#nokingsdayprotests — Public Fediverse posts

Lazy Caturday Reads: No Kings!

It’s No Kings Day!

There will be thousands of protests in cities and towns around the country today. Here’s what’s happening.

The Guardian: Millions expected across all 50 US states to march in No Kings protests against Trump.

Americans across all 50 states will march in protests against the Trump administration on Saturday, aligning behind a message that the country is sliding into authoritarianism and there should be no kings in the US.

Millions are expected to turn out for the No Kings protests, the second iteration of a coalition that marched in June in one of the largest days of protest in US history. Events are scheduled for more than 2,700 locations, from small towns to large cities.

Donald Trump has cracked down on US cities, attempting to send in federal troops and adding more immigration agents. He is seeking to criminalize dissent, going after left-leaning organizations that he claims are supporting terrorism or political violence. Cities have largely fought back, suing to prevent national guard infusions, and residents have taken to the streets to speak out against the militarization of their communities.

Trump’s allies have sought to cast the No Kings protests as anti-American and led by antifa, the decentralized anti-fascist movement, while also claiming that the protests are prolonging the government shutdown. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has said he will send the state’s national guard to Austin, the state’s capital, in advance of the protests….

“What’s most important as a message for people to carry is that the president wants us to be scared, but we will not be bullied into fear and silence,” said Lisa Gilbert, the co-president of Public Citizen, one of the protest organizers. “And it’s incredibly important for people to remain peaceful, to stand proud and to say what they care about, and not to be cowed by that fear.”

The simple framing of the protests is that the US has no kings, a dig at Trump’s increasing authoritarianism. Among the themes the organizers have pointed to: Trump is using taxpayer money for power grabs, sending in federal forces to take over US cities; Trump has said he wants a third term and “is already acting like a monarch”; the Trump administration has taken its agenda too far, defying the courts and slashing services while deporting people without due process.

I expect that some Republicans will try to spark violence at these protest rallies. I hope people will remain peaceful no matter what.

CNN is posting live updates of the events, with photos: Protesters rally against the Trump administration at ‘No Kings’ events across the country.

Politico: Round 2 of ‘No Kings’ draws Republican attacks.

The nationwide “No Kings” protest movement is back for round two — and after avoiding Washington during the summer, protesters are expected to descend on the nation’s capital Saturday amid an 18-day government shutdown that has no end in sight.

The demonstrations are part of the second national day of action, organized by dozens of liberal advocacy groups to protest what they call “authoritarian power grabs” on the part of President Donald Trump.

Organizers said they expect the more than 2,600 events across all 50 states to surpass the more than 5 million people who attended the first wave of “No Kings” rallies in June. The marches come amid heightened criticism from Republicans about this weekend’s rallies.

“They might try to paint this weekend’s events as something dangerous to our society, but the reality is there is nothing unlawful or unsafe about organizing and attending peaceful protests,” said Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s the most patriotic and American thing you can do, and we have a 250-year-old history of disagreeing in public.”

Amid the heightened tensions of the shutdown, Republicans have repeatedly sought to vilify the planned protests. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other leading Republicans have referred to the protests as a “hate America rally” and sought to tie it to Hamas and antifa. And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also announced Thursday that he would be sending members of the state’s National Guard — as well as state troopers, Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety personnel — to Austin on Saturday in response to the planned demonstrations.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Trump said “some people say [Democrats] want to delay” ending the government shutdown because of the rallies.

“They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in the interview.

Then stop acting like one!

A related and troubling story from The New York Times: Military Plans to Fire Artillery Over California Freeway on Saturday.

The Marines plan to fire 155-millimeter artillery shells over a major freeway in Southern California on Saturday as part of a demonstration at Camp Pendleton to celebrate the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary.

The plans to fire over the freeway triggered outrage by Gov. Gavin Newsom late Friday night after his office had been informed days earlier that the celebration would not involve firing munitions across Interstate 5, a heavily traveled corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Early Saturday, Mr. Newsom said the state would shut a 17-mile section of the freeway from noon to 3 p.m. Pacific time because of potential hazards posed by the military’s plans.

“This is a profoundly absurd show of force that could put Californians directly in harm’s way,” Mr. Newsom said in a statement to The New York Times.

He criticized President Trump and said the lack of coordination among state, federal and local officials was creating a dangerous situation. The artillery demonstration, to be attended by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and military officials, will take place on the same day that anti-Trump activists plan to hold “No Kings” protests across the country, including in Southern California.

“Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength — it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office the president holds,” Mr. Newsom said.

I hope no one gets hurt. As I said earlier, I would not be at all surprised to see efforts by right wingers to spark violence at the demonstrations.

In Ukraine war news, Trump met with Ukraine president Vladimir Zelensky yesterday, and he refused Zelensky’s request for Tomahawk cruise missiles, seemingly based on a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin.

The Washington Post (gift link): With a phone call, Putin appears to change Trump’s mind on Ukraine. Again.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put his relationship with President Donald Trump back on track with a phone call just ahead of Trump’s crucial Friday meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that was meant to include discussions of providing Ukraine with powerful new long range weapons.

Up until the Thursday phone call, Trump had seemed ready to boost Ukraine’s arsenal and negotiating position with Tomahawk cruise missiles. But in its wake and after the subsequent meeting with Zelensky, Trump played down all talk of the missiles and instead focused on yet another summit with Putin.

It was the latest swing in Trump’s back and forth positions on the Russia-Ukraine war that often change following contact with Putin, who has shown a great deal of skill in persuading the U.S. president to his view of the conflict.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we’re fairly close to that,” Trump said to journalists as he began his meeting with Zelensky. “We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”

Instead of new support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia, Trump announced a new summit with Putin — a bonus for the Russian leader — “to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” There was no talk of Russia curtailing its ongoing bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter.

So far, Russia has succeeded in deterring Trump from imposing further sanctions — or sending more powerful weapons to Ukraine — by continually dangling hopes of a peace deal, while it ramps up attacks.

Use the gift link to read the rest.

NPR: After Zelenskyy meeting, Trump calls on Ukraine and Russia to ‘stop where they are’ and end the war.

President Donald Trump on Friday called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end their brutal war following a lengthy White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump’s frustration with the conflict has surfaced repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to office, but with his latest comments he edged back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia.

“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,” Trump said in a Truth Social post not long after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for more than two hours of talks. “They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”

Later, soon after arriving in Florida, where he’s spending the weekend, Trump urged both sides to “stop the war immediately” and implied that Moscow keep territory it’s taken from Kyiv.

“You go by the battle line wherever it is — otherwise it’s too complicated,” Trump told reporters. “You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.”

So Trump is hanging out at Mar-a-Lago as the government shutdown continues.

Luke Broadwater at The New York Times (gift link): The Shutdown Is Stretching On. Trump Doesn’t Seem to Mind.

President Trump has repurposed money to fund military salaries during the government shutdown. He has pledged to find ways to make sure many in law enforcement get paid. He has used the fiscal impasse to halt funding to Democratic jurisdictions, and is trying to lay off thousands of federal workers.

Government shutdowns are usually resolved only after the pain they inflict on everyday Americans forces elected officials in Washington to come to an agreement. But as the shutdown nears a fourth week, Mr. Trump’s actions have instead reduced the pressure for an immediate resolution and pushed his political opponents to further dig in.

“We’re not going to bend,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said on Friday, the 17th day of the shutdown. “We’re not going to break.” He added: “All of these efforts to try to intimidate Democratic members of the House and the Senate are not going to work.”

Unlike past presidents, Mr. Trump appears to feel little urgency to strike a deal to reopen the government. Instead, he has used the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, as an opportunity to further remake the federal bureaucracy and jettison programs he does not like, seizing on unorthodox budgetary maneuvers that some have called illegal.

Administration officials appear undaunted by the criticism, even after a federal judge temporarily blocked their efforts to conduct mass firings. On Friday, some agencies indicated in court filings that they might proceed with layoffs that officials suggested were not covered by the order.

Russell T. Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the architect of the effort to remake the government, has pledged to “stay on offense” throughout the shutdown.

“He now has this cover for doing what at least Russ Vought and that coalition has wanted to do all along,” Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University, said of Mr. Trump.

Trump claims to be working on making health care more affordable.

Asked in the Oval Office this week whether he would use his deal-making skills to bring the shutdown to an end, Mr. Trump said that he was instead working to lower health care costs without the help of Congress, by negotiating agreements directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower prescription costs.

“We have to take care of our health care,” he said.

White House officials say that the administration’s moves are meant to send the message that it is Mr. Trump, not congressional Democrats, who is helping Americans when government funding has lapsed.

“Any negative impacts felt by the American people have purely been caused by the Democrats,” said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.

Use the gift link to read more if you’re interested. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump lets the shutdown go on until next year and beyond. We’ll see if the Republicans fight back after hearing from their constituents.

Tom Latchem at The Daily Beast: Public Health Professor Warns Trump’s ‘Eugenics’ Policy Echoes Nazism.

An eminent ER doctor and health policy expert has warned that President Donald Trump’s government shutdown talk about “deserving” patients mirrors a “eugenics” policy adopted by the Nazis.

The shutdown is about to enter its fourth week after Congress failed to pass full-year funding. The White House and Speaker Mike Johnson are demanding spending cuts and immigration concessions, while Senate Democrats insist on extending ACA subsidies and undoing the summer healthcare cuts before reopening agencies.

Dr. Craig Spencer, who lectures on the history of health and eugenics at Brown University and is one of the country’s most influential clinician voices on emergency care, said the administration’s framing echoes America’s 1920s policy of sorting people by “worthiness… cloaked in what’s ‘acceptable’ by the state.

Spencer warns that President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are pursuing eugenics with their health policies.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

“It’s not a stretch to say this administration is touting a eugenics agenda, which was perfected by the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s and later adopted by the Nazis. People don’t want to call it that because it feels unsayable. But it’s real,” Spencer told the Daily Beast.

In 1920s America, eugenics was a mainstream policy movement that used bogus “race science” to justify restrictive immigration laws and state-mandated sterilization of people labeled “unfit.”

The language of Trump’s government, Spencer said, is “almost the same on immigration, access to healthcare, and who deserves the fruits of government,” and its “logical conclusion—while they won’t say it out loud—is letting certain people die.”

“I’ve been reluctant to compare what’s happening now to the eugenics movement 100 years ago, but as every new day goes by I’m less reluctant,” he added.]

There’s more at the link.

Meanwhile, some people will soon learn what their health insurance is going to cost them next year and what will happen to their food stamp benefits.

The New York Times: Higher Obamacare Prices Become Public in a Dozen States.

Health insurance prices for next year under the Affordable Care Act are now available in about a dozen states, giving Americans their first look at the sharp increases many will pay for coverage if Congress does not extend subsidies that have made some plans more affordable.

The annual enrollment period for Obamacare is expected to begin Nov. 1, but the costs for some Americans are becoming publicly available piecemeal through some state marketplaces. The federal website healthcare.gov, which includes 28 other state marketplaces, is slated to post prices before the end of October.

People shopping for coverage can now preview the costs they face from potentially expiring subsidies and sharply rising premiums in many markets, including California, New York, Nevada, Maryland and Idaho. Some consumers also found out that they would have fewer choices because their insurers dropped out of some markets for 2026.

Based on the newly posted information, a family of four making $130,000 in Maine would face an increase of $16,100 in annual premiums next year because they would no longer qualify for more generous subsidies, said Gideon Lukens, a health policy researcher for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which supports extending the subsidies.

Older people will also see sharp increases, according to his calculations. In Kentucky, a 60-year-old couple making $85,000 per year could face an increase of $23,700 in annual premiums. In Nevada, a similar couple could pay an additional $18,100 in annual premiums, while in Minnesota, the cost might be $15,500 more and, in Maryland, an additional $13,700.

The government shutdown has already amplified the potential for higher health insurance costs for millions of Americans if the subsidies are not continued. Democrats have demanded that Republicans extend the more generous subsidies in any deal to reopen the federal government, which has been closed for 17 days over a spending impasse.

The New York Times: Food Stamp Benefits May Run Out in November, Officials Warn.

If the government shutdown continues into November, about 42 million low-income people could face severe disruptions to their food stamp benefits, the Agriculture Department warned in a letter to state agencies last week, saying that the federal government would have “insufficient funds.”

More than a dozen states have since warned that food stamp recipients may experience significant delays in obtaining benefits next month, see their aid reduced or not receive assistance at all.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, said that the Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service, which operates the food stamp program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was exploring contingency plans. But it directed state agencies to pause sending vendors the electronic files typically used to load the benefits for November.

“We’re going to run out of money in two weeks,” Brooke L. Rollins, the agriculture secretary, told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “So you’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families that are not going to have access to these programs because of this shutdown.”

In a statement, a White House official said that Democrats “chose to shut down the government knowing that programs like SNAP would soon run out of funds.”

Such a disruption would be the first in recent decades. Benefits have remained available through every shutdown in the last 20 years, said Carolyn Vega, the associate director of policy analysis for Share Our Strength, a nonprofit that supports antipoverty programs.

“We are in uncharted territory,” she said.

I’ll end with this enraging story, again from The New York Times: Coast Guard Buys Two Private Jets for Noem, Costing $172 Million.

The Department of Homeland Security has purchased two Gulfstream private jets for Kristi Noem, the secretary, and other top department officials at a cost of $172 million, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.

The jets, which a department official said were needed for safety, are the latest expenditures on behalf of Ms. Noem to draw scrutiny from Democrats and other critics who have noted her lavish spending on living and other expenses during her time in public life.

The Coast Guard put in its budget earlier this year a request to purchase a new long-range Gulfstream V jet, estimated to cost $50 million, to replace an aging one used by Ms. Noem.

“The avionics are increasingly obsolete, the communications are increasingly unreliable and it’s in need of recapitalization, like much of the rest of the fleet,” Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, told members of Congress at a hearing in May.

He said a new aircraft was necessary to provide agency leaders with “secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward, visit our operating forces, conducting the missions and then come back here to Washington and make sure we can work together to get them what they need.”

Documents that were posted to a public government procurement website and reviewed by The Times show that the department has since signed a contract with Gulfstream to buy not one but two “used” G700 jets, touted by the company as having the “most spacious cabin in the industry.” The total contract value is listed as a little over $172 million.

It was not immediately clear where the funding for the jets came from.

Only the best for the puppy killer.

#DonaldTrump #foodStamps #governmentShutdown2025 #healthCareCosts #KristyNoem #NoKingsDayProtests #ObamacarePrices #privatePlanes #TomahawkCruiseMissiles #TrumpSEugenicsPolicy #UkraineWar #VladimirPutin #VladimirZelensky

Lazy Caturday Reads on No Kings Day

Leopold Kitty, by femmehesse

Good Afternoon!!

It’s No Kings day, and Donald Trump is looking forward to a North Korea-style parade on his 79th birthday. Today was supposed to be a day to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but Trump has turned it into a celebration of himself, forcing soldiers to spend weeks preparing and moving military equipment to the Washington DC area. The Universe is not smiling on Trump’s big day though; bad weather is expected.

Meanwhile, a man who is likely one of Trump’s MAGA followers has assassinated Minnesota House Speaker and her husband and attempted to assassinate a sitting state Senator and his wife. The murderer was impersonating a police officer.

Associated Press: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: former House speaker and husband killed in politically motivated shooting.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in a politically motivated assassination, and a second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded. Authorities were actively searching for a suspect hours after the targeted killings.

“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,” Walz said at a press conference Saturday. “Those responsible for this will be held accountable.”

The wounded lawmaker was identified as state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012. He previously served as vice chair of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota.

Hoffman is married and has one daughter. Hortman was the top House Democratic leader in the state Legislature and a former House speaker. She was first elected in 2004.

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that authorities were actively searching for a suspect.

Autopsies will be done to determine extent of injuries, but Hortman and her spouse died from gunshot wounds, Evans said. A “shelter in place” order was in effect early Saturday.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune is posting live updates. Here’s the latest at 11:43AM ET:

Gov. Tim Walz said there were targeted shootings in both Brooklyn Park and Champlin on Saturday.

10:13 am. – Here’s the full quote from Gov. Tim Walz confirming that Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in what the governor called a “politically motivated assassination.”“We’re here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota. My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination. Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service. She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.

”10:11 a.m. – Authorities investigating the shooting recovered an alleged manifesto.“There was a list of individuals and the individuals that were targeted were on that list,” said Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans.

“When we did a search of the vehicle there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials, we immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley added.

10 a.m. – Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that when officers arrived to the Hortman home, they noticed a vehicle with emergency lights what appeared to be a police officer at the door, “when our officers confronted him he immediately fired at officers and retreated back into the home.” He fled back into the house after being confronted by police. They went to the threshold and saw a man that was down and dragged him out to safety, he was pronounced dead shortly after. Police then went in with a drone to identify Hortman dead in the home.

“This was not a real police officer, this was a person who was clearly impersonating a police officer wearing the trust of this badge to manipulate their way into the home,” Bruley said.

The suspect drove a vehicle that looked exactly like an SUV squad equipped with emergency lights, a Taser and badge. There was “no question that if they were in this room you would assume that they are a police officer.”

A massive manhunt is underway for the suspect, who is believed to be on foot. Bruley said police are now arriving at residences in pairs of two or more. Officers will not be alone. Police are searching for people of interest.

You can check that page for future updates. There is no paywall.

No Kings protests against Trump and his attacks on democracy are planned for cities and towns across the country.

Girl with Kitten, by DaHeaven Art, Latvia

NPR: ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump planned nationwide to coincide with military parade.

About 2,000 “No Kings” protests are planned Saturday in response to the Trump administration’s plans to hold alarge-scale military parade this weekend, an event organizer told NPR.

Organizers are accusing the president of putting on the parade as a show of dominance and a celebration of his 79th birthday, which is also on Saturday. The Army has been planning some form of anniversary celebration for over a year, but the parade was a recent addition. It will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and falls on Flag Day. A peacetime military parade is rare in the U.S. and has drawn criticism from Trump’s political rivals.

“No Kings” organizers describe the protests as a “day of defiance…to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like” on their website.

The statementcontinues, “We’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.” [….]

The demonstrations were put together by a coalition of more than 200 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers and the Communications Workers of America. Protests are scheduled in every state, but not in Washington, D.C. Instead, organizers are encouraging interested D.C. residents to gather in Philadelphia — the flagship “No Kings” protest. Philadelphia was America’s first capital and was the birthplace of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence….

According to the organizers’ website, the protesters are avoiding the nation’s capital “to draw a clear contrast between our people-powered movement and the costly, wasteful, and un-American birthday parade in Washington.”

Associated Press: Cities brace for large crowds at anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ demonstrations across the US.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demonstrators began gathering in cities and towns across the U.S. Saturday to rally against President Donald Trump as officials urged calm and mobilized National Guard troops ahead a military parade to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday.

Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, while intermittent light rain fell as early marchers carrying signs gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park….

Protests in nearly 2,000 locations are scheduled across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said, but no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will take place in the evening.

The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement….

Reactions from authorities:

by Elizah Leighword

Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence.

Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri are mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations.

There will be “zero tolerance” for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and “if you violate the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday.

In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to “wait for chaos to ensue.”

Nebraska’s governor also signed an emergency proclamation Friday to activate his state’s National Guard, a step his office called “a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country.”

Organizers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the “line is very clear” and not to cross it.

Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin at MSNBC: The ‘No Kings’ mass mobilization debunks Trump’s biggest myth.

President Donald Trump wants to celebrate his birthday like a king: not with cake or candles, but with a $45 million military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C. Officially, the parade is only to mark the U.S. Army’s birthday, not the president’s the same day; in reality, the military’s celebration, though long planned, did not include a parade until his administration got involved. On the day the Army was founded to defeat tyranny, he’s getting a parade and using your tax money to do so.

This chilling spectacle pulls us away from the ideal of nonviolence that has paved the way for freedom movements in this country for generations. That’s not freedom. That’s not democracy. That’s not American. So on June 14, we the people are rising up and declaring that in America, we do not have a king. Across every U.S. state and territory, in cities, towns, and rural communities alike, millions of us will join the “No Kings” mass mobilization.

The president is using the same playbook we’ve seen in other countries throughout history: concentrate power, crush dissent, target vulnerable communities, enrich yourself, and distract the public with shows of force. He’s moved swiftly to erode the guardrails of democracy. He’s attacked the press and public universities, purged civil servants, and ignored court orders. He’s slashing budgets for public services, moved to erase hard-won victories for civil rights, ordered the hounding of immigrants in schools, places of worship and job sites, and ignored due process while deporting migrants to dangerous foreign prisons.

Now, in the very same week when he dispatches the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles to silence protesters’ righteous cries for justice in the face of his cruel assaults on our immigrant brothers and sisters, he hosts a grand parade. We hold a parade of the people.

Trump’s power doesn’t just come from his title; it comes from the myth that he’s untouchable. That he can say and do whatever he wants, and no one can stop him. But that myth only exists if we let it. Authoritarianism feeds on fear and silence. It survives when institutions go along, and when people give up. Already, too many elected officials, business leaders, and civic institutions have fallen in line.

But since his inauguration, millions of Americans have rejected Trump’s myth. Thousands of protests around the country have denounced his authoritarian moves, his attempts to rewrite this country’s history and his moves to destroy our already tattered safety net. And the more people have seen of Trump’s lawless second term, the less popular he has become.

Click the link to read the rest.

The Wall Street Journal reports that MAGA groups are hoping to stoke violence: Far-Right Groups Buzz With Violent Talk on How to Respond to ‘No Kings’ Protest.

“Shoot a couple, the rest will go home,” said a meme circulating on Telegram channels of groups affiliated with the far-right Proud Boys. “You just have to impale a few of them…” another local chapter posted. One disseminated an online gun tutorial, illustrating optimal shooting techniques with the caption: “Riot season again!”

Organizers in more than 2,000 cities are mobilizing for “No Kings” rallies Saturday in opposition to President Trump and his military parade in Washington. Among those watching closely: extremist organizations on social media.

Cozy cat companionship, by Alex Katz Leinwanddruck

These accounts are also sharing detailed locations of the “No Kings” protests and sharing identifying information about the organizers, including names, images and where they work. In addition, days prior, social media videos verified by The Wall Street Journal show leaders of Chicago and Los Angeles far-right groups attended anti-ICE protests in those cities.

A review of dozens of known far-right social-media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers across leading platforms like X, Truth Social, and Telegram are posting about the “No Kings” rallies and encouraging their people to respond, in some cases with violence.

Some extremist groups appear to be capitalizing on escalating emotions and at times destructive protests in L.A., as a recruitment opportunity or to promote the mass deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Some of their messages have been echoed by the White House.

One anonymous online account, which posts racial slurs to its hundreds of followers, this week posted an image promoting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line for reporting those here illegally. Half a dozen white nationalist Telegram channels quickly reposted the meme. It was also spread widely among mainstream conservative social media accounts.

A bit more, in case you can’t get past the paywall.

On June 11, the official White House account shared the same image on Instagram, Presidential senior adviser Stephen Miller also retweeted it on X, and the Department of Homeland Security posted it across several platforms.

In response to requests for comment about the image, White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said reporters should focus on “the American victims of illegal alien crime and the radical Democrat rioters willing to do anything to keep dangerous illegal aliens in American communities.”

Also this week, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio—convicted of helping to mastermind the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol and then pardoned by Trump—announced on social media he was now a “Border Czar” for a new cryptocurrency venture, ICERAID. The platform offers cryptocurrency rewards to those reporting immigrants here illegally to authorities. Neither Tarrio nor the crypto company responded to requests for comment.

“The emergent insurrections across America and assault on Federal ICE Agents that began in Los Angeles come at a critical time as the need for citizens to collaborate with federal law enforcement becomes critical,” says the company’s website.

Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said the posts could inspire “lone-actor violence”—or lead people reading them to “get off the couch, pick up a gun and go out to one of these cities.”

One meme on Telegram this week, from a Proud Boy-affiliated group, depicts four armed men with shiny blue eyes wielding military weapons before an American flag. The meme declared, “HANG THE TRAITORS, EXPEL THE INVADERS.”

On Trump’s birthday parade:

The New York Times: What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade.

Saturday’s military parade in Washington will celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, but planning documents shared with The New York Times show a focus on President Trump, who turns 79 the same day. The parade, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., is expected to proceed even with rain and thunderstorms forecast in the late afternoon and early evening.

Thousands of soldiers will march from the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., to Washington while heavy armored vehicles slowly make their way north from West Potomac Park.

The Inhabitants, by Natalia Bagatskaya

The parade will officially kick off once the Army secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, and chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, report to Mr. Trump in a small ceremony at his reviewing stand along Constitution Avenue.

There will be roughly 7,000 soldiers — some in replicas of Army uniforms from different eras, including the Revolutionary, Civil, Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as both world wars.

Heavy armored vehicles from previous conflicts will be followed by those from the modern era, including 70-ton Abrams tanks, 30-ton Bradley fighting vehicles and 20-ton Strykers.

These vehicles will be staged in West Potomac Park because they could damage the Arlington Memorial Bridge and leak hazardous hydraulic fluid as they move. They could also break down before they reach their destination, according to Army planning documents, which is why the service will have heavy towing vehicles called wreckers at the beginning of the parade route on a nearby cross street.

But for all of this planning and expense, the parade route is remarkably short — running less than 1,600 yards down Constitution Avenue from 23rd Street until the soldiers pass the president’s reviewing stand….

The president will sit in a 100-foot-wide reviewing stand constructed on the north side of Constitution Avenue. Mr. Trump will be joined by a number of special guests, including Army soldiers who have received the nation’s highest decoration for combat valor, the Medal of Honor.

At the end of the parade, the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, will jump from the sky, land in the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, and present an American flag to the president on behalf of the Army.

Afterward, a country music concert is scheduled to begin nearby on the National Mall, followed by a fireworks show.

ABC News: This would make great TV’: How Donald Trump got the military parade he wanted.

In June 2024, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and his aides were at a Virginia military base where the service was putting on one of its live-action shows for kids and families.

The event — a decades-long tradition known as the “Twilight Tattoo” — was a spectacle. Soldiers from ceremonial units reenact the history of the Army, complete with Revolutionary War garb, music, theatrical vignettes and military pageantry, all meant to serve as a kind of salute to Army soldiers and their families.

George and his top communications adviser, Col. Dave Butler, were attending with several media executives, when one of them leaned over.

“This would make great television,” the executive said, according to Butler.

George and his staff had already been talking about how to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday. Maybe, they thought, the National Park Service would let them host one of their live-action shows on the National Mall, the officials thought.

Enter Donald Trump.

After President Donald Trump took office and the June 14 birthday was getting closer, the Army began to toss around more ideas. One idea was to add tanks or other iconic Army equipment to an exhibit parked on the National Mall where tourists could learn about the Army’s history of fighting the nation’s wars.

Lady with White Cat, by Sharyn Bursic

Butler said he doesn’t remember who first broached the idea of turning the Army’s show into a parade. But once the idea was floated, no one seemed to push back.

By June, the Army had a plan of what they would include: 6,700 soldiers, 150 vehicles, including dozens of tanks, 50 aircraft flying overhead including World War II-era planes and high-tech weaponry like rocket launchers.

Trump, a former media executive himself, seemed game to the idea. One official involved in the planning described it like “knocking on an unlocked door.”

“We wanted to reintroduce this nation’s Army to the American people,” Butler said. “To do that, we thought we needed to be in their living rooms and on their phones. We needed something that would catch the national eye.”

I don’t believe for one minute that anyone but Donald Trump suggested the parade. Give me a break.

More stories to check out if you’re interested:

USA Today: Trump brought in $57 million from crypto venture, millions from sneakers and bibles.

NBC News: Trump’s financial disclosures reveal tens of millions in income from guitars, bibles and watches with his name on them.

Peter Baker at The New York Times: Trump Relishes Troops in American Streets While Shunning Conflict Overseas.

Reuters: Exclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows.

The New York Times: Trump Shifts Deportation Focus, Pausing Most Raids on Farms, Hotels and Eateries.

Akbar Shahid Ahmed at HuffPost: Can Trump Prevent A Massive Middle East War?

CNN: Police arrest roughly 60 veterans and military family members protesting outside US Capitol after group crosses police line.

That’s it for me today. Have a great weekend, and if you’re going to a protest, stay safe.

#GovTimWalz #MelissaHortman #MinnesotaLawmakers #NoKingsDayProtests #politicalAssanations #SenJohnHoffman #TrumpSMilitaryParade