard that your whole life, haven’t you? That advice is certainly not biblical. It encouraged silence at a time when truth needed to be spoken.
But the culture kept moving. While many were trying to be polite, the foundations of our country were being reshaped.
We cannot afford that silence any longer.
Jesus spoke directly to this:
“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before My Father in heaven.”
— Matthew 10:32–33
This is the calling of every believer—to go, to speak, and not to stay silent. It isn’t about being loud or political. It’s about being faithful.
We are called to go into the world and share the Gospel—to speak the truth with love and courage. Because to truly love someone is to be honest with them, not to mislead or stay silent when the truth matters most.
When even a few people are willing to stand, others find the strength to do the same. Courage spreads.
Renewal begins in our communities. It begins with each of us.
Godspeed.
