SUPER POWERS

Sometimes I feel near despair for my country, allowing this incoherent, childish egotist to run things. I have hope that our November congressional elections will bring a strong tidal change but fear that the process and results may be suppressed. As it happens, we will visit Hungary late this month. It will be interesting to see how things feel there.

It should be a pretty Easter weekend in St. Louis but I'm not very mobile. Thursday's nerve root ablation can't come soon enough.                   

WE DID IT IN THE 1940S

 

According to Merriam-Webster:

Fascism : a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition

Sound about right? Again, from the No Kings rally. Don't know what I'll do over the Easter weekend since my mobility isn't very good. 

NOT MY PROBLEM

 

I didn't listen to the president's speech last night - I wanted to get some decent sleep. Everything I needed to know was on the news this morning. Here's something that struck me. Although the U.S. and Israel started the war and Iran's closing the Straight of Hormuz was an obvious consequence, Trump thinks it's the rest of the world's problem to reopen it. Not ours. We spilled all the candy but somebody else has to pick it up.               

FREE BURRITO

 

Catholic Worker is a long-established left wing Catholic organization based in New York City. When I was in high school and had the run of the city by subway I think I ended up at some event there. A contingent of them was at No Kings Saturday, with this man calling out "Free burritos! Don't march hungry!" They gave a neatly foil wrapped snack to anyone in need. I guess that was part of their point.                     

MUG SHOT

 

I think I will leave the commentary to you, gentle reader. He does like his face and name on absolutely everything possible. Think of the opportunities.                 

NO KINGS

 

The third No Kings demonstrations took place across America yesterday. There were 50 scheduled in Missouri, with a big one in downtown St. Louis. Mrs. C and I went, and an absolutely perfect day brought out a big crowd. No estimates yet of numbers. The mass of people marched 2 miles / 3 km down a main thoroughfare to the baseball stadium, where a game was about to end. My spine didn't carry me that far.                     

PATRIOT

 

The president and his sycophants claim that the people at the No Kings rallies in every state were left wing loonies [sic], Hamas agitators, Antifa operatives (as if such an organization exists, while we are reminded that every American soldier who fought in World War II was antifa) or cranky, out of touch geezers (like me). All lies, and yet more lies.             

PROTEST THEOLOGY

 

In general, I think that mixing religion and politics creates a volatile brew. Your reaction may depend on whether you support or oppose the point being made this way, but in either case rational analysis suffers. Using religion with satire is maybe not so bad.                 

CONTRARY TO WHAT SOME PEOPLE SAY . . .

 

And that was the universal tone at No Kings. No America haters, just people who want to preserve the values of our democracy. And it was the same all across the country.           

HONK IF YOU LOVE INFLATABLE HIPPOS AND HATE AUTOCRATS

 

St. Louis’ No Kings protest spilled out of Kiener Plaza to the edge of Market Street, downtown’s main east-west thoroughfare. Lots of passing motorists honked their approval, even a city fire truck.                 

AXOLOTLS FOR FREEDOM

 

As with everywhere across the country, many protestors at No Kings day wore absurd inflatable costumes. It’s known as tactical frivolity. As the writer Gary Shteyngart said in the New York Times, 

it shows the absurdity of the charge that all the protesters are armed militants. In contravention of the Trump administration’s claims that the protesters were all Hamas agents or antifa interns, the protest [in Chicago] was wholesome, nonaggressive and almost shockingly middle-of-the-road. It’s hard to call an inflatable chicken dangerous.

By the way, axolotls are Mexican.       

THAT SAYS IT

 

Saturday afternoon in the rain, Kiener Plaza, downtown St. Louis.                   

NO KINGS

As most of the world knows, there were thousands of No Kings protests around the U.S. yesterday, attended by millions of people. There were several around our metro area, with the biggest in our main downtown plaza. It rained all day and I wondered if anyone would show up. People dressed for the day and there was a big crowd. More to come.                      

SENIOR OPINION

Some of the senior members of the St. Louis community take a break from the heat and humidity at the No Kings rally. No way to get him out the door until the 2026 mid-term elections.                      

FREE SPEECH

Another image from No Kings. There is a case to be made about the effect of private equity on the public good, although it is controversial. I’ve been running  pictures from the protest for a week and it would be nice to have something new. However, after a relatively cool and wet spring, we are now into the oven big time. Close to 100 F / 37-38 C on Saturday and Sunday. What can I shoot from my car?                     

PLACE NAMES

To be determined by geographers and cartographers, not politicians. I note that both Google and Apple Maps have caved on this. Shame.               

PRIORITIES

The No Kings demonstration brought out people of all ages, from geezers like me to this sweet kid. What is more deserving of funding?              

LOSERS AND SUCKERS

In 2018, Donald Trump canceled a visit to the American World War I cemetery outside Paris. It was raining, and he claimed his helicopter could not fly there and the Secret Service would not drive him. Both statements were false; there are indications that the rain would have messed his hair. The visit wasn’t worth it to him, as he characterized the fallen soldiers as suckers and losers. Trump denied making the statements but they were witnessed, including the retired four star Marine general who was then his chief of staff. Several veterans at the No Trump rally still take offense.                 

VISION

I am so proud of this woman, out at the demonstration with perhaps her son helping her, expressing her conscience. Hard to see at this resolution, but her shirt has a face known to most Americans, Smokey the Bear (only you can prevent forest fires or, more recently, only you can prevent fascist liars). The bear wears mirrored sunglasses, reflecting the desert in one lens and mountains in the other. The word RESIST is  written across the hat. Hooray for her.            

ACCORDING TO MARK TWAIN

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

Another image from the No Kings demonstration in downtown St. Louis. It was scheduled to go from 2 to 5. I got there at 1:30 as a brief shower broke out. By 2:45 Kiener Plaza was very crowded, my old creaky spine was wearing out and I was soaked in perspiration. I left but people continued to stream in. Only the next day did I learn that thousands more arrived and began a march many blocks long along the adjacent main avenue. I missed it but it’s a consequence of getting old.

And by the way, Mr. Twain, it doesn’t.