The duo remember him as "rough‚ tough‚ loyal and kind." Continue reading…

For those who lived through it‚ Sept. 11‚ 2001‚ is a day they will never forget. But‚ as time moves on‚ we need to ensure that we don't let our children and future generations forget the heroism of those who were in New York City‚ in Washington D.C.‚ and on...

Sunday evening on the social media platform X‚ pop-music megastar Taylor Swift posted an image of the cover for her upcoming album‚ "The Tortured Poets Department." Unsurprisingly‚ in light of Swift's gargantuan cultural influence at the moment‚ her post had more than 85 million views as of early Tuesday afternoon‚...

Country music legend Toby Keith has passed away. Keith‚ 62‚ was battling stomach cancer. He announced his cancer diagnosis in 2022. “Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th‚ surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time‚” a statement on his website read. Tributes came pouring in on social media: Ugh. We lost a legend this week. R.I.P Toby Keith. pic.twitter.com/1qIrem9iJK — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 6‚ 2024 Toby Keith was pro-America without apology. He wrote songs about the values our nation was founded upon – faith‚ family‚ hard work‚ patriotism. He refused to bow to toxic cancellation or anti-Americanism. Our country is better because of men like Toby Keith. Rest in peace. — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 6‚ 2024 Toby Keith was a tried and true‚ red‚ white‚ and blue‚ AMERICAN BADASS! RIP TK‚ sure gonna miss ya Big Dog. Thanks for the music and all the great memories. -Kid Rock — KidRock (@KidRock) February 6‚ 2024 “Never apologize for being patriotic. F*ck em.” – Toby Keith‚ in his first show back after battling stomach cancer. TikTok: CountryMusicAmerica pic.twitter.com/efgWiwLcWc — Louder with Crowder Dot Com (@LWCnewswire) February 6‚ 2024 One of Toby Keith’s last gifts to us was this video of him singing Courtesy of the Red White and Blue on a karaoke machine in the back of an Uber pic.twitter.com/xBcyF9sqvh — Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 6‚ 2024 The Associated Press reports: The 6-foot-4 singer broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s‚ writing songs that fans loved to hear. Over his career he publicly clashed with other celebrities and journalists and often pushed back against record executives who wanted to smooth his rough edges. He was known for his overt patriotism on post 9/11 songs like “Courtesy of the Red‚ White and Blue‚” and boisterous barroom tunes like “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” He had a powerful booming voice‚ a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and range that carried love songs as well as drinking songs. Among his 20 No. 1 Billboard hits were “How Do You Like Me Now?!‚” “As Good As I Once Was‚” “My List” and “Beer for My Horses‚” a duet with Willie Nelson. His influences were other working class songwriters like Merle Haggard and he tallied more than 60 singles on the Hot Country chart over his career. Throughout the cancer treatments‚ Keith continued to perform‚ most recently playing in Las Vegas in December. He also performed on the People’s Choice Country Awards in 2023 as he sang his song “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” Waking up to the terrible news that our friend‚ and legend @tobykeith has passed away from cancer. He was a true Patriot‚ a first class singer/songwriter‚ and a bigger than life kind of guy. He will be greatly missed. — John Rich (@johnrich) February 6‚ 2024 Flashback! Toby Keith at President Trump's Inauguration singing "American Soldier" He was a Legend &; Inspiration to every Country music fan‚ Military Member &; Patriot! God Bless you &; RIP pic.twitter.com/7QBmlXWGWh — JamieR {} Army Girl (@Jamierodr14) February 6‚ 2024 From People: The musician was born Toby Keith Covel on July 8‚ 1961 in Oklahoma and raised on a farm outside of Oklahoma City‚ according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Before focusing solely on pursuing music professionally‚ the lifelong country music fan worked as a rodeo hand in high school and oil fields after he graduated‚ all the while performing in bars at night. During that time in which he played with a band called Easy Money‚ he met his wife of nearly 40 years‚ Tricia Lucas‚ and they were married in 1984 after three years of dating. After they were wed‚ Keith adopted Lucas’ daughter who was born in 1980‚ Shelley Covel Rowland‚ and the two welcomed two more children‚ daughter Krystal in 1985 and son Stelen in 1997. Following a period in which the star played minor league football and performed in the honkey tonk circuit‚ he secured a solo record deal in the early ‘90s and found breakthrough success with his No. 1 hit 1993 single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy‚” per Oklahoma Hall of Fame. The song became the most-played song on country radio of the decade‚ and his self-titled debut album was certified platinum.

Legislation introduced by a Colorado Democrat that would create an online pet registry and establish a tax on all pet animals has been postponed indefinitely. Colorado Democrat Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Establish Tax On All ‘Pet Animals’ The bill‚ sponsored by state Rep. Regina English (D)‚ received intense backlash. WATCH: HEADS UP! The proposed bill that would have created a pet registration system in Colorado will be postponed at the end of the week. I spoke with the bill's sponsor about the proposal and why it will be taken down.#coloradonews #news #laws #petlaws pic.twitter.com/li9CgWNDfs — Grace Kraemer (@GraceKraemerTV) February 6‚ 2024 The bill‚ called the ‘Pet Animal Registration Act‚’ establishes the “pet animal registration enterprise in the department of agriculture to provide business services to pet animal owners who pay pet registration fees to the enterprise.” Under the legislation‚ pet owners must register their pet in the system and pay an annual fee between $8.50 to $25 for each pet. “A pet animal owner must register the pet animal in the system annually for a fee set by the enterprise‚ which must be no more than $8.50 annually per pet animal with a designated caregiver‚ $16 annually per pet animal that is a dog or cat that is not neutered or spayed and has a designated caregiver‚ and $25 annually per pet animal without a designated caregiver‚” a summary of the bill reads. “The fee set by the enterprise is in addition to any pet registration or licensing fee assessed by any other jurisdiction. The enterprise will collect both state and local fees and transmit any fee levied by another jurisdiction to that jurisdiction and the fee levied by the state to the newly created pet animal registration cash fund. The state’s fee will be used to develop‚ implement‚ maintain‚ and administer the system and reimburse animal shelters for the cost of taking custody of a pet animal for which a caregiver cannot be located or has refused to take custody‚” it continued. Grassroots works! This government overreach was defeated before it was even heard in its first committee. “While English did not answer questions on why she proposed the bill‚ she confirmed that she plans to postpone it indefinitely.” #coleg #copolitics https://t.co/r3sNscJid4 — AFP Colorado (@AFPColorado) February 5‚ 2024 Denver7 reports: Under the provisions of the bill‚ a caregiver would have to agree to take on the pet. Pets that were not registered in the system could face a civil penalty of $100 maximum. State Representative Regina English‚ D - El Paso County‚ introduced the bill on Jan. 31. “The idea behind it was to create a pet contingency plan for mainly senior people when they're in crisis or something happens‚ and they would have that person that would have guardianship over their pet‚ if something happened. Because we all know that our pet shelters are over capacity‚" English said. “It would create a safety net for first responders‚ because with people registering a guardian over their pets‚ it would also come with a sticker that would identify a certain color to let the first responders knew if there's an aggressive pet in the home.” English said the idea came from a LifePet.Care pilot study. However‚ the draft of the bill was not what she envisioned. “I never would intentionally want a piece of legislation that's going to overburden‚ over tax‚ and put the people of Colorado in financial distress‚" English said. “Quite frankly‚ it just put the people of Colorado in an uproar.” "We have been informed that this bill has been pulled by the Sponsor due to overwhelming opposition and hearing about the problems that would be caused! Thank you to everyone who opposed this pet tax and informed legislators about its unjust consequences!" USARK wrote. USARK previously explained the absurdity of the legislation: To summarize how outrageous that is‚ if someone has 100 aquarium fish or koi in a water garden‚ they could be paying $850 annually to have those fish. If you do not register a “designated caregiver” with the State that means having 100 aquarium fish will cost you $2‚500 annually! Ten pet reptiles will cost $85 to $250 annually. 20 assorted pets (dog‚ cat‚ hamster‚ parakeet‚ tarantula‚ 2 snakes‚ three frogs‚ and 10 fish) would be $170 to $500 each year for this new tax. This tax would apply to all “pet animals.” A child with an ant farm (ants are invertebrates)… get ready to pay big for those pet ants‚ parents! The new “online pet animal registration system” will be created and maintained by the Department of Agriculture. The penalty for not registering your animals is up to $100 per animal (“per unlawful act or violation”). If a good citizen is unaware of this new law‚ those 100 unregistered aquarium or water garden fish could cost $10‚000 in fines! Per the bill‚ “pet animal” means: A DOG‚ CAT‚ RABBIT‚ GUINEA PIG‚ HAMSTER‚ MOUSE‚ RAT‚ GERBIL‚ FERRET‚ BIRD‚ FISH‚ REPTILE‚ AMPHIBIAN‚ INVERTEBRATE‚ OR ANY OTHER SPECIES OF WILD OR DOMESTIC OR HYBRID ANIMAL SIX MONTHS OF AGE OR OLDER‚ THAT IS SOLD‚ TRANSFERRED‚ OR RETAINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING KEPT AS A HOUSEHOLD PET. The bill does not state any exemption for Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) Program registered animal breeders/sellers. So the tax could apply to each animal in those facilities that is over six months old. However‚ those animals under PACFA should not be included since the definition of “pet animal” includes the text‚ “THAT IS SOLD‚ TRANSFERRED‚ OR RETAINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING KEPT AS A HOUSEHOLD PET.” The only animals exempt are “livestock”: COW‚ HORSE‚ MULE‚ BURRO‚ SHEEP‚ POULTRY‚ SWINE‚ LLAMA‚ OR GOAT‚ other working animals on a farm or ranch‚ and animals raised for “food or fiber production.”