Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Parrot


 As individual protests go, I thought this one was by far the most creative I've seen. Although I couldn't quite capture the sign, I think it referred to Trump as acting as if is Vladimir Putin's parrot. 

Monday, October 27, 2025

Inflatables

"Protesters have taken to wearing oversized inflatable costumes to deflate tensions and draw attention at rallies against Trump administration’s policies. Crowds across the U.S. and abroad rallied Saturday during 'No Kings' demonstrations against what they call a slide into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. Republicans dismissed the gatherings as “Hate America” rallies, but many had a festive feel" -- AP News

In this photo, though, I would also take note of the gentleman wearing the AFL-CIO stocking cap, suggesting to me, at least, the more sober side to this No Kings protest.

Sunday, October 26, 2025

First Amendment

 "The 'No Kings' gatherings wouldn’t have been possible without the First Amendment; a cornerstone of U.S. democracy. It gives us freedom of speech, to peacefully protest, and to gather without fear of government intervention. In this country, everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and to act on them lawfully and without fear of punishment — no matter how 'unpopular' or 'disfavored' those beliefs may be.

But the Trump administration continues to abuse its power to silence and punish people and organizations who express viewpoints it doesn’t like. Despite fearmongering from those who would prefer that the public stay quiet, millions of Americans refused to stay home and instead channeled their courage to show up and speak up for each other. Because the best way to protect our First Amendment rights is to keep using them — and to do so peacefully, knowing the power of nonviolent protest to make repression backfire." -- Ellen Flenniken, ACLU Justice Division

Saturday, October 25, 2025

Flag Code


The flag this fellow was displaying at my local No Kings protest presented quite a contrast with the one flying off the back end of a large pickup truck that drove through the crowd. That flag had the familiar stars and stripes, but also with a black-and-white image of our führer superimposed over the stripes. Someone near me, when she saw that, commented about how--in the small town where she grew up--that would have been considered a desecration, which prompted me to look this up in Wikipedia:

"The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the flag's use, display, and disposal. For example, the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. This tradition may come from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII: the American flag bearer did not. Team captain Martin Sheridan is famously quoted as saying, "this flag dips to no earthly king", though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear."