We Marched! He Merched.
Millions marched around the globe while Trump's show of imperial power fizzled...Middle East is once again a nuclear powder keg...Randi bolts from the DNC.
All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
Your empty-handed armies are going home
The carpet too is moving under you
Yes, and it's all over now, baby blue — Dylan
Trump’s sleepy show of US imperial military might
The contrast was striking. As Trump celebrated the 250th anniversary of the US Army with what was supposed to be a grand military parade, American troops in Iraq and Syria were reportedly hiding in bunkers due to the threat of Iranian missile strikes.
Saturday’s planned celebration of American military might turned into just another weakly attended, taxpayer-funded Trump political rally, dwarfed in size by the millions of anti-Trump NO KINGS protesters.
New York Times White House correspondent Shawn McCreesh reported that "hordes of people" streamed east across the mall to leave, a report that Raw Story said was posted before Trump and Vice President JD Vance had begun to deliver their remarks.
"Where's everybody going?" a man next to McCreesh said, according to the reporter.
John Ismay, also with the Times, described the crowd and parade as "pretty listless and low-energy," adding that Trump apparel was far more prevalent than Army hats and shirts among attendees.
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Many military leaders are pissed over Trump’s increasing politicization of the military, his purging of the ranks of “disloyal” officers, and using the military against the civilian population. His recent speech at Fort Bragg drew criticism for encouraging uniformed soldiers to cheer his political attacks on figures like Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom.
I think there will be an escalation. And when that escalation occurs, I'm afraid the president is going to invoke the Insurrection Act, and we're going to have uniformed service members enforcing the law upon U.S. citizens, something that just shouldn't occur. — Rear Admiral James McPherson (Ret.)
Ahead of President Donald Trump's rally-style appearance at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Army officials also raised alarms over vendors selling Trump-branded merchandise on site.
Vendors offered "Make America Great Again" hats, chain necklaces, and faux credit cards labeled "White Privilege Card: Trumps Everything."
“I would be cringing if I were a senior officer and it happened under my watch,” said Geoffrey DeWeese, a retired judge advocate general
“It’s a sad tradition to use the military as a backdrop for political purposes,” DeWeese said. “To actively attack another president or a sitting governor and incite the crowd to boo, that’s a step in a dangerous direction, that really says we want to politicize the military, that sends a bad message.”
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The “enemy within.” That’s us.
Trump has repeatedly referred to "the enemy from within," a phrase he has applied to immigrants, political adversaries, and left-wing activists.
In this context, it’s easy to see how suspected assassin Vance Boelter would be inspired to murder Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, while wounding State Senator John Hoffman (D) and his wife. They were just at the top of his long hit list.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared her department would be staying in Los Angeles to “liberate this city from the socialist and burdensome leadership” of Democrats.
However, the military invasion of Los Angeles is not going over well with voters. A recent YouGov survey shows 47% of American adults disapprove of Trump ordering the Marines to L.A., compared to 34% who support it. In the same poll, 45% disapprove of the president’s use of National Guard troops, with 38% of respondents backing it.
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Netanyahu’s aim — to drag the US into another losing war in the Middle East?
Following Israel’s “preemptive” missile attack on Iran, the Iranians retaliated, launching hundreds of missiles at Israel Saturday and Sunday, many of which were not intercepted by air defense systems and exploded in populated areas in the country's central and northern regions.
An IDF Spokesperson noted on the night of the first attack that "Israel has the best defense systems in the world, but they are not hermetic." — Haaretz
The Middle East has once again become a nuclear powder keg.
On Saturday, sources in Tehran accused the US of being involved in the attack, and a prominent member of parliament warned that Iran was examining the option of closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which one quarter of global oil supplies pass. If Iran were to blockade the Strait, it could disrupt millions of barrels of daily oil shipments, potentially pushing crude oil prices to $120 per barrel.
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AFT Prez Randi Weingarten bolts from the DNC
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party leadership is still “laying low” in the face of the growing fascist threat, even while its base is in full revolt against Trumpism. With midterm elections approaching next year, Democrats are growing increasingly anxious and divided. They realize that just because Trump is losing ground doesn’t mean Democrats are winning. In many areas, their approval numbers are worse than Trump’s.
This, from an MSNBC report in February:
Last week, when the Trump administration was making a big show out of deporting undocumented migrants, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy bragged in a post on X:
In the first week, Trump removed 7,300 people. On average, Biden was removing 15,000 a week. Under Biden, 72% of ICE arrests were criminals. Under Trump, it’s dropped to around 50%. Trump is removing less people and less criminals. These guys are terrible at everything.
So what’s the Democratic position here? Are they confronting Trump because they think he’s pushing racist and fascist immigration policies? Or are they confronting Trump because they think that Democrats are better at executing those policies?
Following the DNC’s purge of party youth activist David Hogg, AFT President Randi Weingarten announced yesterday that she was resigning from the DNC after 23 years of involvement. In her resignation letter to DNC Chair Ken Martin, she cited fundamental disagreements with the party’s leadership, stating that she felt "out of step" with the direction being forged. The AFT represents 1.7 million education workers, making it one of the country’s largest labor unions.
While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities.
Randi is not the only one. She and Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, declined offers to stay on as at-large members of the DNC.
This is significant because it could signify the formation of a new, independent political organization, existing either within or outside the party. Maybe something like the Working Families Party, but nationally, based in labor unions and community organizations.
Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve PAC has already raised $20 million to back challengers against entrenched Democrats.
