Post No-Kings-II Benefits
Looking south along Hwy 9 during No Kings II rally.
1. Identification:
First of all, the 2700+ No-Kings-II rallies produced a sense of continuing identity. The second rally proved the first No Kings rally was not a fluke. Instead, it revealed the growing momentum of spirit among people united against Trump’s authoritarianism. As Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive movement Indivisible, pointed out, the numbers of people attending each of the three major rallies increased by 40-50 per cent each time.
2. Communication:
Second, preparation for the event required for each rally fostered increased discussion and networking among those who attended. This communication occurred not only face-to-face, but via telephone, email, and social media connections as well. New personal acquaintances sprang up. And out of this our social and political knowledge evolved.
For example, my wife and I became familiar with organizations and movements such as Neighbor To Neighbor and 5 Calls. In the absence of any local group in the Poughkeepsie NY area, we established PK Power, a local group affiliated with Indivisible intended as a discussion and local action group to support nation-wide anit-authoritarian protests.
Such initiatives, personal and collective, foster a sense of community and support among those involved. Many pundits running the gambit of political persuasion speak out against the Trump’s regime’s intimidation tactics designed to dispirit his opponents. Our groups counter his minions’ activities through their shared resistance. And they provide a sense of unity, a serious psychological support against his followers’ stsrong-arm tactics.
3. Actionability:
Finally, these Infivisible rallies and information sessions provide concrete solutions to counter government behaviors that seem overwhelming and intractable. Certainly, when a constitutional legal champion like Marc Elias describes the Trump team’s lawlessness inside and outside the criminal justice system, their fearsome actions mimic the unrelenting and unfeeling relentlessness of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator characterization.
Unlike Rebecca Solnit‘s incisive is mildly scatalogical assessment of late-stage Trumpism, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin have provided workable, scalable, and legal activities to counter the lawless actions of paramilitary organizations like ICE and the extra-legal mechanizations of people like Stephen Miller. Small-scale protests and local acts of resistance are effective and can be scaled up to national level actions.
Drawbacks
Rally poster at the Poughkeepsie NY No-Kings-II rallyMuch like Trump’s minions, resistance under the Indivisible banner is not perfect. The following reveals some of our movement’s shortcomings:
1. Speed:
Unlike the Trump regime with its comparatively small nucleus of participants, people operating under the banner of resistance groups must coordinate with a much greater number of participants. So many diverse groups with their differing goals and initiatives make collective mobilization difficult and unwieldy.
2. Transparency:
Now that Indivisible has organized three separate mass protests against the Trump regime, its operational tactics are clear. Trump’s minions operate in secret and behind closed doors, but mass protests are public and readily knowable. The threat of disruption, incarceration, and violence remains a constant threat.
3. Fatigue:
Maintaining the energy level that fuels protests and peaceful acts of rebellion is always difficult. While the Magas and Trump’s enablers have their zealotry to sustain them (not to mention prison-time accountability should they fail), the people who participate in the No Kings rallies have only their decency and conscience to sustain them. The temptation to give in to their apprehensions is always there.
After No-Kings-II
What happens now? Ezra Levin says plans are in the works for a third national day of protest. His organizers and participants need time to recharge and reorganize. In the meantime, Indivisible offers a variety of actions and sources for local grou[s to consult.
Judging from discussions I’ve had with fellow rally-goers and PK Power-Indivisible participants, the time for wake-up calls passed long ago. Tearing down the East wing of the White House demonstrates that fact literally and figuratively. Many people (the majority, I hope) want action. They want to take back the government that is rightfully everyone’s ours. Rallies like No Kings II and organizations like Indivisible provide the ways and means to accomplish it.
Many people, myself included, first heard the concept of plausible deniability in association with right-wing political activist, 
Although the concept may have existed throughout human history as the Wikipedia entry claims, it never received formal recognition until Charles Babbage described it in his Ninth Bridgwater Treatise. There he depicted it as a deceitful but common political process whereby committee members could maintain deniability regarding sensitive or unethical decisions. It required “a few simply honest men” on a committee who could be conveniently, and temporarily, dismissed when a “peculiarly delicate question” arose. In that way, one of those absent members could “declare truly, if necessary, that he “never was present at any meeting at which even a questionable course had been proposed.”
This abstract concept lay dormant until 1948. Then, a series of National Security Council (NSC) papers defined “covert operations” committed in behalf of the U.S. government “are so planned and executed that … if uncovered the US Government can plausibly disclaim any responsibility for them.” Later on In 1952, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA( Director 
Perhaps if the conceiver of the
That is what we have here. Originally, this blog post intended to deal with stressed individuals’ growing use of AI and Chatbots instead of human professionals for emotional and psychiatric treatment. (More on that below). However, in the process of developing that narrative, one thing became quite apparent. Despite my previous blog on the related topic of the
Yet, whatever the brilliance of Faukner’s Quentin Compson or King’s Carrie White characterizations, their fictional progenitor has to be 
The historical relevance of this literary correlation now seems more applicable. As in 17th-century Russia, the adoption of new ways of thinking and acting are seldom affable. In times of great cultural upheaval such as ours, adherence or reversion to the old ways is an inevitable expression of conscience for some. For others, it justifies the cruelty and persecution meted out to those who differ from themselves, whether culturally, ethnically, or intellectually.
These issues and more formed the basis of Culinary Institute of America food historian 
Prof. Forrest’s pre-dinner presentation provided an overview of the food items available to the average american’s palette. Sugar and salt were scare commodities at this time, so cooks emphasized the savory side through local herbs and animal fat. Sorghum, nuts, and berries formed the basis of most desserts.
Colonial Foodstuffs and the Columbian Exchange
The four months after my blog post on 
Game-changer(s): What We Can Do
Last Saturdaky, Journalism won the Preakness Stakes. Almost immediately, racing touts wondered whether he and Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby winner, would have a rematch in the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of thoroughbred racing’s 
The treatament of horses in thoroughbred racing long has been subsumed under the rubric of animal welfare in this country.
Did you know the British poet 
Are there any perks associated with being a grandparent?At first glance, It seemed doubtful to this Baby Boomer. Oh sure, everybody says they welcome taking care of the grandkids in hopes of witnessing their first smiles. But as they grow up, those moments dwindle in significance compared to our expressions of relief when our babysitting obligaations are over.
Memories come in many forms and provoke a variety of emotions. As instanced above, not all of them need be sentimental or heart-warming. A recent study by researchers from the University of Buffalo and Kyoto University found that nostalgic people may be more inclined to strengthen and maintain long-term relationships than those who aren’t. The reason why: when people reminisce about the good times spent with loved ones, they appreciate them more and strive to maintain those relationships. According to study co-author Kuan Ju-Huang, this means that those positive attachments “may be more likely to last, even as our lives, interests, and responsibilities change.”
Perks of Grandparenting: Acquisition
Since the presidential inauguration, Trump 2.0 has proven as threatening and dangerous to our values and freedoms as he promised. Political pundits categorize it as a hostile takeover, government readjustment, or a coup. Whatever one calls it, the times are not a-changing for the better. Rather, they are provoking people’s flight-or-fight responses. In short, they evoke all the symptoms of W. H. Auden‘s 
Get Involved
These observations arise from the convictions of a confirmed Baby Boomer who experienced the divisiveness caused by the Viet Nam War. My rebelliousness then stemmed from my countercultural attitude toward the social mores of the political establishment. The irony is not lost on me that despite my convicitions remaining the same, I now must defend that culture’s values, constraints, and instituions. That’s how instutionally powerful conservative America has become over the past 60 years.
