The map alone is enough to lift one’s spirits. The dots represent No Kings protest demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow — not just in the US but also in Britain, Mexico, and elsewhere. Timely, given that it is both Flag Day and the president’s birthday. I don’t have the stamina to participate in one of Colorado’s more than two dozen demonstrations, but I’ll be there in spirit, flag in one hand, sign in the other.
Yes, there is another event scheduled tomorrow. It seems the president ordered the Army to stage a parade to celebrate his birthday. A $45 million dictator-style parade, with 6,600 marching soldiers, 150 vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft. The usual dictator “display of dominance,” per the No Kings folks. Yes, yes, it’s being billed as a celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday, but we all know who ordered it and why.
No Kings organizers have not scheduled a competing event (aka target) in DC, but meteorologists say Mother Nature might have scheduled one of her own.
Yes!
👍
A relevant article from today’s New York Times: I Ran the L.A.P.D. I Know What Happens When Troops Are Sent to American Cities. (no paywall)
johnthecook…We don’t have a King, we don’t have a dictator, AND we don’t have a Republic, as some of our Founding Fathers thought we did. When “Troops” are sent to American Cities, it’s not because we are demonstration according to The Bill of Rights.
We don’t have a king or a dictator … yet. But he’s sure trying to earn one or both of those titles. He ordered the National Guard and then the Marines into Los Angeles without a request from either the governor or the mayor, a violation of the Constitution. And his doing so greatly exacerbated the LA protests. “No Kings” doesn’t mean we have one; it means we don’t want one or anybody acting like one.
I never quite get what you write, Mr Steidley. I would like to fully understand where your politics are; but your posts are largely nothing more than confusing.
Very heartwarming, that map, Colorado ! I shall look for reports on how it all went, of course.
Protesting in huge numbers ought to tell those unspeakable shits something …
Yes, it should. But I’m not holding my breath.
It’s true that America’s history is replete with wars but that doesn’t mean that we should glorify the act of war. War is a horror and represents the failure of diplomacy. I enjoyed being in the USN because I wanted to be a part of something greater than myself, something worthy of respect and admiration, but a parade of military might is braggadocio. Dictatorships do such things. The United States military has, quite properly, long let its history of actions speak for itself, and that has been effective in garnering respect.. I have never like parades except for those that celebrated the homecoming of our troops.
I am more than a little unhappy about today’s parade, but I suppose the US Army can’t say “no” to the Commander-in-Chief. He called our buried servicemen in Europe “suckers” and “losers” and then he has the gall to ask the Army to throw a parade for him. As little as I think of him, he still finds ways to sink lower. My dad was in the Army, my brother was in the Air Force, my grandson gets home from the Marines tomorrow. I have the utmost respect for our military … and less than no respect for the current Commander-in-Chief.
It was heartening to see so many people turn out for the rallies. We need more of them to get across our message,
It certainly was. Those pictures of wall-to-wall people, extending for blocks, really kept me afloat yesterday. In NYC they were marching in the rain. Out west they marched in the heat. Not thousands but tens of thousands, millions, all across the country. Some great signs, slogan, and chants.
Yeah, much of the signage I saw was really witty !! 🙂
I should have taken notes on the best stuff I saw and heard. Would have made a great post.