No Kings: A Week.

One week ago was the national demo.  My post about the day was October 19.  In all there were 17 comments, take a look.  A particularly interesting comment is 3 pages forwarded by Lois from Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) with brief summaries of three months in the Fall of 1775.  Take a look.

On October 23, I added a post with information pertinent to the White House project.

The big decision each of us have to make is how to make a difference, day by day.  There are so many possibilities for each person wherever you are, whatever your personal circumstances.  Personally, I especially like the column by Peter Leschak that I sent along a week or so ago.  In his gentle way, he identifies how each of us has an immense amount of power…if we exercise it.  You can read it here: Peter Leschak STrib Aug 17 2025.

October 18 cannot be an end in itself.  It must be a continuing of individual effort.

Consider enrolling on Indivisible.  It is very easy.  You aren’t forced to do anything; but if you’re looking for ideas and motivation, you’ll find it there.  (Of interest to me: the two founders of Indivisible graduated from Carleton College in Northfield MN in 2007 and 2008.  Neither grew up here, but we can still claim them.  Two young people with a positive vision.)

Yesterday, going through some personal political history stories I’ve chosen to keep, I came across a brief article in the March 7, 2023, New York Times.  The headline of the article by Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher: “Trump, Vowing ‘Retribution,” Foretells a Second Term of Spite”.  [ NYT Mar 7 2023] This was 2 1/2 years ago.  I remember seeing the actual comment on television.  “I am your retribution”, he said to the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor Md.

Two and a half years ago….

His second term is not yet a year old.

COMMENTS (more below):

from SAK:

Strange times indeed. Their strangeness is all the more obvious when compared with some other times & administrations.

Now here’s an extract from Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Pulitzer prize):

“When viewed against the failed efforts of his rivals, it is clear that Lincoln won the nomination because he was shrewdest and canniest of them all. More accustomed to relying upon himself to shape events, he took the greatest control of the process leading up to the nomination, displaying a fierce ambition, an exceptional political acumen, and a wide range of emotional strengths, forged in the crucible of personal hardship, that took his unsuspecting rivals by surprise.

That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of a profound self-confidence and a first indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness.  . . .  Every member of this administration was better known, better educated, and more experienced in public life than Lincoln. Their presence in the cabinet might have threatened to eclipse the obscure prairie lawyer from Springfield.

It soon became clear, however, that Abraham Lincoln would emerge the undisputed captain of this most unusual cabinet, truly a team of rivals. The powerful competitors who had originally disdained Lincoln became colleagues who helped him steer the country through its darkest days. Seward was the first to appreciate remarkable talents, quickly realizing the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. In the months that followed, Seward would become Lincoln’s closest friend and advisor in the administration. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, “very near being a perfect man.” Edwin Stanton, who had treated Lincoln with contempt at their initial acquaintance, developed a great respect for the commander in chief and was unable to control his tears for weeks after the president’s death. …

This, then, is a story of Lincoln’s political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him; to repair injured feelings that, left untended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates; to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes.He possessed an acute understanding of the sources of power inherent in the presidency, an unparalleled ability to keep his governing coalition intact, a tough-minded appreciation of the need to protect his presidential prerogatives, and a masterful sense of timing. His success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality—kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy—can also be impressive political resources.”

& now something from the USA Today:

Trump posts AI video of him dumping poop on us. I can’t believe I wrote that.

President Poop, we’ll call him. Some have suggested Diarrhea Don, but that first word is tricky to spell. I say we keep it simple.

Rex Huppke   USA TODAY

In the wake of massive, peaceful No Kings” protests against him and his polices, President Donald Trump responded like a mad king, disgracing the office he holds by posting an AI video showing him dumping poop on protesters.

That’s an unimaginable sentence to write, but it’s as true as Trump is crazy. The president of the United States of America went on social media and posted an artificial intelligence video that shows him, adorned with a crown, flying a fighter jet and dumping diarrhea on Americans exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully protest.

Lincoln was a Republican as well, how low has that party sunk. I read that President Trump will restore many names of army bases that honoured confederate military figures, figures that Lincoln waged war against.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-restoring-confederate-names-army-bases