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Happy Independence Day! And it's my hope that all people will be free from government tyranny someday.

First, let's look at the characters. I think this is the first time I've drawn this group together. Going in order from shortest to tallest: peppy mouse Tina, psychic otter Iris, cyborg collie Amber, and genius collie Alex. You might recognize Amber and Tina from a number of my drawings. Iris, despite being drawn so rarely, is actually the main character. And Alex is Amber's brother. He's a smart doggo, and is responsible for Amber's fancy arm. All four of them are part of the same story.

My original plan was to make Iris' adventures into a video game, where she used her psychic powers to fight and traverse areas. But we had trouble implementing the psychic powers, so we're working on a different game idea for now. That's the issue when it's only two people working on something. I'm considering making Iris' story into a comic, which would let me focus a lot more on the story and character interactions.

And as a reference to my 2019 Independence Day picture, this one is also done in halftone. It lends a really neat look to the shading.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more patriotic group of furries. And even though Iris and the others come from another world, they understand when something is worth fighting for.

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With the 4th of July right around the corner, let's talk a little about one of the most important elements of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights and specifically, the 1st Amendment. I'll go quick, so we can all get back to the weekend.

So, why is it a part of the Constitution? Because free speech is a God-given or inalienable, right. It is not given to you by the government or tech oligarchs. And the removal of free speech is designed to prevent the masses from saying bad things about the ruling class. In other words, control via language. We've seen this happen throughout history, and it continues even to today. China has its Social Credit Score system, which is designed to root out behavior and speech the CCP doesn't like. Something similar is happening here in the US as well. Now Facebook has basically become the Face-stahpo, asking people to snitch on their friends and loved ones, all in the name of "preventing extremism." Of course, they won't admit their rampant censorship divides people and makes the fringe larger in the first place.

This warfare through language was one of the main points of George Orwell's famous novel, 1984. The control of language was just a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of thought control. Breaking down language and changing its meaning created a state of uncertainty in the minds of the populace, making them receptive to the control of Big Brother. Newspeak is highlighted by contradictory phrases such as "freedom is slavery" and "ignorance is strength." Using Newspeak, the government changed the way people spoke and thought. Kinda sounds like where we're headed, doesn't it? Political correctness. Pronouns. Social justice. It's our form of Newspeak, designed to break down our current understanding of language. The last thing we need is for Ingsoc to become a real thing. I'd highly recommend checking out 1984. It's a fascinating read, and surprisingly topical. You can even find the audiobook on Youtube and listen to it for free.

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free society. And our rights must be protected. No one has a right to take it from you. Not your own government, enemies abroad, or tech giants. None of them have a right to take your speech from you. I hope that by speaking up like this I can awaken others to defend their rights. One man won't be enough to do that. Whew...let's look at something a little more fun as we wrap this up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=avkfkb… - Here are some safety tips for celebrating the 4th!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWms5J… - This just came out, and is so damn topical it hurts!

Have a wonderful Independence Day! And for all of you who don't live in the US, I hope you have a damn fine weekend!

Art, Tina, Iris, Amber, and Alex ©

Description
Happy Independence Day! And it's my hope that all people will be free from government tyranny someday.

First, let's look at the characters. I think this is the first time I've drawn this group together. Going in order from shortest to tallest: peppy mouse Tina, psychic otter Iris, cyborg collie Amber, and genius collie Alex. You might recognize Amber and Tina from a number of my drawings. Iris, despite being drawn so rarely, is actually the main character. And Alex is Amber's brother. He's a smart doggo, and is responsible for Amber's fancy arm. All four of them are part of the same story.

My original plan was to make Iris' adventures into a video game, where she used her psychic powers to fight and traverse areas. But we had trouble implementing the psychic powers, so we're working on a different game idea for now. That's the issue when it's only two people working on something. I'm considering making Iris' story into a comic, which would let me focus a lot more on the story and character interactions.

And as a reference to my 2019 Independence Day picture, this one is also done in halftone. It lends a really neat look to the shading.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more patriotic group of furries. And even though Iris and the others come from another world, they understand when something is worth fighting for.

---

With the 4th of July right around the corner, let's talk a little about one of the most important elements of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights and specifically, the 1st Amendment. I'll go quick, so we can all get back to the weekend.

So, why is it a part of the Constitution? Because free speech is a God-given or inalienable, right. It is not given to you by the government or tech oligarchs. And the removal of free speech is designed to prevent the masses from saying bad things about the ruling class. In other words, control via language. We've seen this happen throughout history, and it continues even to today. China has its Social Credit Score system, which is designed to root out behavior and speech the CCP doesn't like. Something similar is happening here in the US as well. Now Facebook has basically become the Face-stahpo, asking people to snitch on their friends and loved ones, all in the name of "preventing extremism." Of course, they won't admit their rampant censorship divides people and makes the fringe larger in the first place.

This warfare through language was one of the main points of George Orwell's famous novel, 1984. The control of language was just a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of thought control. Breaking down language and changing its meaning created a state of uncertainty in the minds of the populace, making them receptive to the control of Big Brother. Newspeak is highlighted by contradictory phrases such as "freedom is slavery" and "ignorance is strength." Using Newspeak, the government changed the way people spoke and thought. Kinda sounds like where we're headed, doesn't it? Political correctness. Pronouns. Social justice. It's our form of Newspeak, designed to break down our current understanding of language. The last thing we need is for Ingsoc to become a real thing. I'd highly recommend checking out 1984. It's a fascinating read, and surprisingly topical. You can even find the audiobook on Youtube and listen to it for free.

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free society. And our rights must be protected. No one has a right to take it from you. Not your own government, enemies abroad, or tech giants. None of them have a right to take your speech from you. I hope that by speaking up like this I can awaken others to defend their rights. One man won't be enough to do that. Whew...let's look at something a little more fun as we wrap this up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=avkfkb… - Here are some safety tips for celebrating the 4th!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWms5J… - This just came out, and is so damn topical it hurts!

Have a wonderful Independence Day! And for all of you who don't live in the US, I hope you have a damn fine weekend!

Art, Tina, Iris, Amber, and Alex ©