No Kings Saturday; Nothing Doing Sunday

 I went to Anderson Saturday to see what their No King's Day would look like. I also stopped by to see my mother's grave. 

The north side of the Madison County Government Center was the site. The crowd lined the sidewalk and the portico above the sidewalk. People came armed with signs and some in costume. Two women I walked up with from the parking lot came as an illegal alien (she had fuzzy antennae) and the other as a butterfly (which made sense when I saw her t-shirt said the only orange monarch she wanted was a Monarch butterfly). One driver-by gave the crowd a finger; there were plenty of horns honking in support.

I had signed up for the Muncie demonstration through Muncie Resists. I have to admit I did not join it. 

On the way back, I decided to give J a call. Her health has not been good; there was talk of her going to the Mayo Clinic. Well, what I got was not good news. The Mayo Clinic turned her down. However, there does seem to be a clinic down in Florida that will take her. It is some sort of genetic disease; she said it was worse than MLS. The symptoms sound similar. Worse news is that her daughter has come down with the same disease. It may even be worse. Weakness, able to do things, even typing on the computer is painful. Knowing as I do J's past and the past of her daughter, it feels like a horror story — one where good people keep getting tortured.

The Muncie turn out was huge. I drove by, honking my horn. It was getting too hot. So, I did my laundry — including the clothes from dunking in the White River. 

Latest 'No Kings' rally draws anti-Trump protesters to downtown Muncie bridge has enough coverage of that, including signs, to show the story.

Now, if all those people demonstrating and honking their horns will vote. 

The remainder of the day, I stayed at home. I worked on revising my story, and I spent some time on this blog.

I thought I would go to church this morning, only by the time I got ready to leave when pain in my neck and shoulders flared up. It ran down to my legs. The day has been spent mostly in bed. Only the last four hours have I felt it possible to type. That I went down to the Dollar Store for ibuprofen is probably why I have been able to stay upright. Even now, I feel like I want to quit writing. 

These No Kings demonstrations are important to me. No longer needing to appease clients, I can say and do what I want politically. The idea that this country belongs to the people, not the oligarchs, not to the would-be fascists, is one I stand upon.

Why the No Kings Protests Matter (The Intercept)

Rather than describing them for what they are — First Amendment-protected rallies where millions of Americans are expected to peacefully stand against the Trump administration’s unconstitutional, authoritarian, and un-American agenda — Republican leadership is framing the upcoming demonstrations as “Hate America” protests. Party leaders also called the gatherings “terrorist” and “Soros-funded” events that would be filled to the brim with “the antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists.”

This trial-balloon messaging is meant to get ahead of what organizers say could be one of the largest days of mass protest in U.S. history, with events planned in every state. Millions of Americans are projected to attend some 2,500 rallies to oppose the illegality and immorality of the Trump agenda, the destruction of hard-won civil and constitutional rights, and the fascist ambitions of the MAGA movement. Republican leaders are attempting to preemptively cast this protest within the framework Stephen Miller has been working to aggressively mainstream since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, where all who oppose the extremist MAGA agenda are “domestic terrorists.”

To their credit, Democratic and Independent leaders responded quickly. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a statement pointing out that the No Kings protests are protected under the First Amendment and, contrary to right-wing smears, protesters are standing up for American values. Former Republican and now Independent Joe Walsh called out the GOP’s attempt to vilify half of the American electorate as “shameful” in a post on Twitter and urged his followers to attend the protests, emphasizing that his former party is “scared to death” of the looming rallies.

It’s true: MAGA is terrified of the specter of massive nonviolent protest — and for good reason. Nothing threatens their agenda more than millions of ordinary Americans mobilizing to put a face to the opposition.

No, the people there are not The Weather Underground reborn. They are people like me: in many ways, too, a lot of white faces and gray hair! The message that fascists need to die often appeared, and if that puts the fear into Republican politicians, then I say it is a sign of their bad consciences.

'We the People Will Rule!': Millions Turn Out for 'No Kings' Protests Against Trump Tyranny (Common Dreams) takes the reader on a tour around the country, and has plenty enough of photos showing the signs appearing at the demonstrations. You decide if the Republican propaganda has any basis in reality.

Sheila Kennedy describes the Indianapolis No Kings Rally in her post What Can Be Repaired? What Can’t?.

Fox News anchor gives Trump brutal assessment while spotlighting No Kings protests (Irish Star)

"The lack of respect for the Constitution and the laws of this country are astounding, and Trump even told Kristen Welker when he was on Meet the Press a few months ago that he didn't know if he had to uphold the Constitution," she pointed out.

"In preparation for today's show, I just wanted to go over a few of the things that people who are going to be out there on the streets peacefully protesting are upset about," she elaborated.

Her list included executive actions on birthright citizenship, "Starting with the basics signing an executive order to do away with birthright citizenship, which is literally in the Constitution, sending troops into blue cities unilaterally unilaterally implementing tariffs. Which Congress gets to do."

She also discussed detention practices, explaining, "We also know there's a ProPublica investigation that more than 170 Americans have been detained by ICE, with 20 held for more than a day without being able to contact their lawyer or a loved one. And that's what the no kings protest is about."

Further concerns raised by Tarlov encompassed First Amendment limitations, congressional fund redistribution, and purported conflicts of interest.

Yep. 

Clearing out the pile up in my email, which is also the place I get my current reading, provided the following:

There Comes a Time in Every Reader's Life When You Have to Move the Books (Reactor) sounds too much like my own recent move - I have promised myself no new book purchases, I even have a reading curriculum set up. (Now, to do it!)

Packing by size is key. I know there is a temptation to somehow keep the books in order. You can’t. I mean, sure, you can, but then what? A shelf of books standing upright in a box means the box is not structurally stable and requires filling. I like to fill my book boxes with random t-shirts and out of season clothing and absolutely anything else that’s soft and does not require buying a pile of packing material. This means the books have to be stacked, flat, and filling up as much space as possible. It is a process. 

No kidding!

I like heist movies. Okay? They are like chess games for me; a game I love and have not enough talent to properly play. So, I had to read Six High Tech Heists That Defy the Odds (Reactor). Only one novel I knew of, and that was one of my favorite William Gibson novels. Also influencing my choice of reading is that I did a screenplay a few years ago about a heist that has been pretty much left on my hard drive.

Five Movies That Attempt to Capture the Brilliance of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Reactor) rebukes me for not having — yet — seen Poor Things. Kudos for mentioning Frankenstein Unbound. There was a TV miniseries back in the Seventies that is unmentioned, that was my second introduction to the character, and in my memory is the closest to the novel (which I did not read until I got to prison, and is an interesting read both to see what the movies lack and for Mary Shelley's style).

Enchanting Imposters  (JSTOR Daily) tickled another criminal interest of mine: forgeries. They are an art form in and of themselves. 

Some silliness, for I am a silly person, is my fondness for Robert E. Howard's work, including Conan:

 Turning away from politics, I got a rejection for “Agnes”:

Thank you for sending us "Agnes". We are honored by your choice to entrust us with reading your work.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept your piece at this time. Due to a high volume of submissions, we must often decline examples of promising work.

Thank you again for your submission. We at Blue Earth Review wish you the best of luck with finding a home for "Agnes"!

Sincerely,

Heather Pecore ,

Fiction Editor

Blue Earth Review

And now, I will call it a day. 6 hours of work, so not sure what kind of day it was.

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