Lazy Caturday Reads: Mad King Chronicles

Posted: August 1, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: just because | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Good Afternoon!!

A young girl with cat, Berthe Marisot

Mad King Donald continues to struggle with how to end the idiotic war he started with Iran.

The mad king is focusing even more energy on rewarding the criminals who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2001, and preventing him or his family members from ever having to pay back taxes. He cares more about those two goals than getting his Attorney general candidate approved by the Senate.

Meanwhile, Americans are stuck with a demented old man running our country into the ground.

Here are the latest updates in the Iran mess:

AP: White House signals Trump is weighing new strikes on Iran, and other developments in the Middle East.

CAIRO (AP) — The White House on Friday signaled that President Donald Trump is weighing carrying out new strikes on Iran as the U.S. presses for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abide by terms set out in a truce agreement the two sides forged last month only to quickly collapse.

There were no U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, but Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had struck another two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Kuwait said it intercepted drones.

Meanwhile, Hamas confirmed Friday that it will disarm in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, but major obstacles remain….

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”

“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,” Leavitt said in a statement on Friday evening. “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”

Leavitt issued the fresh warning after Trump earlier on Friday told reporters that “we just want to win” in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. “You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

Euan Ward at The New York Times: Kuwait Says It Downed Iranian Drones as Mideast Braces for Possible Escalation.

Kuwait said that Iranian forces had launched a wave of drone attacks on its shores early Saturday, as the Middle East braced for a possible escalation in fighting after President Trump said he was preparing to hit Iran “very hard.”

The Kuwaiti military said that it had detected and destroyed multiple drones in its airspace since dawn, and that Iran had targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north. A military spokesman said that falling shrapnel had damaged vehicles on the Kuwaiti island of Bubiyan, near the Iraqi border, but no casualties were reported.

Kuwait hosts one of Washington’s largest military deployments in the Middle East, and Bubiyan Island lies close to several critical U.S. military facilities. There was no immediate comment on the attacks from Iran or U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the region.

While there were no U.S. strikes on Iran reported overnight, there was little indication that the two sides were moving back toward diplomacy. The conflict has lurched between military confrontation and negotiations in recent months, and renewed exchanges of fire this week have punctured a brief lull in fighting.

Cat and her two kittens, Julius Adam

Speaking on Friday from Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, Mr. Trump said the United States was weighing additional military action against Iran after days of escalating attacks across the region. “We’ll be hitting them very hard, and you know at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” Mr. Trump said. “We just want to win,” he added.

The potential risk of escalation prompted security warnings from the State Department. On Saturday, the U.S. Embassies in Jordan, Iraq and Israel urged Americans to consider departing the region, or to be prepared to leave if the conflict intensified. The security environment in the Middle East remained “complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the embassies said.

Analysis by Steven Erlanger at The New York Times: In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear.

To America’s allies, President Trump’s war in Iran, now in its sixth month, seems headed for a strategic defeat.

They worry that the inability of the United States to turn military superiority into a sustainably changed Iran has displayed a vulnerability that Russia and China will welcome. In addition, Mr. Trump’s goals remain unmet, and the U.S. military is running short on key armaments that it needs for global reach.

For the moment, Iran is seemingly resolute under a more radical government, its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are degraded but not destroyed, and the Strait of Hormuz is effectively under its control. The war has left both the United States and Israel in weaker positions — and blaming each other for the mess.

Iranian missiles and drones not only restrict traffic through the strait and damage the economic infrastructure of allied energy production, but they also continue to threaten American bases across the Middle East and have killed or injured American service members.

With Mr. Trump’s aims shifting, Washington is losing credibility both militarily and diplomatically, analysts said. Its conduct in the war underscores the impression that the United States is an unpredictable instrument of global disorder, they said.

The war may evolve, but so far the result has been “a strategic loss and an embarrassment,” said Robin Niblett, a former director of Chatham House, a think tank in London. “For U.S. allies and those who rely on the U.S. for security, this is confirmation that you can’t trust the United States.”

Even if the Islamic Republic collapses, he added, “people won’t forget that their security and their future were dragged into question by an unpredictable and wavering U.S. foreign policy.”

European allies remember Mr. Trump’s vow to seize Greenland from a NATO ally and his threats to leave the alliance unless other allies met his spending goals. Middle Eastern allies see their own security undermined by this war, even if they are too committed to Washington to abandon partnerships with the United States. But they are already hedging, looking for repaired ties with Iran and better relations with Europe, China and Russia, said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director for the International Crisis Group.

Dan Lamothe at The Washington Post has a scoop on Pentagon’s weapons shortages: U.S. general warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel.

The top U.S. general in Europe privately warned the Pentagon this week that he lacks sufficient naval forces to continue protecting Israel from incoming ballistic missiles, officials said, illustrating how the ongoing Iran war has imposed constraints on the military.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command, sent written notification to senior Pentagon officials saying that without another Navy destroyer he will be forced to choose defense of the United States “homeland” over that of Israel, said the officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the correspondence.

Marguerite with a black cat, Henri Matisse, 1910

The Pentagon declined to comment. U.S. European Command did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment.

The general’s warning comes at a tenuous moment in the five-month conflict, as near-daily attacks have resumed following the collapse of peace talks between Washington and Tehran and the operation’s intensity has drained U.S. supplies of key defensive weapons.

The Navy has been particularly taxed, as the Trump administration has directed a blockade of Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The standoff has stymied the movement of Middle Eastern oil and other commodities through the narrow waterway, upending the global economy.

A bit more:

U.S. naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have been employed as a part of Israel’s defense for many years. The vessels, equipped with powerful radar and armed with an array of missiles, have downed missiles aimed at Israel not only by Iran, but by Houthi militants in Yemen that are equipped by Tehran.

European Command is central to this mission, as it coordinates military operations in the Mediterranean. At the same time, its forces must remain ready for any Russian incursion into territory protected by the NATO military alliance. Russia also poses a ballistic missile threat to the United States, with missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

The Navy has five destroyers that deploy from a U.S. port in Rota, Spain, with a sixth expected to arrive there later this year, Pentagon officials have said. But maintenance issues have piled up due to the Iran war’s tempo, complicating matters for Grynkewich, officials said. The Washington Post withheld specific details about the ships’ availability at the request of military officials, who cited security concerns.

As The Post reported in May, Pentagon assessments conducted earlier in the war showed that U.S. forces have shouldered the brunt of defending Israel from Iranian ballistic missiles. The assessments found that American weapons, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and naval interceptors launched from the eastern Mediterranean, were used far more frequently than Israeli air defense weapons.

That’s interesting. I wonder if Trump will choose the U.S.  or his pal Netanyahu?

Iran is not only winning the war, they are also attacking U.S. infrastructure, but Mad King Donald won’t admit it’s happening.

Politico: Trump blames Minnesota water hacks on Walz, while evidence points to Iran.

President Donald Trump on Friday blamed a spate of recent hacks impacting water utilities in Minnesota on Gov. Tim Walz — contradicting preliminary findings from U.S. and industry officials who suspect Iran is behind an expanding campaign of digital disruption.

“I blame it on Minnesota because they are grossly incompetent,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, adding that Walz is “corrupt” and “Iran has bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota.” Asked later if he could rule out Iranian responsibility, Trump said, “ I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think Minnesota ought to get its act together.”

The cat and two sparrows, by Marc Chagall, 1925

Trump’s dig at the Democratic-led state came just hours after the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency said they are responding to an unspecified number of cyberattacks at water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states. On Thursday, the government’s civilian cyber defense agency, CISA, warned of a “significant increase” in digital attacks on technology used broadly by U.S. water utilities.

While no U.S. agency has formally accused Iran of orchestrating the attacks, many federal, state and water industry officials suspect Tehran-linked cyber groups are responsible for the hacking campaign. CISA issued a report last week detailing a similar set of attacks it has tracked since April, which it linked to Iran.

Minnesota’s state IT agency disclosed this Tuesday that at least 30 community water systems in the state had been breached in what it described as a “coordinated attack,” but it did not name Iran as the perpetrator.

In a statement on X responding to Trump’s comments earlier in the day, Walz suggested Iranian hackers were targeting Minnesota and other states in retaliation for U.S. military strikes in Iran — and that therefore Trump was to blame.

“This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there’s no plan to win a war with Iran,” Walz wrote.

I guess the Trump thinks Walz is also responsible the hacks in other states?

Dustin Volz and Ernesto Londoño at The New York Times: Scope of Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Widens as Evidence Points to Iran.

The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials and experts warned, as the authorities raced to safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran.

While there were no indications that any water supply had been altered or made unsafe to drink, state and local officials throughout the country were on high alert for potential problems in vulnerable computers that are commonly used to monitor and adjust water quality, including chemical-treatment levels and water pressure. Minnesota first publicly reported the attacks, and now Michigan says its systems have also been targeted.

The attack has little precedent, experts said, but has long been the stuff of nightmares and sensationalized Hollywood thrillers: an apparent cyberattack by a foreign power during a time of war that could, at least in theory, jeopardize the health and safety of Americans.

Officials cautioned that they had not definitively determined that Iran was responsible for the attack and that the investigation was still preliminary. But they said Iran had stepped up cyberattacks since the U.S. and Israel launched a war against the country five months ago, and had previously targeted similar water systems and other critical infrastructure in the U.S. There seemed no financial motive, making a criminal attack less likely.

On Trump’s accusations:

Despite growing concerns, President Trump sought to downplay the matter on Friday by blaming Minnesota — which was early to spot and report the recent surge in malicious hacking activity, helping to prompt other states to probe their own water systems — for suffering intrusions his own intelligence agencies believe were highly likely carried out by Iran, officials familiar with the assessment said.

Bouquet and a cat, by Suzanne Valadon

“I think Minnesota is behind it,” Mr. Trump said on Friday in response to a reporter’s question about Iran’s possible involvement, which The New York Times earlier reported. “I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack.”  [….]

After Mr. Trump’s remarks, federal officials privately said Iran remains the top suspect but that the assessment remained preliminary and had not yet established definitive forensic proof. That is not unusual in complex cyber-investigations, which can often take months to reach authoritative conclusions, if at all.

Nate George, the mayor of Braham, a small city north of Minneapolis that was among those affected by the cyberattack, said federal and local officials had little doubt about the likely culprit.

“We’re getting bits and pieces of information from the state of Minnesota and the F.B.I.,” he said in an interview on Friday afternoon. “They are pretty sure it’s Iranian actors” but are reluctant to say so publicly, he added. A memo sent by an industry group that shares cyberthreat information among water utilities that was obtained by Wired magazine said the attacks aligned with hacking activity being conducted by Iran-affiliated actors.

Trump is a complete moron and we’re stuck with him for now.

In U.S. news, Trump has signaled he would rather pay off his January 6th goons and keep his tax free deal with the IRS than get Senate approval for his Attorney General pick, Todd Blanche.

Politico: Trump puts his ‘anti-weaponization fund’ back on the table.

President Donald Trump said early Saturday he would push to get the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” codified into law if the Senate does not confirm his attorney general pick, Todd Blanche.

The fund has emerged as a key issue stalling Blanche’s confirmation, with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who are both departing the Senate after the midterms, withholding their support in the Senate Judiciary Committee unless the White House commits to shelving the proposal in writing.

Now, Trump says the fund is back on the table, and maybe he’ll even keep Blanche on in an acting capacity if he can’t get his way in Congress next week.

“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED,” he wrote.

“Todd Blanche was a voice of reason!” Trump wrote. “It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done.”

The missive comes a day after Trump reluctantly declared the fund “dead” in a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, making Saturday’s post a notable reversal in tactics as he moves from a negotiating posture to digging his heels in.

Politico: Blanche vote is rescheduled, but there’s no deal.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley rescheduled a planned vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general late Friday in a preemptive move as negotiations between the Trump administration and GOP holdouts continue.

Orange cat sleeping, Pierre Bonnard

The vote, now set for Tuesday after a scheduled Thursday vote was postponed, isn’t an indication that a deal allowing for Blanche’s confirmation is near, so much as it is a nod to Judiciary Committee rules that require three days of notice for a panel meeting.

There is no sign that President Donald Trump is about to acquiesce to the unflinching demands of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who wants a controversial settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS substantially pared back.

Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, wants the Justice Department to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and limit the scope of a tax audit immunity component of the pact….

To advance Tuesday, Blanche needs to pick up Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator on the panel with similar concerns. He can’t lose any GOP votes if he wants to be reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee.

Kathleen Culliton at Raw Story has a slightly more colorful story on the Blanche controversy: Trump tantrum over ‘Jan 6th slush fund’ spurs uproar: ‘This is outrageous.

Trump’s Truth Social claim — that he no longer considers his controversial $1.8 billion fund to be “dead,” as he asserted at Camp David just the day before — swiftly drew criticism on Saturday morning.

” Trump doesn’t have the votes for this,” Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis. “Republican senators have already voted against the fund, and even more against paying rioters who beat police officers who Trump pardoned.”

The president did not address the problem of support in his early morning post, he simply asserted he would “push hard” to get the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” passed.

His assertion came after a vote to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was delayed by two Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, both of whom demanded written proof that the fund was dead.

“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche,” Trump wrote, “then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill.” [….]

The group Republicans Against Trump slammed Trump’s message as being poorly timed considering mounting conservative fears the could soon lose the majority in the Senate.

“Great messaging ahead of the midterms,” the group quipped.

Personally, I think Trump’s real concern is for the IRS deal that is attached to the slush fund. It would prevent him and anyone in his extended family on into the future from every having their taxes audited.

One more outrageous story out of the Senate and House.

Matthew Chapman at Raw Story: MAGA senator can’t say if son-in-law accused of abusing wife should be tossed off ballot.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) was confronted about the brutal domestic violence allegations against his son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller — but couldn’t say whether they’re disqualifying.

His daughter, Emily Moreno, has accused Max Miller, her ex-husband, of abuse in court filings and police records, alleging he burned her with hot water, held a gun to her head, shoved her hard enough to cause injury, and broke their daughter’s collarbone. Her lawyers filed for a new restraining order against Miller this week, also alleging he harassed her attorneys and physically placed his hands on one of them.

Curiosity, by Horatio Henry Couldery, 1893

Miller is also facing a lawsuit alleging he broke the terms of his own hush deal, and this week, Emily Moreno filed a restraining order against him, revealing even more allegations.

Asked directly whether Republicans should yank Miller off the November ballot, Moreno gave a two-word non-answer, according to NOTUS.

“I don’t know,” Moreno said.

Miller, for his part, continues to deny all allegations and filed a lawsuit against Emily Moreno for defamation. He also made a counter-charge of domestic violence against her, but dropped that case this week amid growing backlash.

Republican leadership has largely remained silent on the matter, but faces growing pressure to try to remove Miller from the ballot, as the deadline to do so is rapidly approaching and his suburban Cleveland congressional district might be vulnerable with him continuing to run.

Morena is the Republican who swore at Dr. Antony Fauci in a Congressional hearing this week.

Politico: ‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating.

Public scrutiny of domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller is quickly mounting. His Republican colleagues have been slow to respond.

New reporting on government documents claiming that Miller poured hot water on his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke their young daughter’s collarbone has brought a wave of new attention to the Ohio lawmaker’s long-running public marital dispute. This week, Moreno’s lawyer filed for a restraining order against Miller, accusing him of harassing his ex-wife’s counsel.

Lazy Caturday Reads on No Kings Day

Posted: June 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: cat art, caturday, Donald Trump, U.S. Military | Tags: , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Leopold Kitty, by femmehesse

Good Afternoon!!

It’s No Kings day, and Donald Trump is looking forward to a North Korea-style parade on his 79th birthday. Today was supposed to be a day to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but Trump has turned it into a celebration of himself, forcing soldiers to spend weeks preparing and moving military equipment to the Washington DC area. The Universe is not smiling on Trump’s big day though; bad weather is expected.

Meanwhile, a man who is likely one of Trump’s MAGA followers has assassinated Minnesota House Speaker and her husband and attempted to assassinate a sitting state Senator and his wife. The murderer was impersonating a police officer.

Associated Press: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: former House speaker and husband killed in politically motivated shooting.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in a politically motivated assassination, and a second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded. Authorities were actively searching for a suspect hours after the targeted killings.

“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,” Walz said at a press conference Saturday. “Those responsible for this will be held accountable.”

The wounded lawmaker was identified as state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012. He previously served as vice chair of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota.

Hoffman is married and has one daughter. Hortman was the top House Democratic leader in the state Legislature and a former House speaker. She was first elected in 2004.

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that authorities were actively searching for a suspect.

Autopsies will be done to determine extent of injuries, but Hortman and her spouse died from gunshot wounds, Evans said. A “shelter in place” order was in effect early Saturday.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune is posting live updates. Here’s the latest at 11:43AM ET:

Gov. Tim Walz said there were targeted shootings in both Brooklyn Park and Champlin on Saturday.

10:13 am. – Here’s the full quote from Gov. Tim Walz confirming that Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in what the governor called a “politically motivated assassination.”“We’re here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota. My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination. Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service. She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.

”10:11 a.m. – Authorities investigating the shooting recovered an alleged manifesto.“There was a list of individuals and the individuals that were targeted were on that list,” said Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans.

“When we did a search of the vehicle there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials, we immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley added.

10 a.m. – Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that when officers arrived to the Hortman home, they noticed a vehicle with emergency lights what appeared to be a police officer at the door, “when our officers confronted him he immediately fired at officers and retreated back into the home.” He fled back into the house after being confronted by police. They went to the threshold and saw a man that was down and dragged him out to safety, he was pronounced dead shortly after. Police then went in with a drone to identify Hortman dead in the home.

“This was not a real police officer, this was a person who was clearly impersonating a police officer wearing the trust of this badge to manipulate their way into the home,” Bruley said.

The suspect drove a vehicle that looked exactly like an SUV squad equipped with emergency lights, a Taser and badge. There was “no question that if they were in this room you would assume that they are a police officer.”

A massive manhunt is underway for the suspect, who is believed to be on foot. Bruley said police are now arriving at residences in pairs of two or more. Officers will not be alone. Police are searching for people of interest.

You can check that page for future updates. There is no paywall.

No Kings protests against Trump and his attacks on democracy are planned for cities and towns across the country.

Girl with Kitten, by DaHeaven Art, Latvia

NPR: ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump planned nationwide to coincide with military parade.

About 2,000 “No Kings” protests are planned Saturday in response to the Trump administration’s plans to hold alarge-scale military parade this weekend, an event organizer told NPR.

Organizers are accusing the president of putting on the parade as a show of dominance and a celebration of his 79th birthday, which is also on Saturday. The Army has been planning some form of anniversary celebration for over a year, but the parade was a recent addition. It will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and falls on Flag Day. A peacetime military parade is rare in the U.S. and has drawn criticism from Trump’s political rivals.

“No Kings” organizers describe the protests as a “day of defiance…to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like” on their website.

The statementcontinues, “We’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.” [….]

The demonstrations were put together by a coalition of more than 200 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers and the Communications Workers of America. Protests are scheduled in every state, but not in Washington, D.C. Instead, organizers are encouraging interested D.C. residents to gather in Philadelphia — the flagship “No Kings” protest. Philadelphia was America’s first capital and was the birthplace of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence….

According to the organizers’ website, the protesters are avoiding the nation’s capital “to draw a clear contrast between our people-powered movement and the costly, wasteful, and un-American birthday parade in Washington.”

Associated Press: Cities brace for large crowds at anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ demonstrations across the US.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demonstrators began gathering in cities and towns across the U.S. Saturday to rally against President Donald Trump as officials urged calm and mobilized National Guard troops ahead a military parade to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday.

Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, while intermittent light rain fell as early marchers carrying signs gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park….

Protests in nearly 2,000 locations are scheduled across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said, but no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will take place in the evening.

The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement….

Reactions from authorities:

by Elizah Leighword

Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence.

Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri are mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations.

There will be “zero tolerance” for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and “if you violate the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday.

In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to “wait for chaos to ensue.”

Nebraska’s governor also signed an emergency proclamation Friday to activate his state’s National Guard, a step his office called “a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country.”

Organizers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the “line is very clear” and not to cross it.

Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin at MSNBC: The ‘No Kings’ mass mobilization debunks Trump’s biggest myth.

President Donald Trump wants to celebrate his birthday like a king: not with cake or candles, but with a $45 million military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C. Officially, the parade is only to mark the U.S. Army’s birthday, not the president’s the same day; in reality, the military’s celebration, though long planned, did not include a parade until his administration got involved. On the day the Army was founded to defeat tyranny, he’s getting a parade and using your tax money to do so.

This chilling spectacle pulls us away from the ideal of nonviolence that has paved the way for freedom movements in this country for generations. That’s not freedom. That’s not democracy. That’s not American. So on June 14, we the people are rising up and declaring that in America, we do not have a king. Across every U.S. state and territory, in cities, towns, and rural communities alike, millions of us will join the “No Kings” mass mobilization.

The president is using the same playbook we’ve seen in other countries throughout history: concentrate power, crush dissent, target vulnerable communities, enrich yourself, and distract the public with shows of force. He’s moved swiftly to erode the guardrails of democracy. He’s attacked the press and public universities, purged civil servants, and ignored court orders. He’s slashing budgets for public services, moved to erase hard-won victories for civil rights, ordered the hounding of immigrants in schools, places of worship and job sites, and ignored due process while deporting migrants to dangerous foreign prisons.

Now, in the very same week when he dispatches the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles to silence protesters’ righteous cries for justice in the face of his cruel assaults on our immigrant brothers and sisters, he hosts a grand parade. We hold a parade of the people.

Trump’s power doesn’t just come from his title; it comes from the myth that he’s untouchable. That he can say and do whatever he wants, and no one can stop him. But that myth only exists if we let it. Authoritarianism feeds on fear and silence. It survives when institutions go along, and when people give up. Already, too many elected officials, business leaders, and civic institutions have fallen in line.

But since his inauguration, millions of Americans have rejected Trump’s myth. Thousands of protests around the country have denounced his authoritarian moves, his attempts to rewrite this country’s history and his moves to destroy our already tattered safety net. And the more people have seen of Trump’s lawless second term, the less popular he has become.

Click the link to read the rest.

The Wall Street Journal reports that MAGA groups are hoping to stoke violence: Far-Right Groups Buzz With Violent Talk on How to Respond to ‘No Kings’ Protest.

“Shoot a couple, the rest will go home,” said a meme circulating on Telegram channels of groups affiliated with the far-right Proud Boys. “You just have to impale a few of them…” another local chapter posted. One disseminated an online gun tutorial, illustrating optimal shooting techniques with the caption: “Riot season again!”

Organizers in more than 2,000 cities are mobilizing for “No Kings” rallies Saturday in opposition to President Trump and his military parade in Washington. Among those watching closely: extremist organizations on social media.

Cozy cat companionship, by Alex Katz Leinwanddruck

These accounts are also sharing detailed locations of the “No Kings” protests and sharing identifying information about the organizers, including names, images and where they work. In addition, days prior, social media videos verified by The Wall Street Journal show leaders of Chicago and Los Angeles far-right groups attended anti-ICE protests in those cities.

A review of dozens of known far-right social-media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers across leading platforms like X, Truth Social, and Telegram are posting about the “No Kings” rallies and encouraging their people to respond, in some cases with violence.

Some extremist groups appear to be capitalizing on escalating emotions and at times destructive protests in L.A., as a recruitment opportunity or to promote the mass deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Some of their messages have been echoed by the White House.

One anonymous online account, which posts racial slurs to its hundreds of followers, this week posted an image promoting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line for reporting those here illegally. Half a dozen white nationalist Telegram channels quickly reposted the meme. It was also spread widely among mainstream conservative social media accounts.

A bit more, in case you can’t get past the paywall.

On June 11, the official White House account shared the same image on Instagram, Presidential senior adviser Stephen Miller also retweeted it on X, and the Department of Homeland Security posted it across several platforms.

In response to requests for comment about the image, White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said reporters should focus on “the American victims of illegal alien crime and the radical Democrat rioters willing to do anything to keep dangerous illegal aliens in American communities.”

Also this week, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio—convicted of helping to mastermind the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol and then pardoned by Trump—announced on social media he was now a “Border Czar” for a new cryptocurrency venture, ICERAID. The platform offers cryptocurrency rewards to those reporting immigrants here illegally to authorities. Neither Tarrio nor the crypto company responded to requests for comment.

“The emergent insurrections across America and assault on Federal ICE Agents that began in Los Angeles come at a critical time as the need for citizens to collaborate with federal law enforcement becomes critical,” says the company’s website.

Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said the posts could inspire “lone-actor violence”—or lead people reading them to “get off the couch, pick up a gun and go out to one of these cities.”

One meme on Telegram this week, from a Proud Boy-affiliated group, depicts four armed men with shiny blue eyes wielding military weapons before an American flag. The meme declared, “HANG THE TRAITORS, EXPEL THE INVADERS.”

On Trump’s birthday parade:

The New York Times: What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade.

Saturday’s military parade in Washington will celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, but planning documents shared with The New York Times show a focus on President Trump, who turns 79 the same day. The parade, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., is expected to proceed even with rain and thunderstorms forecast in the late afternoon and early evening.

Thousands of soldiers will march from the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., to Washington while heavy armored vehicles slowly make their way north from West Potomac Park.

The Inhabitants, by Natalia Bagatskaya

The parade will officially kick off once the Army secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, and chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, report to Mr. Trump in a small ceremony at his reviewing stand along Constitution Avenue.

There will be roughly 7,000 soldiers — some in replicas of Army uniforms from different eras, including the Revolutionary, Civil, Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as both world wars.

Heavy armored vehicles from previous conflicts will be followed by those from the modern era, including 70-ton Abrams tanks, 30-ton Bradley fighting vehicles and 20-ton Strykers.

These vehicles will be staged in West Potomac Park because they could damage the Arlington Memorial Bridge and leak hazardous hydraulic fluid as they move. They could also break down before they reach their destination, according to Army planning documents, which is why the service will have heavy towing vehicles called wreckers at the beginning of the parade route on a nearby cross street.

But for all of this planning and expense, the parade route is remarkably short — running less than 1,600 yards down Constitution Avenue from 23rd Street until the soldiers pass the president’s reviewing stand….

The president will sit in a 100-foot-wide reviewing stand constructed on the north side of Constitution Avenue. Mr. Trump will be joined by a number of special guests, including Army soldiers who have received the nation’s highest decoration for combat valor, the Medal of Honor.

At the end of the parade, the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, will jump from the sky, land in the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, and present an American flag to the president on behalf of the Army.

Afterward, a country music concert is scheduled to begin nearby on the National Mall, followed by a fireworks show.

ABC News: This would make great TV’: How Donald Trump got the military parade he wanted.

In June 2024, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and his aides were at a Virginia military base where the service was putting on one of its live-action shows for kids and families.

The event — a decades-long tradition known as the “Twilight Tattoo” — was a spectacle. Soldiers from ceremonial units reenact the history of the Army, complete with Revolutionary War garb, music, theatrical vignettes and military pageantry, all meant to serve as a kind of salute to Army soldiers and their families.

George and his top communications adviser, Col. Dave Butler, were attending with several media executives, when one of them leaned over.

“This would make great television,” the executive said, according to Butler.

George and his staff had already been talking about how to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday. Maybe, they thought, the National Park Service would let them host one of their live-action shows on the National Mall, the officials thought.

Enter Donald Trump.

After President Donald Trump took office and the June 14 birthday was getting closer, the Army began to toss around more ideas. One idea was to add tanks or other iconic Army equipment to an exhibit parked on the National Mall where tourists could learn about the Army’s history of fighting the nation’s wars.

Lady with White Cat, by Sharyn Bursic

Butler said he doesn’t remember who first broached the idea of turning the Army’s show into a parade. But once the idea was floated, no one seemed to push back.

By June, the Army had a plan of what they would include: 6,700 soldiers, 150 vehicles, including dozens of tanks, 50 aircraft flying overhead including World War II-era planes and high-tech weaponry like rocket launchers.

Trump, a former media executive himself, seemed game to the idea. One official involved in the planning described it like “knocking on an unlocked door.”

“We wanted to reintroduce this nation’s Army to the American people,” Butler said. “To do that, we thought we needed to be in their living rooms and on their phones. We needed something that would catch the national eye.”

I don’t believe for one minute that anyone but Donald Trump suggested the parade. Give me a break.

More stories to check out if you’re interested:

USA Today: Trump brought in $57 million from crypto venture, millions from sneakers and bibles.

NBC News: Trump’s financial disclosures reveal tens of millions in income from guitars, bibles and watches with his name on them.

Peter Baker at The New York Times: Trump Relishes Troops in American Streets While Shunning Conflict Overseas.

Reuters: Exclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows.

The New York Times: Trump Shifts Deportation Focus, Pausing Most Raids on Farms, Hotels and Eateries.

Akbar Shahid Ahmed at HuffPost: Can Trump Prevent A Massive Middle East War?

CNN: Police arrest roughly 60 veterans and military family members protesting outside US Capitol after group crosses police line.

That’s it for me today. Have a great weekend, and if you’re going to a protest, stay safe.