The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” On Saturday, October 18, millions of Americans plan to do just that at thousands of “No Kings” protests held across the country.
Hi everyone. I just want to let everyone know that I've both corrected the error of the date of the protest, which is SATURDAY, October 18 and sent out a corrected version of the piece to the entire list. Sorry for making this mistake. -- Judd
Is antifa really a real thing, really? I've never met a single person who identifies that way, or even seen one interviewed or anything. Has anyone? Anyway, shouldn't all Americans be Antifa-cist? Who advocates for facism?
If I did get a response along those lines, I ignored it. If I did answer, it would be "Okay, that's one self-admitted fascist. Anyone else?"
Along with "'Buy the dog food?' WTF? What, are the 'Back to 1900!' reactionaries so envious of the mystical power of 'Drank the Kool-aid' that they had to come up with their own feeble (and nonsensical) version in order to feel (as the Church Lady put it) 'speh-shul?' Well, bless their hearts."
LOL. So, because it does not have a single leader or some corporate entity it is not an organization? You lefties are something else... the biggest mass self-denial movement we have ever seen. The problem is that nobody but lefties buy the dog food.
"Antifa" is a term Donald Trump used to describe all the counter protesters in Charlottesville. He over-generalized, which is his schtick I suppose, but wasn't entirely wrong. The Unite the Right protest _was_ led by neo-fascists and white supremecist groups, such as the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights and the American Identity Movement (formerly known as, Identity Evropa). And there _was_ among the counter-protesters, at least one organized anti-facist group, Refuse Facism. But, this entity you 'righties' (I guess, if we're going there) imagine as the "biggest self-denial movement we have ever seen" well, that just doesn't exist. Refuse Facism probably wishes it did, but they weren't even among the largest of the counter protesters in the crowd that day. So, to characterize the counter protest in Charlottesville as "antifa" was an overreach (also part of his schtick, I suppose), but it caught on with his followers and _they_ turned it into a movement, but unless you are equating "antifa" with "antifacism," (and even then getting to 'organized' would be a stretch) there is no antifa movement among the 'lefties' in America.
Having said that, I personally can't understand how any American, other than the white supremecists and malitia groups, could be anti-antifa. I wonder, which are you?
Facts do matter. The truth is Trump used the word after Charlottesville. He loved to say it over and over then and many times since. Repetition aids remembering. What never was is now a word used almost exclusively by the Republicans and Trumpists. Labels are a simple way to slander a political opposition. The opposition to Fascism is the spontaneous reaction by people who remember the death and destruction caused by European Fascism. Americans awakened in time to oppose and defeat it. Good and loyal Americans are rising up to oppose today's Fascists ("Adolf" Trump, "Joseph" Vought, "Heinrich" Miller, "Herman" Hegseth, and "Rudolf" Vance and prevent them from taking over the US government.
You should know the definitions of the words you use. There can be no such thing as "anarchist fascists". Anarchists don't want any government, and fascists want a strong government with an authoritarian leader. It's oxy-moronic to try to put them together in a single ideology. Furthermore, by definition fascism is a right-leaning ideology.
Fascism, socialism, communism... they are all collectivist ideologies and there is no real right vs left identity based on anything valid with respect to today's right and left. Anarchy is simply a violent means to an end to destroy democratic and capitalist structures that the right values and replace them with a collectivist utopia that the left keeps pursuing.
The first Rallies were in April. 50501 organized many of those, along with other smaller organizations. This is all so grassroots. We had another go round in May that sparked some attention and brought the "hundreds" of various organizations together for the large No Kings Rally in June, but to be fair the June NK Rally wasn't the first. And, there are actually rallies every weekend in locations around the country. But this one will be bigger, because all those government workers have nothing else to do.
Thus the need to flood the RW media ecosystem with "..They hate us because of our freedoms.." drivel. Johnson and associates are pandering exclusively to the 30% or so of Americans who watch FOX News nonstop, and still believe that Trump is anointed by God. And who haven't (yet) been badly hurt financially by his import taxes (tariffs), and the rising electric utility and health insurance premium hikes Trump2 policies are fueling.
Yup. But Johnson calling anyone who attends a No Kings Day protest a "Terrorist" is an insanely huge escalation in GOP rhetoric. They must be getting real scared.
I wanted to confirm Krister's comment that the No Kings protests are Saturday, October 18. I've also seen "Sunday" mis-reported in publicity about this event by others. Perhaps this error needs a correction so mis-information isn't as likely to be dissemitated?
Consider that hardcore MAGAs regularly poll in the mid-high 30s, then figure that another 10–15% have no idea of what Trump is doing to America. IOW, it's business as usual.
In a recent interview in which Congressman Rich McCormick (GA D7) went to great lengths to push the Administration’s Medicaid “reform”, he also howled about No Kings (one of the counties in his district is famously red; however the June No Kings rally had a turnout of nearly 2,000 ppl). (This is the same man whose Feb town hall was such a disaster for him that Johnson said no more town halls.) Now I get why he was spitting nickels over No Kings. Btw, how do we “dethrone” Miller and Vought who are real “enemies within” wreaking all of this havoc on our country?
Put pressure on your representatives to start doing their job by holding this Administration accountable! Congress is supposed to be the check on the Executive branch.
Aside from emails, calls, visits to his local office— we’ve even set up our own town hall (during the House’s interminable recess)) and of course invited him and of course his chair was empty (he did attend a GOP event nearby days later). Had a former challenger reply in his place, filmed the whole thing and sent it to him and posted it online. Another presentation to his office pending. The man is tuned out— he’s part of the enabling team.
I mean, the allegations of paid protesters on the left are ridiculous alongside the very real astroturfing for which billionaires like the Kochs are responsible on the right. Then again, if you’re a Republican, you'll probably believe the narrative because you view so much of what goes in our world through the lens of transactional relationships.
They clearly believe that Soros is more powerful than God. It's also interesting (aka antisemitic) that they never say anything about the Kochs, Mercers, Crows, ad infinitum, who've been bankrolling the GOP for decades.
I've never been able to tell how much is gullibility, how much is ignorance, and how much is garden-variety racism with a hefty dose of misogyny. Whatever it is, it's toxic and deeply anti-democratic.
The myth that wealthy Jews finance overthrowing kingdoms is second only to the trope that Jews killed Jesus in the history of antisemitism .
In the Middle Ages Jewish bankers could amass wealth because they could charge interest on loans; Christians could not as such a practice was considered usury. What did kings do with the money they borrowed from the Jewish money lender? They waged wars on neighboring kingdoms.
But it was the Jewish moneylender who was at fault here. Not the war-mongering Christian
Wait! Surely you jest? Maga + antisemetic? No! They are anti-anti-semites, right? The Charlie Kirk gang? Why, they are all lovers of humanity in it's entirety and glorious diversi... ok, ok, I'll stop. My gorge had begun to rise precipitously!
Great article - BUT this MUST also be said; the GOP is not demonizing No Kings 'simply' so the government can proactively justify investigating/harassing selected participants afterwards. They are ALSO engaging in stochastic terrorism and sending out a very clear dogwhistle to their more unhinged adherents to incite violence against the marches. Full stop. It is not fear they are expressing but an implied call to arms. This is an administration urging a large section of the population to attack another, make no mistake.
You know the MAGA Republicans are terrified by what will likely be the largest protest ever in American history when they are so busy spreading so many lies. Trump's power is based on the perception that he is strong and (in his mind) popular. He is neither. Millions of people in the streets protesting his reign of terror will punch a big hole in that myth...even when the corporate media does its best to ignore it.
The local media (Springfield Mass) showed up to report on the last protest about 2 minutes after it ended. They showed empty streets to give the impression it fizzled.
Yes! Saturday, October 18! And I am actually afraid of this Administration encouraging violence against all who are peacefully expressing outrage at the lawlessness of this Administration.
Like many things Republicans say, the George Soros thing is getting ridiculous. I assume he donates to Democratic candidates, but he’s in his 90s&most Democrats probably haven’t even met him.
This is unlike GOP donors Republicans ran into on Epstein’s island.
Perhaps we need to start a list of dunces and idiots for historical reference. Johnson would certain make the list, but I think Roger Marshall should be added based on this article.
Hi everyone. I just want to let everyone know that I've both corrected the error of the date of the protest, which is SATURDAY, October 18 and sent out a corrected version of the piece to the entire list. Sorry for making this mistake. -- Judd
We all know the date because we'll be there!
Also Judd, none of these groups are affiliated with antifa, because antifa is not an organization, it is , if anything a movement. Please correct. 😊☮️
Is antifa really a real thing, really? I've never met a single person who identifies that way, or even seen one interviewed or anything. Has anyone? Anyway, shouldn't all Americans be Antifa-cist? Who advocates for facism?
Identifies as such? Well, last week I posted this on BlueSky:
"I am antifa.
"And since the term means 'anti-fascist,' the question isn't why I am but why you're not."
And how did they reply? Accuse you of "buying the dog food", like Frank Lee, below? Because that's just how they reply to me when I make that post.
If I did get a response along those lines, I ignored it. If I did answer, it would be "Okay, that's one self-admitted fascist. Anyone else?"
Along with "'Buy the dog food?' WTF? What, are the 'Back to 1900!' reactionaries so envious of the mystical power of 'Drank the Kool-aid' that they had to come up with their own feeble (and nonsensical) version in order to feel (as the Church Lady put it) 'speh-shul?' Well, bless their hearts."
I wonder how many of them actually know Drank-the-Koolaid came from Jonestown? Such a tragedy.
LOL. So, because it does not have a single leader or some corporate entity it is not an organization? You lefties are something else... the biggest mass self-denial movement we have ever seen. The problem is that nobody but lefties buy the dog food.
"Antifa" is a term Donald Trump used to describe all the counter protesters in Charlottesville. He over-generalized, which is his schtick I suppose, but wasn't entirely wrong. The Unite the Right protest _was_ led by neo-fascists and white supremecist groups, such as the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights and the American Identity Movement (formerly known as, Identity Evropa). And there _was_ among the counter-protesters, at least one organized anti-facist group, Refuse Facism. But, this entity you 'righties' (I guess, if we're going there) imagine as the "biggest self-denial movement we have ever seen" well, that just doesn't exist. Refuse Facism probably wishes it did, but they weren't even among the largest of the counter protesters in the crowd that day. So, to characterize the counter protest in Charlottesville as "antifa" was an overreach (also part of his schtick, I suppose), but it caught on with his followers and _they_ turned it into a movement, but unless you are equating "antifa" with "antifacism," (and even then getting to 'organized' would be a stretch) there is no antifa movement among the 'lefties' in America.
Having said that, I personally can't understand how any American, other than the white supremecists and malitia groups, could be anti-antifa. I wonder, which are you?
Facts do matter. The truth is Trump used the word after Charlottesville. He loved to say it over and over then and many times since. Repetition aids remembering. What never was is now a word used almost exclusively by the Republicans and Trumpists. Labels are a simple way to slander a political opposition. The opposition to Fascism is the spontaneous reaction by people who remember the death and destruction caused by European Fascism. Americans awakened in time to oppose and defeat it. Good and loyal Americans are rising up to oppose today's Fascists ("Adolf" Trump, "Joseph" Vought, "Heinrich" Miller, "Herman" Hegseth, and "Rudolf" Vance and prevent them from taking over the US government.
Antifa are anarchist fascists. Anyone that cannot see that is a dope.
No Frank.
You should know the definitions of the words you use. There can be no such thing as "anarchist fascists". Anarchists don't want any government, and fascists want a strong government with an authoritarian leader. It's oxy-moronic to try to put them together in a single ideology. Furthermore, by definition fascism is a right-leaning ideology.
Fascism, socialism, communism... they are all collectivist ideologies and there is no real right vs left identity based on anything valid with respect to today's right and left. Anarchy is simply a violent means to an end to destroy democratic and capitalist structures that the right values and replace them with a collectivist utopia that the left keeps pursuing.
Frank. Really.
The first Rallies were in April. 50501 organized many of those, along with other smaller organizations. This is all so grassroots. We had another go round in May that sparked some attention and brought the "hundreds" of various organizations together for the large No Kings Rally in June, but to be fair the June NK Rally wasn't the first. And, there are actually rallies every weekend in locations around the country. But this one will be bigger, because all those government workers have nothing else to do.
It happens! Thanks for the update. TOO MUCH GOING ON.
Also: Tom Emmer was born in Indiana but represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional district.
Correction…the 18th is a Saturday …
Somewhere, somebody is arranging to paint the kitchen on Saturday so as to free up Sunday to go to the protest.
Popular Information, please fix this!
It's fixed. Sorry for the error.
Certainly looks like the Republicans are afraid that the turnout for No Kings will be a huge success.
Thus the need to flood the RW media ecosystem with "..They hate us because of our freedoms.." drivel. Johnson and associates are pandering exclusively to the 30% or so of Americans who watch FOX News nonstop, and still believe that Trump is anointed by God. And who haven't (yet) been badly hurt financially by his import taxes (tariffs), and the rising electric utility and health insurance premium hikes Trump2 policies are fueling.
Gee, isn't that the same line Bush used about Al Quaida? 🤔
Yup. But Johnson calling anyone who attends a No Kings Day protest a "Terrorist" is an insanely huge escalation in GOP rhetoric. They must be getting real scared.
Of course it will be huge. Hundreds of thousands of Government workers have nothing else to do.
I wanted to confirm Krister's comment that the No Kings protests are Saturday, October 18. I've also seen "Sunday" mis-reported in publicity about this event by others. Perhaps this error needs a correction so mis-information isn't as likely to be dissemitated?
Thank you. Sorry for the error. It has been corrected.
Even God is cooperating. Pleasant weather through Saturday. Not so pleasant Sunday here in the Missouri Ozarks.
We might get rain but I do not care! We will still march!
The scarier number is the one suggested by the 52% disapproval statistic: 48% don't disapprove of what Trump is doing to America. That's terrifying.
Consider that hardcore MAGAs regularly poll in the mid-high 30s, then figure that another 10–15% have no idea of what Trump is doing to America. IOW, it's business as usual.
Amen! I feel the same!
I said the same think as I read this article today ;)
I don't pay attention to polls anymore. They're too easily swayed by techniques like leading questions.
Great piece, Judd, but I endorse the idea of running a correction to Saturday the 18th.
In a recent interview in which Congressman Rich McCormick (GA D7) went to great lengths to push the Administration’s Medicaid “reform”, he also howled about No Kings (one of the counties in his district is famously red; however the June No Kings rally had a turnout of nearly 2,000 ppl). (This is the same man whose Feb town hall was such a disaster for him that Johnson said no more town halls.) Now I get why he was spitting nickels over No Kings. Btw, how do we “dethrone” Miller and Vought who are real “enemies within” wreaking all of this havoc on our country?
Put pressure on your representatives to start doing their job by holding this Administration accountable! Congress is supposed to be the check on the Executive branch.
Aside from emails, calls, visits to his local office— we’ve even set up our own town hall (during the House’s interminable recess)) and of course invited him and of course his chair was empty (he did attend a GOP event nearby days later). Had a former challenger reply in his place, filmed the whole thing and sent it to him and posted it online. Another presentation to his office pending. The man is tuned out— he’s part of the enabling team.
Yes! Thank you. I think I saw that on Rachel Maddow. Our voices and our votes are the only tools we have.
Saturday!
I mean, the allegations of paid protesters on the left are ridiculous alongside the very real astroturfing for which billionaires like the Kochs are responsible on the right. Then again, if you’re a Republican, you'll probably believe the narrative because you view so much of what goes in our world through the lens of transactional relationships.
Every accusation is a confession with those ghouls.
Trump clued us into this big-time in the 2016 debates. He was the puppet all along. *Whose* puppet, exactly, may have evolved somewhat since then.
We know Putin is a major player…decrying that the orange felon didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize. Awww. The laughing his ass off amongst his comrades!
🎯🎯
Notice the antisemitic gloss from the MAGA crew—that a wealthy Jewish person is funding the protest
They clearly believe that Soros is more powerful than God. It's also interesting (aka antisemitic) that they never say anything about the Kochs, Mercers, Crows, ad infinitum, who've been bankrolling the GOP for decades.
Susanna, they accept any criminal out there who appeals to their gullibility.
I've never been able to tell how much is gullibility, how much is ignorance, and how much is garden-variety racism with a hefty dose of misogyny. Whatever it is, it's toxic and deeply anti-democratic.
The myth that wealthy Jews finance overthrowing kingdoms is second only to the trope that Jews killed Jesus in the history of antisemitism .
In the Middle Ages Jewish bankers could amass wealth because they could charge interest on loans; Christians could not as such a practice was considered usury. What did kings do with the money they borrowed from the Jewish money lender? They waged wars on neighboring kingdoms.
But it was the Jewish moneylender who was at fault here. Not the war-mongering Christian
Wait! Surely you jest? Maga + antisemetic? No! They are anti-anti-semites, right? The Charlie Kirk gang? Why, they are all lovers of humanity in it's entirety and glorious diversi... ok, ok, I'll stop. My gorge had begun to rise precipitously!
Great article - BUT this MUST also be said; the GOP is not demonizing No Kings 'simply' so the government can proactively justify investigating/harassing selected participants afterwards. They are ALSO engaging in stochastic terrorism and sending out a very clear dogwhistle to their more unhinged adherents to incite violence against the marches. Full stop. It is not fear they are expressing but an implied call to arms. This is an administration urging a large section of the population to attack another, make no mistake.
Exactly. Well said Tom.
You know the MAGA Republicans are terrified by what will likely be the largest protest ever in American history when they are so busy spreading so many lies. Trump's power is based on the perception that he is strong and (in his mind) popular. He is neither. Millions of people in the streets protesting his reign of terror will punch a big hole in that myth...even when the corporate media does its best to ignore it.
The local media (Springfield Mass) showed up to report on the last protest about 2 minutes after it ended. They showed empty streets to give the impression it fizzled.
Local media in Syracuse misstated crowd sizes, cutting them in half. But what do we expect from a local media owned by Sinclair and Nexstar?
They don’t even show up for the protests in Oswego (held weekly) that are also part of their coverage area. The local stations are such a joke.
Nooooo :(
Yes! Saturday, October 18! And I am actually afraid of this Administration encouraging violence against all who are peacefully expressing outrage at the lawlessness of this Administration.
I would love to get paid! I'd also like a turn using the Jewish space laser.
"Pew pew pew!"
What should I aim for?
Free fire. Choose your targets, Captain. 😆
Like many things Republicans say, the George Soros thing is getting ridiculous. I assume he donates to Democratic candidates, but he’s in his 90s&most Democrats probably haven’t even met him.
This is unlike GOP donors Republicans ran into on Epstein’s island.
Perhaps we need to start a list of dunces and idiots for historical reference. Johnson would certain make the list, but I think Roger Marshall should be added based on this article.
There should be a List of erudite intellectual MAGA who contribute to the “greatness again” in their moniker. Less key strokes, ink….
Economical indeed