DC Media Group

Washington DC—A cheering team calling itself the “Team Algae” put on green costumes and brought their green signs, snark, jokes, and plenty of trolling to the edge of the Reflecting Pool on Sunday. One wore a pink frog costume with “Amphita,” a one-two jab combination of Amphian and Antifa. Their antics were a major troll to Trump’s flag-blue paint job which despite nearly $16 million in contracts, has turned it from green to blue and back to green again.

Their antics were the crowning achievement of jovial laughter within the resistance movement which is finding itself overwhelmed with daily crisis created by the White House and its enabler billionaires. The Iran War, War in the Caribbean, War on Migrants and green card holders, the economic crisis everyone is struggling through, and efforts to rebrand Washington DC with Trump’s name and image, are but a few among the many distractions compounding difficulties for the resistance movement.

Team Algae enjoined onlookers with silly chants like, “Give me an A!’ Give me a L! … Give me an E! What’s that spell?” “Algae!,” the crowd chanted back. They blew bubbles to mock the ozone nano-bubble treatment that was still being pumped into the green pool. Then Team Algae performed skits that referenced certain qualities that algae has that are lacking in others like perseverance, surviving many attempts at its life, and standing up to Trump and his no bid contractors. One of the jokesters praised the algae for staying there in the pool and prayed for its survival.

Their chants were meant to personify the algae in the pool as a resistance fighter “standing up to Trump, fighting fascism, and beating him at it,” as effectively as no other resistance campaign had so far been able to do.

They gave the crowd what it needed but hadn’t expected: a Reflecting Pool show with jokes and laughter in a time of tension and anxiety. Dozens took video and begged Team Algae for selfies. Tourists lined up laughing and cajoling the green team. Many thanked them for being there.

One of the team members dressed as a pink frog carrying a banner reading “First they cane for the Algae” and on the reverse side it read “Team Algae.” The reference is to the famous Martin Niemöller quote “First they came for the communists…” Belying the serious sentiment of the quote while casting it in a comedic manner showed in a way how much of a divide there can be in trolling authoritarians while being respectful of the seriousness of the pain of victims. For there is a marked difference in how authoritarians see themselves as opposed to how those they oppress view them. And that Team Algae rephrased the quote that way both made light of the situation the U.S. sees itself while recognizing that the U.S. may not survive as a republic much longer…unless resistance fighters like algae step into the breach. They were there to honor their algae ally.

There were plenty of media news crews queuing to interview them. Chanels 7 and 10 were summoned to the Reflecting Pool to take video for their evening newscasts. Several independent media streamers also caught onto their messages which had spread all across social media in the hours they were there. One from the UK also interviewed them.

No surprisingly there were about ten federal law enforcement officers shadowing the small group of three jokesters and about ten National Guard Soldiers staked out following them as well as they slowly made their way around the Reflecting Pool, cracking jokes and performing ad hoc skits. That’s about a 7:1 ratio of enforcement to citizens having some fun at the expense of an authoritarian regime. (Video depicts this below)

There was one person arrested Saturday for an unrelated incident. for allegedly reaching into the water and touching the peeling paint. According to a published report, David Hearn, a former Olympian, was charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property. He said he touched the blue peeling paint out of his curiosity to observe it more closely and that he “did not vandalize anything,” according to the report in Raw Story.

Still, the incident highlights how sensitive this self-created issue is for the White House. Placing many National Guard troops purportedly to fight crime in the city is one thing. Guarding a green Reflecting Pool with Federal agents and National Guardsmen numbering over 20 brings the sensitivity index to another level entirely.

Trump has claimed the Reflecting Pool’s peeling paint saga is the result of vandalism. But earlier attempts to kill the algae bloom with concentrated hydrogen peroxide, combined with improper cleaning and sealing the granite basin before the blue paint was sprayed into the basin is more likely the result of the peeling paint, not the result of vandalism. The algae bloom was the result of missing several critical steps in water purification as we reported earlier this weekend.

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Washington DC—“ It’s not easy being green,” so said Kermit the Frog when things weren’t going quite right for the little green guy. And things are really going off the rails at the Reflecting Pool. Attempts to paint the Reflecting Pool with flag-blue for the nation’s 250th birthday have turned into a big beautiful green glop. Just weeks after the project was completed to impress visiting over 100 chiefs of state for the July 4th celebrations, the end result of this $14,700,00.00 paint job has gone back to the ducks. And maybe by now there’s a frog or two taking up residence.

As of Friday afternoon the entire floor of the reflecting pool looked like it was covered with a layer of pea-green soup with a couple of ducks swimming in it—that’s mallard ducks—not Canadian Geese. Canadian Geese prefer the Potomac River for the species of grass they eat and for building nests. They are herbivores but also eat insects, seeds as well as small crustaceans. The Potomac is their preferred swimming hole. But that’s still no consolation for the green to blue and back to green Reflecting Pool.

A group of U.S. National Park Police (NPS) were at the Reflecting Pool side and answered several questions about the water cleanup underway. An officer at the said they were there “to protect” the Reflecting Pool as several dozen maintenance persons were setting up hoses, generators, and other equipment that was “pumping ozone” from two sides into its center.

Newly hatched ducklings were swimming around the white bubble mix of ozone streams and it appeared they may be harming themselves. But the NPS person assured, “it was not toxic” to the ducklings or any other wildlife.

The pumping systems were loudly running at full speed and surrounded by metal fencing to keep curiosity seekers from getting too close. The “ozone nano-bubbling” project was no-bid contract awarded to Green Water Solutions for $1.7 million. This brings the Reflecting Pool boondoggle project so far to $16.4 million for peeling paint and green water.

There were scores out photographing the bottom of the Reflecting Pool, gawking at the sight, and wondering how and why it had changed so quickly from “Flag Blue” back to swampy green. It bore no resemblance to anything near the deep blue painted in the basin two weeks ago.

Many were cynically enjoying the great green blob of algae gobbling up Trump’s latest vanity project, taking pictures, joking, and smirking about it. One man said, “Yes, I love green on my flag for the 4th of July.” The green goo was almost like a second Trump smack down after a U.S. District Court Judge ordered him to take his name off the Kennedy Center last Sunday at midnight.

Why The Reflecting Pool Algae Grew So Fast

Get ready for some science. Because science is behind all of what happened to the Reflecting Pool and Mother Nature holds all the cards. Had the principles in this great green calamity consulted scientists at say, NASA or NOAA or even some biologists at the CDC for example, they may have avoided this green gooey embarrassment. But DOGE fired many top scientists or forced them into early outs during their government takedown in February 2025 and apparently did not consult scientists capable of advising them what steps to take to prevent this.

The culprit turns out to be a green algae bloom known as Desmodesmus. It grew rapidly as a result of residual algae and the rapid filling of the basin with DC water containing phosphate, a fertilizer that algae just loves, especially when exposed to ample sunlight and warm weather.

According to a water purification scientist who goes by the handle “Buttons” on Bluesky, the blue-green algae is a form of cyanobacteria which could be feeding off phosphates already in the water. One atom of phosphorus combined with four atoms of oxygen makes the basis of phosphates. Phosphates are used in many products we use everyday. Some uses are in toothpaste, detergent, fertilizer for agriculture, medicine, as well as lead remover from water. They are responsible for life as we know it.

According to the scientist, DC water is being treated with orthophosphate to remove the lead leaching into tap water from the old pipes, some of which are over 100 years old and still waiting to be replaced. While this removes the lead, it leaves behind the phosphates which turn out to be a fertilizer for algae growth.

What happened when the National Park Service filled up the Reflecting Pool was this: they used DC water containing a high enough concentration of phosphates to stimulate a sudden blue green algae bloom of the species known as Desmodesmus. This species is not toxic, but other toxic species can take over the pool as conditions change, according to the scientist.

To remove the algae, the contractor used peroxide and this worked for a time, killing the algae. But it released the phosphates bound up inside the cells of the algae, compounding the problem. What should have been done is applying a phosphate removal coagulant prior to filling the pool. These coagulants are made with either aluminum or iron based compounds. These compounds bind chemically to the phosphates without any toxic byproduct, and yield a precipitate, which sinks in water and can be filtered out of it before the water is released into the pool.

This step would have been needed before filling the pool. None of the steps of phosphate removal or algae treatment were completed before filling the Reflecting Pool. There would conceivably be even more steps to continuously filter and treat the 6.9 million gallons of water in the pool to keep at bay any new algae sources such as wildlife (ducks), dust, leaves, and insects. Algae blooms are common in untreated swimming pools and the Reflecting Pool is no different and especially in this case it would be easy to reintroduce more green colored cyanobacteria to the Reflecting Pool just from wind, dust, and wildlife.

Presently there is evidently yet another issue with paint peeling and that is being removed as well, leaving portions if not large gaps bare and they will need to be replaced at some point. The problem is that the pool is already filled with the 6.9 gallons of phosphate laden DC water.

The entire Reflecting Pool fiasco is a sort of metaphor for how the government principles have operated since last January—strike first—deny culpability—blame someone else—ask questions later. In this most recent episode they have given Kermit’s quote, “ It’s not easy being green,” frog’s wings.

This fiasco is far from over and the green is certain to return. The spectacle is so publicly prominent it will be impossible for anyone to hide or cover it up as they have done to files held in databases at the Department of Justice or court-ordered removal of letters hidden behind tarps or unpublished war-plans of a skirmish gone awry. It is also certain to inspire green memes and jokes aplenty.

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Washington DC—The Institute for Primary Facts began its weeklong opening of the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room on Monday, June 8. The display opened to the public on Tuesday, June 9, after an exclusive day for media coverage. The display will continue traveling to other cities and towns throughout the U.S. after this week, unless the DC display is extended.

Visitors queued to observe the display of 3437 volumes containing 3.5 million records but were not permitted to view or read the records because the Department of Justice (DoJ) had not fully redacted victim’s personal information and names. The embargoed documents were visible on the bookcase shelves but crowd control barriers kept viewers from accessing the volumes.

The documents that have been released so far are available on the DoJ website for those over 18. A DoJ website warning banner advises viewers that the content is disturbing, “Some of the library’s contents include descriptions of sexual assault. As such, please be advised that certain portions of this library may not be appropriate for all readers.”

The site also advises users they can contact the DoJ if they find personally identifiable information or the names of persons that should not be public and gives an email for removal requests. However, names of victims already released cannot be undone. Their electronic publication will remain somewhere on the internet indefinitely. It is this issue of a lack of due-diligence on the part of the DoJ, as well as the ongoing coverup, denials by top government officials of their involvement, the victimization of what is thought to be over 1000 youths, and the gaslighting of the victims of a decade’s long criminal conspiracy, that has led groups like the Institute for Primary Facts to get involved.

The display is part of a growing wave of advocacy and volunteer groups coming together to expose a vast criminal conspiracy linking many powerful and influential figures, changing a culture of victim blaming, and creating safe spaces for victims to reclaim their agency.

The DoJ was required to release redacted files within 30 days under Public Law 119-38 known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act (passed November 19, 2025) but the DoJ was late with the release. Many reports of investigation were completely blacked out. Names of some victims were released. More files are pending release according to the DoJ website, which reads, “This site will be updated if additional documents are identified for release.”

The DoJ has not released the entire trove of documents, which it admitted in January was thought to be 6 million more pages of documents, flight logs, police reports, and photographs. Then, in February of 2026, then Attorney General Pat Bondi said all the documents had been released.

A search of the DoJ database returned 5363 pages of entries with the name “Trump” appearing in multiple documents per dataset. A search of the name “Maxwell” returned 23,565 results with the name “G Maxwell” appearing in multiple documents per dataset. The names of many other well-known persons in government positions and of celebrities also appear in the released files. Ghislaine Maxwell is the only key person convicted and sentenced in the U.S. for having a role in this case. None of the other persons named in the files have been indicted or have been convicted of any crimes related to their association with Epstein or Maxwell.

Some of the files contain spreadsheets of financial transactions between Maxwell and Epstein showing transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars. Many of the financial details are partially redacted. Others contain photographs which have been previously published with victims’ faces blacked out.

The Library of Shattered Dreams

Visitors were given a brief introduction of the library and permitted to take photographs and video but advised to respect the privacy and anonymity of other visitors. The 3437 volumes took up most of the first floor of the two-storied display but were nowhere near the number of potential volumes there could have been. A curator at the library who did not give their name, said the volumes were embargoed because the Department of Justice failed to redact all the names of victims from all the records and the exhibit was specifically not intended to do further harm.

Along the first wall of the exhibit is a series of inset bookcase of black and white volumes roped off from access. Within the volumes, whole reports with the names of the alleged perpetrators in details of investigations were blackened out to protect them from scrutiny.

On the opposite wall of the first floor is a timeline of major incidents of a fraction of the events in the Epstein conspiracy. Major milestones are chronologically mapped on the wall. Laid out along some 40 feet of wall, viewers begin to grasp how sweeping in both scope and time this conspiracy was.

As one ascends the stairs to the second floor, leading to the second part of the display, the landing balcony displays six oil chalk pastel paintings by Maria Farmer.

Maria Farmer, a victim who has gone public, loaned her series of oil-based chalk paintings to the exhibit. She drew them to help her come to terms with the nightmare she endured at the hands of Epstein. The oil chalk paintings depict some of the known principles involved in the Epstein case,

Farmer is one of the earlier victims of Epstein and Maxwell and has filed a suit against the U.S. government for failing to act on her earlier complaint to the FBI of Epstein and Maxwell’s 1996 assault on her. She is believed to be the first one to expose to the FBI any of the lurid details of the Epstein and Maxwell scandal.

The pastel art includes six 3’x4’ scenes. Among them is one titled “The Star” depicting Virginia Guthrie rising through a yellow star into the night sky over “pedowood” (Hollywood). She features in a golden dress with the subtitle, “The Child/Movie-star Stolen.” She appears almost as a deity released from her struggle, self assured, with expressions neither smiling nor dejected, neither happy nor sad, and rising towards the heavens. Virginia Guthrie, took her own life in 2024.

Another of the pastels titled “La Lune,” (The Moon) shows Ghislaine Maxwell bound in handcuffs and encapsulated under the ocean in a one-windowed tube resembling a small submarine. A great white shark is speeding towards and about to prey on her. The shark’s side reads “Florida Prison.” Other images and items leave clues as to the involvement of Maxwell in the conspiracy.

Maxwell was convicted on June 28, 2022 for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually exploit and abuse young girls. She was sentenced to 240 months. However on August 1, 2025, just 3 years into her sentence, after being questioned in prison for two days by Todd Blanche (then working as an attorney at the DoJ), she was quietly moved by the Bureau of Prisons to Texas where she was given much less strict conditions of confinement.

Another pastel depicts Alan Dershowitz, as “Le Diable” (The Devil), standing on a perch, half lizard, half human, dressed in an attorney’s suit, bloodied hands, and tossing a young girl into the depths. An attorney, Dershowitz helped negotiate Epstein’s reduced sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution during his Florida State 2008 trial. Dershowitz also negotiated a controversial agreement with the DoJ, which suppressed federal charges against Epstein. The end agreement enabled a controversial plea deal in which he was sentenced to 18 months of jail-work release. He served just over 1 year, was released, and he continued his association with Ghislaine Maxwell. None of the victims were consulted before the plea deal was arranged and announced.

On the second floor library visitors were greeted by hundreds of candles lit in memory of the victims in the Epstein conspiracy. A semi-visible slide show was projected onto a ruffled curtain with images too opaque to identify.

Visitors were provided an opportunity to write their thoughts on 4”x6” vintage library cards. They pinned their comments to the far wall, a place where hundreds of cards were left by others who came before them. Some stood silently reading the cards while others stood contemplating the evidence beneath and before them.

One could see a sense of public anger and of rage in the cards on the second floor as visitors paused to write their thoughts about the Trump-Epstein Memorial Reading Room. Many cursed Epstein and Trump while raising up the spirit of the victims.

It was clear in that exhibit deeply struck those who visited it. Something—many things—had gone terribly wrong with the length and breath of injury perpetrated against so many youth. The visual imagery and the effects of the volumes of information about what may turn out to be the nation’s biggest criminal conspiracies, has cast light on the stunning lack of account held against those responsible, and helped expose its long coverup within a broken justice system.

The Institute for Primary Facts stressed the library display is designed to keep pressure on those involved in the crimes and the conspiracy to cover it up, and to bring justice for the victims, thought to number well over 1000. It being primarily for the victims.

The Institute for Primary Facts notes on its website that the main focus is for seeking justice for the victims, but it is itself a small part in a larger effort by many individuals and organizations. “We are just one piece of a much larger movement. Across the country, organizers and advocates are working every day to support survivors of sexual assault — and to change the laws, systems, and culture that let this violence continue,” it published on its website.

The 17,000 pounds of books will travel “From New York to Washington, DC and after DC, onto a truck for LA, Chicago, San Francisco, and beyond. Every city where the cover-up has friends,” according to the Institute For Primary Facts website.

Sources: Public Law 119-38, Epstein File Release Act 2025.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405

Institute For Primary Facts website: registration for DC Exhibit “The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room.”

https://primary-facts.org/

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Arlington, VA—Organizers from the Third Act Virginia Chapter and several Veterans displayed banners and erected a giant Triumphal Arch replica next to the Lincoln Memorial over Memorial Day weekend. It’s purpose was to demonstrate plans to build a giant arch, which they say is posing as a memorial for the 250th anniversary, but is actually intended to honor Trump himself. They also erected banners reading “86 Trump’s Arch” and “Arch Insanity.”

Last Thursday, May 21, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the committee that Trump himself appointed, approved the 250 foot arch, despite significant public pushback. The arch would overpower all of the 400,000 tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery, diminish the sanctity of its grounds, reduce its solemn purpose, and it would be visible from miles around. The arch would block or permanently occlude the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, the memorial to Robert E. Lee, and by design interrupt the symbolic meaning of the main Civil War protagonist and antagonist, and their subsequent reconciliation. It would also overshadow the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial, as well as the Arlington Bell tower which are located at the western side of Arlington National Cemetery. Only the tallest contrail of the U.S. Air Force Memorial would be higher, rising 20 feet higher than the projected arch.

At 250 feet from its base—not including the height of any pedestal it may rest upon, if any should result in the final design—it would be equivalent to the height of a 25 story building or higher, and intrude into the National Airport flight path. This would require a certain technical review and approval from the FAA.

But the short period between the announcement of the arch on October 15, 2025, and its rapid turnaround approval has stirred the ire of Veterans who showed up for the permitted demonstration. The demonstrators had planned to stage their protest in Memorial Circle itself, the site of the Triumphal Arch, but their plans were preempted by approval given from U.S. National Park Service to the architecture firm contracted to survey the site a few weeks before. Therefore Third Act-Virginia applied for their permit to demonstrate across from the Lincoln Memorial near the waterfall steps. Third Act had made public its plans to hold a demonstration at Memorial Circle, so one is left wondering if the permit given to the architectural firm was also intended to gaslight the message of opponents.

The direct action group is labeling the arch a “vanity project” for Trump because he said to the press on October 15, 2025, during a fundraiser in the Oval Office that the arch was being built in his own honor while showcasing a white scaled replica of the towering block. When asked by a member of the press who the arch was honoring, he said “Me. Going to be beautiful.”

Third Act-Virginia Mobilizes Against Arch

On Sunday morning, just as an all week rain was tapering, Third Act-Virginia began setting up their banners and replica arch to greet the Rolling Remembrance motorcycle rally later on that day. They also had plans to greet, not too warmly, Trump’s motorcade, which was scheduled to pass their side of the Lincoln Memorial on its way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

But with any project there is always a snag. Once the replica arch was raised, someone noticed the apostrophe was misplaced after Trump’s name, so the team had to lower their arch for a moment to place the apostrophe correctly. The second time was the charm. The arch took a team of eight to raise it. The hanging banner reading, “86 Trump’s Arch,” would stand for about 2 days. Not only did the one dimensional replica mock the planned arch, it wad also a dig at his Department of Justice’s prosecution of a failed case against former FBI Director James Comey, who shared a photo of seashells spelling out “86 46.”

Later that day a group of demonstrators walked across Memorial Bridge to Memorial Circle in a silent dance to show their indignation for the arch. Other carried signs and many wore placards on their backs reading “

Among the Veterans who were there was Bob Fasick, a Marine Corps radar technician who served on Okinawa during the Vietnam War. As a young Marine, he supported the Marines deploying and returning from their combat duty. Fasick recounted his experiences during the Vietnam War, and felt especially connected to Arlington National Cemetery and all of the honor it represents. He felt that the arch was a “disgusting “use of taxpayer money at a time when many Americans are struggling financially. He also described the Arch as an affront to the service members interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He could recite by memory the heights of significant memorials as well as the number of interred service members for each war.

“The arch encapsulates just about everything that has gone wrong with the Trump regime,” said Fasick. “It’s corrupt in terms of the laws it is breaking. Procedures are supposed to be followed. The Commission for Fine Arts [members] were all appointed by Trump and they’re doing just what Trump wants,” he said.

Fasick pointed out that it would be “a ridiculous expense, our tax money. We can’t feed our people. We can’t house our people. We cannot provide decent education for many kids.”

Fasick noted that over 100,000 Veterans who fought and died during WWII were interred at Arlington National Cemetery. “What was that war about?” he asked rhetorically. “Fighting fascism. We’ve got fascism here now in the United States. [Trump] has absolute control because nobody is standing up and using their authority.”

An organizer from Third Act-Virginia, Susan Douglas, who helped plan and build some of the banners and illuminated signage, using her own money was technical in her assessment of the arch. She pointed out concerns with the project that was rushed into approval before critical studies were completed.

“It’s going to be a traffic nightmare. The soil is not conducive to the monstrous arch they’re building and the FAA has serious concerns [about its] complicated flight pattern in this area.” Douglas reiterated the insult it would be to Veterans and their families, a common concern with many who were involved in the demonstration.

Virtually lost to everyone there was the fact that Memorial Circle, which actually sits on an elongated island, is surrounded by the Potomac to its the North flank and the Boundary Channel at its south flank. The island was previously dedicated as a nature preserve in honor of the environment by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson. At the east end of the circle is a fading green bronze plaque, commemorating the dedication of Dogwood and Daffodil Plantings that were placed there in 1968, some 57 years ago.

It reads, “The Dogwood and Daffodil plantings on this island are dedicated to President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson who challenged America to make more beautiful the environment of its citizens.”

Just a stone’s throw from the Memorial Bridge are three dogwoods clustered together remaining of that planting. Further down a single dogwood remains by itself, the last of the trees. The daffodil garden still remains and already bloomed in the early Spring. The Triumphal Arch construction would erase all that too.

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Washington DC—As the U.S. pauses on Memorial Day to honor its fallen service members, its citizens should also pause to reflect on its recent war history. Citizens should ask why their country has been in so many wars—more than any other country—over the last 75 years. The U.S. has been at war for almost the entire last 75 years. It is currently involved in fighting 8 simultaneous wars, an unprecedented military task.

And during this 75 year’s period, the U.S. should have learned a few lessons about picking fights with developing nations. Since the Korean War ended, the U.S. has bullied and warred with dozens of nations based on fallacies or outright lies. These wars destroyed the lives of uncountable millions, killed millions more, cost trillions of dollars, while creating generations of victims both in the U.S. and abroad.

U.S. citizens should also pause this Memorial Day to ask of their Congress, why allocation for its military budget takes priority over social programs, education, healthcare, and foreign aid programs. They should ask, what justification there is for expensive aircraft like the F-35 ($100 million per plane, with a project cost estimated at $2.1 trillion), Patriot missile battery systems ($1.09 billion) primarily for Israel and the Middle East, and costly ships like the USS Gerald Ford ($13.3 billion). With plans for Boeing to build the F-47, the top secret “Next Generation Air Dominance Platform,” a budget busting multi-trillion dollar project, U.S. citizens should at least be asking, to what end is this expansive military spending serving. Why they should ask, is more than half of its population living from paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet while money for war machines are increased year over year? They should reflect on why millions do not have healthcare or dental care, can’t afford rent, food, and childcare, with many having to work two or three jobs in the “gig” economy to make ends meet?

Idealizing war in the U.S. while exporting war elsewhere covers up the damage war does in terms of lost collective global opportunity. For the U.S. there has been no glory from war and in fact war has given the U.S. the opposite of glory, it has yielded shame it fails to acknowledge. There has been no good result of its wars. War does not increase global safety or security nor does it earn global respect. It causes pollution and accelerates the global heating crisis.

Excessive Military Spending Is The Prime Driver of U.S. Wars

The U.S. has a need to be at war. It is the prime driver of its foreign policy when it should be a last resort, or never at all. Urgency of a last resort should drive war not the other way around. A nation driven to war by need has an unhealthy culture. The U.S. thrives on war like a vulture flourishing on roadkill. But war is worse than a vulture’s natural drive for carrion because the U.S. could otherwise thrive without war. War is imbued into many aspects of U.S. culture. War is sourced from its cultural roots. It is driven by U.S. stock markets in the aerospace, software, artificial intelligence, computer chip, carbon based energy, and even the entertainment industries, which source their massive profits from war.

War occupies the theme of many U.S. monuments in Washington DC. Every major war the U.S. has fought has a memorial built for it. One looking at into the U.S. from another country might conclude the U.S. honors its wars more than it honors its own humanity.

U.S. Wars have captured the theme in many movies year after year. In fact 22 of all the films selected for Best Picture, since 1924, the first year Academy Awards were given, have been about war or the plot has been woven around war as a background theme. Many more movies center war and celebrate U.S. victory or defeat over some enemy. This theme in entertainment has resonated in some of the most popular TV programs as well. MASH ran for 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983 although the Korean War around which it was centered, only lasted 4 years.

War sells movies and entertainment as well as the aeronautics hardware that drive it. It drives the petro-economy, consuming vast quantities of fossil fuels. The Pentagon and its subordinate military branches are the world’s largest fossil energy consumers and its greatest carbon emitter, according to a published research report by Neta Crawford, a professor and researcher at Brown University, who has researched and written ‘The Costs of War.’. The Pentagon annual carbon emissions are more than double the total emissions by passenger cars in the U.S., according to Crawford’s research.

War drives the stock market, consisting of nearly $1.5 trillion in stock capitalization. The top 52 aerospace, military hardware, and communications corporations have a total of $1.52 trillion in market capitalization. Only 16 countries have a Gross Domestic Product higher than that. The aerospace industry also known as the military industry, has a U.S. stock market capitalization higher than the GDP of 200 countries.

Policy Dictates War as a Default

Key policy makers have reasoned over the last 75 years that a much more powerful, technologically advanced country could easily fight and win wars against other less powerful countries. Until WWII the U.S. never “lost” a war, unless one considers the Civil War was a loss because it destroyed an entire generation of youth and pushed the South into a decade of depression.

How could the U.S. lose any war against another nation less inclined to defend itself? Supposedly such thinking influenced policy decisions in the last five major wars, or perhaps it was the sense of a prejudiced imperial mindset of policy makers, and it stands to reason that the world’s strongest power assessed its victims with this mindset. But its so called victory began to change in 1959 with the Vietnam War.

Its policymakers have assumed the people and cultures are not as advanced as the U.S. is and would be easy to defeat. They assumed other countries comparatively tiny militaries, limited gross domestic products, technological disadvantages, or gathering standards of living, placed them at a disadvantage and made victory much more likely. These assumptions have turned out to be strategic blunders and disasters for the U.S. for many reasons.

A list of the wars the U.S. has fought since Korean War, as published in the Federal Register, reflects it would be easier to list the periods the U.S. was not at war.

Including Vietnam, the US has waged five major wars in the last 60 years, if one considers the Global War on Terror, and yes this is another undeclared “forever war” which began on September 11, 2001, and has an end date “yet to be determined.”

The U.S. operates at least 750 bases in 80 countries, and most likely operates more because many locations are classified, according to a study published by Dave Manuel. The costs of and all its operations in dozens of countries, mainly in Japan, Europe, and Africa is “more military bases on foreign soil than any nation in history. Britain, France, Russia, and China combined have fewer than 50 overseas military installations.”

These aggressions have resulted in great costs to its own uniformed service members, the citizens of countries it has attacked, the ecology of the regions of these wars, the economies those attacked, the economies of adjacent countries impacted, and the world’s limited resources. These costs are now coming more into focus as the U.S. deficit passes $40 trillion, global heating drives northerly migration, destroys arable regions, governments are destabilized, and the world’s vital resources are depleted. The U.S. has also waged dozens of campaigns in South America fighting drug trafficking, none of which have ever stopped the flow of drugs or diminished U.S. appetite for narcotics consumption.

Vietnam: The Last Temptation and The Greatest Treason

Vietnam, the longest war the nation fought up to its time, meandered through three presidencies and lasted 19 years and 5 months (1959-1975), enduring through 17 official campaigns. It helped bring down Nixon, damaging his legacy until Watergate deep eighty-sixed it for good. The U.S. was soundly embarrassed as its last Hueys scampered off the roof its embassy in Saigon and limped back to floating ships off South Vietnam’s coast. The U.S. surrendered the corpses of over 58,200 US service members. Many more would go on to die on U.S. soil from drug and alcohol addiction, or from cancer by exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant containing the carcinogen dioxin. Agent Orange was sprayed from prop-planes and helicopters onto vegetation to clear jungles for combat operations.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Primer for War

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was the pretext for escalating the initial support of the South Vietnam government. Before this the U.S. was largely an “advisory” ally of South Vietnam. There were already some direct instances of U.S. involvement in military operations but moving from solely an advisory ally to direct hostilities against North Vietnam.

Congress approved new funding for U.S. entry in war with North Vietnam as a result of the mythical story called the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress approved additional funding for the Vietnam War under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, a vote which was 502-X. It would result in more troops and more funding without a definitive objective. The U.S. would lie about its carpet bombing of Hanoi, lie about its troops in neighboring Cambodia and Laos. It would attempt to cover up the Mai Lai incident when U.S. troops massacred a village.

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a fabrication that North Vietnam fired on the U.S. battleships The report was a detailed summary of the operations of U.S. ships patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin during North and South Vietnam skirmishes..

McNamara admitted in 1996 the reports that North Vietnam had attacked any U.S. Ships were not accurate but fabrications of hostilities from North Vietnam.

It has been reported that between 2 to 3 million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians perished. It cost the U.S. $168 billion, which is equivalent to $1 trillion in 2023 dollars. Hundreds of thousands of US Veterans continue to depend on medical benefits for both medical and mental injuries they suffered during the Vietnam War and for exposure to Agent Orange.

Much has been written about the Vietnam war. The justification for it was to stop the spread of communism, also known at the time as “the domino effect,” a mythical, unproven argument. There was no evidence proving this to be so other than the policy authors drumming up fears that communism was a bad thing. And when one considers that had the vast capital expenditures towards the Vietnam War been spent on infrastructure in the U.S. or in aid to developing nations, it would have gone much farther to provide development assistance for countries in Asia, stabilize and reduce poverty in those developing nations.

As an alternative, the $168 billion spent on Vietnam may have been spent building universities, paying down remaining U.S. debt with a 50 year bond, investing in community small businesses, or investing in research and development of new medicines and space technology. The main policy drivers of Vietnam, Henry Kissinger, and Robert McNamara convinced the public how necessary the Vietnam War was. Kissinger pushed the war from the Kennedy Presidency, through Johnson and onto the Nixon administration. After the U.S. completed negotiations with North Vietnam, and largely left Vietnam in 1973, the effect was a weak South Vietnam government that fell apart because it was dependent on the U.S. The so called objective to prevent a spread of communism was met by an even more sinister result—leading to the rise of Pol Pot in Cambodia and a killing field scenario that lasted a decade and took the lives of millions in Cambodia as well as in Laos.

Iraq—The ‘Bully of Baghdad’

Then there was Iraq, a place the U.S. went to war three times: first for the Persian Gulf War which consisted of three Operations and all their costs: Desert Shield, Desert Storm, followed by Operation Noble Eagle. It cost the US $50 billion and though it did not last very long, it created long term economic problems in the Middle East. Similar to Vietnam, Veterans still suffer from its effects 35 years later and will continue to depend on disability benefits for decades to come. The U.S. spent years enforcing a “no fly zone” over Iraq and that cost much as well.

Then came the Afghanistan War which lasted an entire generation—20 years—from October 2001 through August 2021, the longest war the US ever fought. It saw over 2 million service members deploy to fight in that “endless war.” Many Soldiers and Marines deployed multiple times, some as many as five deployments to those wars, both Iraq and Afghanistan. It cost a whopping $2.3 trillion and 2400 Service members were lost in its battles which could never be credited with accomplishing any lasting objective. Thousands more U.S. Veterans were maimed and will not be able to reenter the workforce.

The justification for Afghanistan was the coordinated terror attacks of four hijacked aircraft flown into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the attempted attack on the Capitol. The famed Flight 93 resistance resulted in the crash of Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, sparing the U.S. Capitol building. That day was the beginning of the a U.S. hyper war machine coming into being. The Department of Homeland Security, The Global War on Terror, and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iran were born of it, but those seeds were already planted ling before.

The unending campaigns and battles fought in Afghanistan could not be delineated in a traditional sense or laid out in terms of coherent strategic objectives. Thus the objectives changed and eluded the country’s generals as billions were wasted in equipment and logistics, while they chased the Taliban through mountains and deserts. So its campaigns went on and on and became an accepted habit of unending foreign policy. Operation Enduring Freedom, the surge, the second surge, reconstruction…the war was pushed from presidency to presidency, from Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and to Biden…and in the end it resulted in not one single objective being met. The Taliban was not toppled; it still governs Afghanistan today, while oppressing Afghan women, denying basic human rights, and limiting the education of young boys to religious studies. Girls are not allowed to attend school at all. This will reverse any meaningful educational development of the population while the Taliban remains in power. The country may be left behind for a generation relative to world education growth.

The lasting effects of the Afghanistan War on Service members mimic Vietnam. It was the one of the most expensive wars fought. In essence, the U.S. spending $2.3 trillion searching for one man, Osama Bin Laden, An alternative would have been to pay Pakistan $10 billion to capture and send him to the U.S. for trial.

Back to Iraq—2003-2011+

While the U.S. was fighting in Afghanistan, and if that war wasn’t enough, George W. Bush approved the invasion of Iraq. Starting a second concurrent war and adding another quagmire to the Pentagon’s do list. The Iraq War was based on reasons later proven false and could have been easily debunked, had investigative journalists applied themselves and researched what reports they had been given. It turned out contrary to that Bush’s and Cheney’s claims, and justifications for the Iraq War, that Saddam Hussein was not allied with the 9-11 hijackers or Al Queda, he did not import uranium from Uganda, he was not hiding weapons of mass destruction, and he was not planning with groups such as Al Queda, to wage terror attacks in the U.S..

These were the justifications for invading Iraq in 2003 and none were true. The Iraq war cost nearly $3 trillion and no objective was met. Iraq was not democratized, it was not stabilized, it did not become our ally. Contrary to allying with the U.S. the Iraqi government was destroyed, Iraqi cities and infrastructure were left in ruin, ISIS rose out of its ashes, and terrorized Syria, Iraq, and destroyed heritage sites across Syria dating back centuries. With the rise of ISIS, the U.S. and other allies send more military service personnel to the Middle East to destroy their networks, another major military operation in the Global War on Terror. Yes it is a continuation of a policy enacted during George W. Bush Administration; it is another war the U.S. continues to be involved in, although its operations are somewhat murky and seldomly reported.

U.S. Veterans did learn the costs of war as they always do, for they bear the brunt of the calamities of those wars. They returned with both physical and psychological wounds. Many Veterans continue to fight the troublesome administrative hurdles at the Department of Veterans Affairs for treatment and Veterans benefits as the result of the disabilities they suffer from the wars they fought.

Then there are the citizens of those countries who are no longer living. Millions were lost in Vietnam, and millions were lost in the Middle East. They paid a heavy price too. They are the voices no-one hears and will never be able to speak of the horrors inflicted upon them and their families. But others have lived and can still bear witness to the loss of loved ones, homes, fields, and businesses. What would they say about the US if they could speak about their losses in our press?

U.S. Iran War: A Bitter Pill For U.S. Hegemony

Now comes the US-Iran War. It is a conflict Trump has been inclined to wage since his first term. When Trump unilaterally cancelled the January 2016 agreement known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement steadfastly negotiated in Vienna from 2013 through 2015 with key G-8 members, JCPOA had already been agreed by all parties, signed, and implemented.

The U.S. through Trump 1.0 went back on its commitment made during the Obama Administration. Gone was a verifiable restriction for Iran to surrender its most potently enriched uranium 235 (U 235) and a verifiable promise from Iran not to build nuclear weapons. As agreed in JCPOA, the U.N. would send weapons inspectors to verify Iran’s compliance. It would not be possible for Iran to remain a partner in global trade if it violated the constraints of JCPOA. It was a very good deal for the world because in exchange for relaxing sanctions and returning frozen Iranian assets held since 1979., security for the region was virtually a sure thing. The JCPOA agreement imposed strict international inspections on Iran with verifiable conditions. It was the best deal the international community could have hoped for.

Trump’s May 2018 withdrawal from JCPOA, almost certainly paved the way for resultant armed conflict between Iran, the U.S., and Israel as Iran began to enrich U 235 later that year. Under the circumstances, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw enrichment as a threat to Israel, and sought to destroy Iran’s capabilities to develop an atomic bomb. Israel had previously delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions through special operations to targeting Iranian scientists, spreading a computer virus known as Stuxnet which sought out the computers controlling centrifuges separating U 235 from U 235. This was a clandestine operation setting Iran’s centrifuge program back by years and buying Israel more time. More directly, Israel with help from the U.S., bombed nuclear development sites. Israel was able to delay Iran’s nuclear bomb project up to a point. But it was forced to resort to destroying or removing Iran’s uranium by force once its delay options ran out.

Now, the U.S. has met humiliation on a grand level in its match up with Iran.

Statements from the Oval Office and from the Department of War are textbook examples of how negotiations fail and how to lead with the policy of war. Incendiary and conflicting statements from varying personalities in Trump circles are clouding negotiations to end that “skirmish.” The skirmish that was promised to last a week or two is now indeed a war because over a dozen countries have been embroiled in the war.

Attacking a country in the midst of negotiations as the U.S. did on February 28, could be compared to Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941, at least from Iran’s perspective. Imagine having most of government leaders killed, heritage sites destroyed—they have no military value—and then imagine its unwillingness to negotiate towards the JCPOA again.

From the standpoint of strategy, U.S. gains over Iran have amounted to far less than Trump 2.0 promised he would deliver. None of the objectives of the war have been met. What was supposed to be a several day war, one week at most, has ended up being nearly 3 months (87 days) as of Memorial Day. Iran still has the ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones towards its neighbors harboring U.S. military bases. And despite the U.S. firing over 10 thousand missiles, cruise missiles, and bombs, Iran can still attack Israel or its neighbors within hours. There is no stopping this threat militarily short of nuclear war, as Trump implied he was considering. Such could come in the form of neutron bombs detonated between 500 and 1000 feet above Iran military targets. The enriched uranium Iran has said to be preparing to build its first nuclear bomb has not been removed or surrendered, as agreed in the 2015 JCPOA. Its ballistic missiles and drones may continue launching and destroying at any moment any US embassies, bases, and infrastructure across the Middle East. The straight of Hormuz, a critical artery through which 20% of global carbon based energy flows is virtually controlled by Iran. There’s very little or nothing the U.S. can do to change this situation.

The U.S. role as an influential player in the Middle East has been severely damaged and will take decades to repair, if it can be, and likely its reputation as a trustworthy ally will never recover. It has surrendered to the world its credibility as a reliable ally, a status that since WWII took 80 years to build. By its actions in Iran, the US has triggered certain economic shock globally as energy costs have nearly doubled. By Summer the global economy will have certainly slowed to a recession if the war is not permanently stopped or a negotiated peace is implemented and it appears the U.S. has lost support from its allies by starting the war without consulting them, or any of the members of NATO.

NATO members have turned their backs on Trump, leaving him standing alone like a bullying wolf without a pack. Even the Vatican, Pope Leo, has challenged the U.S. over its Iran War.

Iran has gained leverage even as its government leadership has been taken out, an indication that Iran is still a formidable opponent Trump’s policy makers were either unable to anticipate or just ignored advice of experts on Middle East strategy. Iran retains its ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones, and continues dominance of the Straight of Hormuz, a narrow passage for of 20% of the world’s energy, chemicals, and 30% of the world’s fertilizer supply.

Under Marcos Rubio, the State Department dismissed many of its diplomatic corps. Under Tulsi Gabbard, intelligence analyst ranks were also reduced and not replaced. The Department of War dismissed many of its top generals and legal experts in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, a move which undermined its ability to prosecute a legal and just war—in this case JAG would likely have recommended that the U.S. begin no war at all. With the guardians of foresight and experience now gone, Trump stumbled into a 1$ billion a day war only to find himself stuck with no one to come to his rescue.

The ‘negotiations’ in Pakistan have not yielded an agreement and are not likely to ever succeed as long as the U.S. occupies the Strait of Hormuz with its battleships, and continues to attack Iran like it did once again on Memorial Day. Again, the lack of diplomatic experience among his negotiators undercut Trump and Vance. Iran holds more of the negotiating cards now than it did in 2015. It can withstand months of continued bombing runs and all it would take is a few missiles or drones to hit U.S. bases or to penetrate Israel’s Iron Dome to keep the U.S. off balance.

The lessons of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, taught to the U.S. important lessons that it not wage a war without defining objectives, not to squander its resources maim and reduce its service members to permanent wards of the State, and to break glass on the red button war machine only in an emergency and once all diplomatic options have failed. Diplomatic efforts should never be allowed to fail.

In this latest war with Iran, the U.S. has already established it has not learned the lessons from past wars. And the costs are going to be much greater this time around.

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Washington DC—Non-union workers are in the last week of spraying layers of combination aerosol blue paint and sealant thought to be toxic, into the dry bed of the Reflecting Pool basin. The iconic monument built in 1922 rests midway between the Washington and Lincoln Memorials, and is a lesser recognized monument although it provides a significant aesthetic link between the Washroom and Lincoln Memorials. The Reflecting Pool was a prominent feature in the backdrop of Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in 1963.

The paint project has taken about 2 weeks to cover the 2030 foot by 167 feet square pool, which is 18-inches deep at its sides and 30-inches deep at its center. The project is expected to cost somewhere over $13 million, over 10 times more costly than Trump announced at the project start.

The price may end up being even more than that, for many of Trump’s statements about original costs or timelines have proved inaccurate. The finish date was expected to be by May 22, but finish dates are conceptual and have no meaning in the bizarre world of Trump as they too have been pushed past initial announcements. Trump’s Iran “Skirmish” War end date was 10 days but 80 days laster is still not over. The tariffs, construction of his “Big Beautiful Wall” and his “Big Beautiful Ballroom,” all went longer or are delayed.

At least the Refleing Pool paint job is a more straightforward project that can’t possibly go much more awry than his Iran “Skirmish,” which morphed into a war, which is nearing its 4th month. And his ballroom which was supposed to be funded only with private donations—it won’t be—as evidenced by a congressional bill to procure another billion dollars of taxpayer’s funds to complete it, is mired in legal challenges and a congressional funding impasse.

The latest project at the reflecting pool has not taken into consideration the difficulty of keeping clean what is the equivalent of 26 olympic sized swimming pools in terms of square footage. There is no water filtration system which typical pools have and since the pool is often a convenient resting place for and hosts Canadian Geese, Mallard ducks, and other birds, it will be next to impossible to keep it from algae contamination. The blue tinge will almost certainly turn green by the end of the Summer unless a filtration system is built or installed and is adequate enough to filter the 100,000s of gallons it contains several times a day.

Then there are the scores of elms and oaks that shed leaves from September through December and blow into and clog the Reflecting Pool. The leaves too will have to be filtered and managed at additional expense. Unless there is a team of pool cleaners with suction hoses, it’s likely the project will not result in anything like the enhanced photo of a blue lagoon with swimming happy past presidents as Trump has posted on social media.

The paint job is the latest phase in Trump’s effort to re-image the city into his vision of royalty.

Other projects have included painting over the White House columns, painting over the Old Executive Mansion edifice, repairing the disused fountains in Lafayette Square, redesigning Lafayette Square itself. Covering the Rose Garden with concrete, a big deal at the time, seems like a forgotten footnote compared to the giant ballroom which will eclipse the White House in a royal manner fit for a king and relegate it to the prominence of a hut.

The White House has been half torn down since October 2025 when Trump contacted a demolition team in a no-bid East Wing “remodeling” which actually turned out to be a complete razing of the historic wing. None of this was vetted or approved by the National Trust for Historic Preservation or followed the National Historic Preservation Act guidelines. The Ballroom and destruction of the White House East Wing is being challenged in court.

Trump’s giant photo poster is already glaring down on DC citizens from government buildings as if George Orwell’s Big Brother took absence from its place in 1984 to pay DC a visit. It adorns the giant edifices of Departments of Agriculture, Labor, and Justice. Trump’s name has also been added in bronze to the marble face of the John F. Kennedy National Center for the Performing Arts.

He plans to build a gigantic “Triumphant Arch” at Memorial Circle. If it beats court challenges and is built, it will rise several hundred feet above and eclipse the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. This has stirred the ire of Veterans who are mobilizing to challenge it in court because it overshadows the resting place of 250,000 service members who served in or died in wars since after the Civil War. Once completed the arch will also partially block the view of the cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial. It will rise over every corner of the cemetery and be visible from miles around, even from the Iwo Jima Monument, marking the landscape permanently. One may recollect a spat between the Air Force and Marines in the late 1990s when the Air Force attempted to place its rising contrails memorial too close to the Iwo Jima Monument, and the ensuing blowback forced its relocation to a site near the Pentagon about 2 miles away.

What Trump and company believes will be his signature monument to himself will be adorned with a giant golden Eagle taking flight. Trump served not one day in uniform so to many Veterans, it is considered a grotesquely misplaced symbol of vanity.

Trump’s policies have been riddled with disaster after policy disaster and Trump’s policy fiascos and failings have taken the economy and government operations down to lows not seen before. Never before has a president failed so successfully while he had the tables of the three branches of government tilted decisively in his favor.

Trump’s reimagining of the nation’s capital has all the vibes of dictators and authoritarians from other lands that came before him. The authoritarians are most remembered for the days they were banished, fled, or were forced into exile, and their vanity monuments were quickly torn down by the people. Who can forget the razing of the statues of the ‘Butcher of Baghdad,’ the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the demolition of nazi symbols of oppression, the swastika on the Zeppelinfield Grandstand, on April 22, 1945?

Vanity monuments to living tyrants have their half lives. And for tyrants swept from power, those half lives are often very short.

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Washington DC—Dozens of grassroots groups joined hands at Noon on Friday in a May Day referendum on worker’s, immigrant’s, and civil rights. The May Day protest began in the shadow of the Washington Monument, just across from the Ellipse of the White House. The action saw speakers from Immigrant families, DC Statehood advocates, and Labor groups drawing attention to many issues as evidenced by the variety of signs the labor advocates carried. It was followed by a march to Franklin Square, the site of many previous May Day labor rights protests.

Many held signs reading “Workers over Billionaires,” “No ICE—Stop the Deportations,” and “Together We Built This Country,” in clear view of the Oval Office. Groups such as CASA, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Free DC, We Of Action (WOFA), Third Act-DMV, Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, Federal Union Network, and many others took part in the May Day action.

May Day is also known as International Worker’s Day, and celebrated to honor and dignify laborers, the labor movement, and to recognize that individual workers have been the backbone of strong and prosperous communities. Laborers have built their communities to what they are, often without much fanfare. May Day gives recognition to workers while paying homage to past labor organizing and union accomplishments that have won rights to a standard 40-hour work week, for paid time off, for the right to freely form unions, and for workplace protections.

However, one could not on this day find any corporate sponsors, advertisers, or token corporate advertisers or giveaways at the May Day action in Washington DC. There was not a single corporate advertisement proclaiming this day as an important worker’s recognition day. There were no corporate sponsored banners present honoring the contributions of the fact that laborers built thousands of corporations and are instrumental in the wealth of corporate America. And there were no mainstream media at the May Day protest either. Yes, there were independent and foreign media outlets most notably from South American and European Union outlets. But no major U.S. TV media outlets covered the May Day action in DC.

May Day recognizes the power and the potential of grassroots organizing, and how effective grassroots organizing can be in the labor movement. That power can build even more influence when it is shared in solidarity between labor groups. Labor power operates counter to the objectives of the profit motive within corporations which have always extracted wealth and resources from its own workers by artificially suppressing worker value by reducing pay, limiting medical benefits through prohibitive costs, and resisting or outright blocking unionization attempts which build the power of workers within the labor movement.

At the same time corporations overpay their chief executives and board members with increasingly inflated pay, bonuses, and stock options. This has led to a concentration of wealth never seen in world history and it has created a billionaire class which by its nature separates itself from its responsibilities to society. Billionaires thrive while workers struggle and this phenomenon is not lost on the working class of the May Day protests. One key phrase during the march was repeated over and over, “Workers over billionaires.”

The May Day march in Washington DC has in recent years been spearheaded by immigrant groups such as CASA, an immigrant centered organization which provides much needed assistance of education, food, and medical help for immigrant mothers still struggling to assimilate to their new communities. CASA provides this assistance for immigrant mothers and their children to keep them from falling into abject poverty.

May Day 2026 was primarily immigrant rights centered but with the rise since January 2025 of an authoritarian government in the U.S., many issues are concurrently oppressing workers, women and children, families, and minorities. These issues have driven together urban and suburban groups in solidarity not seen before as they come to recognize they are fighting the same economic and civil rights battles. They are realizing they are bound together in the same struggle for economic access, liberation from workplace oppression, and justice in a sense of solidarity as if they were sisters and brothers from the same family.

CASA—Immigrant Rights Organization

CASA organized several labor rights advocates to speak about their experiences fighting for justice for immigrant field laborers and food workers. One such speaker spoke about his efforts and prayed to the thousands gathered that they invoked God in their daily efforts to see them through hard times and deliver them from harm from economic oppression.

Another speaker, Marie Avila, told of how important May Day was to recognizing workers rights. She lauded the efforts of CASA for its support of immigrant workers to make ends meet while trying to remain safe with their families while oppressive policies and police forces such as ICE were splitting them apart.

We Of Action—Voices of Everyday Citizens

We of Action founder Micaela Pond directed a contingent of 20 bridge brigade activists from around the DMV region to individually held giant all caps letters on posts reading “Supreme Injustice.” Each letter was held an activist who has taken part in the highly successful Bridge Brigade signage campaign over the past year. The Bridge Brigades have been drawing citizens’ attention to important issues facing the country and the bridge signage idea has been copied in States on prominent bridges across the country.

Their May Day signage stretched about 100 feet and highlighted the recent Supreme Court decision gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Up until its decision on Wednesday, the Voting Rights Act prohibited States from gerrymandering districts based on minority voters. Pond said she was personally moved to tears when the Supreme Court decision came down on Wednesday, April 29. She told of her many “Black and Brown friends fighting for years and now [the Supreme Court] has done this horrific act. It’s disgusting SCOTUS is backing Jim Crow. How are we here” she asked.

Pond also told of the importance of May Day. “May Day is a day for all of us to come together and say we need to bring power back to the people. We are done with the billionaires. We are done paying and working hard and still not able to afford healthcare, food, and gas. So we’re here to say enough. We’re taking our country back.”

Statistics Bear Out Workers’ Challenges

The numbers don’t lie.

Average corporate chief executive pay has mushroomed to levels never seen before. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), between 1978 and 2024, chief executive pay rose 1200% while during the same period typical workers’ wages increased only 26%.

Also, according to EPI, the ratio of chief executive pay to worker pay was 21 to 1 in 1965 but it skyrocketed to 281 to 1 by 2024.

No matter how one compares statistics regarding pay, chief executives are incentivized to grab a higher percentage of corporate profits and this comes at a cost to laborers who have seen eages stagnate since the neoliberal “trickle down” policies of the Reagan administration in the early 1980s.

Another statistic reflecting increased economic inequality in the United States is the number of billionaires today as compared to 1987. There were 141 billionaires in 1987 with 44 living in the United States, according to a publishedarticle by Nonprofit Quarterly. In 2025 there were over 2500 billionaires with over 900 living in the United States.

Neoliberal policies have favored the wealthy class by allowing billionaires to avoid taxes and allowing corporations to buyback stocks which further enrich their wealthy chief executives.

May Day gives workers a chance to network between groups and recognize that their power resides in supporting each other no matter what background they come from.

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Washington, DC—Activists from the elder activist group Third Act-DMV, are not letting up on their pressure to parody Trump, Vance, and Hegseth, for their misguided and illegal war on Iran. They created and played a movie short outside Union Market, in a trendy section of Northeast DC. It was a jab at U.S. policy and diplomatic disasters in South America, the Caribbean Ocean, and the Middle East.

The movie was set to the song in Victor Hugo’s play Les Misérables, ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ with Trump, Vance, and Hegseth playing equal roles as villains. The slideshow depicts their ambitions to destroy the world with their missiles, drones, and bombs, but with a twist.

Alien spacecraft appear over the cartoonish three, who by now have been thoroughly discredited in their most recent war in Iran. The aliens sweep them up with a space laser device and whizz them off into deep space. One can almost hear Marjorie Taylor Green laughing in the background but unfortunately she doesn’t make an appearance in the movie. Maybe Third Act-DMV is planning a sequel?

The short slideshow movie ends with the caption, “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise—RESIST.” It leaves one with hope that the madness and chaos of Trump and company won’t last.

There’s a short guest appearance by Viktor Orban, Hungary’s ousted nationalist president who suffered a stinging landslide defeat this past Sunday, even though Vice President Vance made a special stop in Budapest to drum up support for the unpopular nationalist.

The stopover was the first leg in his trip to Pakistan, for marathon negotiations with Iran to end the war. Not unexpectedly, the Vance team negotiations with Iran collapsed.

A few days later on Tuesday, Vance was humiliated as the key speaker by low crowd turnout at a free attendance Turning Points USA rally in Georgia, an event which was so sparely attended most of the 8000 empty seats mockingly stared back at him. It seems that everywhere Vance goes he gets a fair share of hecklers and protesters.

Things are not faring well for Trump either. Statements he has posted on his social media site about the war with Iran drew scrutiny against him from many quarters, questioned his fitness to lead, and urged the 25th Amendment be invoked by principles to remove him.

On Easter Sunday, the President of the United States posted this message: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Two days later, he posted. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” It appeared under his handle last Tuesday, April 7, in reference to the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The post was a threat to annihilate the entire population of 92 million if the government of Iran did not open the strait by 8 pm that night.

Annihilating a population in one night could only be done with nuclear weapons and even though the threat was not likely to have been carried out, Trump could have ordered it as he does have both the authority and the power to initiate the nuclear action. The fact that this threat was so clear and sent in anger was more than enough to question if he had any remaining rational reason. Some may recall Hillary Clinton warning that electing Trump president meant giving him the nuclear codes. Well, she told it so.

Most recently Trump posted and later—during a press conference—he admitted he had posted it, a caricature of himself similar in likeness to Jesus Christ. He claimed it was a doctor administering aid to an ill patient. Even evangelicals criticized the meme he posted.

Then there’s Pete Hegseth. He has quoted biblical passages during press conferences and during prayer meetings at the Pentagon since the U.S. began its attack in Iran War.

He has referenced conservative Christian values at multiple press conferences about the execution of the Iran war. He said “the mullahs are desperate and scrambling,” casting the war as if it is a religious conquest in an age old crusader mentality. He published a book titled “American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free” which calls for an “American crusade” against enemies of freedom, including leftists and Islam. The book emphasizes a polarized view of American politics and advocates for a strong nationalist agenda.

During a press conference at the Pentagon, Hegseth said, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. He is my loving God, and my fortress. My stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.” He said this after returning from Delaware where deceased service members were being returned from Kuwait.

In a prayer meeting at the Pentagon, the entirety of his prayer which was published in Military Times, he said, in part, “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” He prayed this.

For the Secretary of Defense to frame war in religious terms during wartime operations in unheard of. The chief spokesman of this major government department traditionally manages its operations in a secular climate since there are many there are service members from many different religions.

Pope Leo XIV seemingly responded to Trump and Hegseth with a rebuke although he did not mention them by name, “God does not bless any conflict.” The exchange of words between Trump and the Pope escalated, in response to Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilians, unprecedented divide between the Vatican and the U.S. Pope Leo responded to Trump’s statement calling it “truly unacceptable.”

Seemingly towards Hegseth, Pope Leo said, “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

Can things for Trump, Vance, and Hegseth, the experts at centering themselves as the black holes of media attention, possibly get any worse? Maybe. They surely have not gotten any better in the 14 months since Trump took office.

They are pretty effective in what they say for getting attention. But as to delivering the goods in their promises, that still eludes them. Despite having legions of sycophants around, telling them how well they are doing, they must by now be sensing for themselves they’ve lost much of their credibility. Why else would they be saying and posting increasingly unhinged and incoherent media?

The European Union via NATO flat out refused to help them in their Iran War. Evangelicals are turning on them over Trump’s self-depiction as the Christ Savior. Even Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones are turning against them. They’ve lost the most righteous of the righteous conservative pundits. That’s pretty hard to do even for ultra conservatives.

Where do we go from here and is there yet no bottom? As in the song “Do You Hear The People Sing?” from Les Misérables, a people’s prayer and spiritual call to action, “even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” So as the Third Act-DMV movie says, keep resisting. There are a lot more of us than them.

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Washington, DC—An anonymous group of artists struck gold on the National Mall with the latest installment of art—a golden ‘Throne Fit For A King’ near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The 10 foot throne was adorned with golden accouterments and a golden commode only a king could afford. Set on a white marble stand with its own roll dispenser, it was fully accessible to the public as an interactive installment.

It also had a golden dispenser with a roll of paper, though it was a not so luxurious off-brand two-ply generic issue. Each segment was stamped with ’The Secret Handshake,’ the group thought to be behind the series of art installations mocking Trump since last year. This was the latest in a series of art displays destined to commemorate the rise and fall of the Trump kingdom.

On its side panels brass plates were embossed in all caps with ‘A Throne Fit For A King’

“In a time of unprecedented division, escalating division, and economic turmoil, President Trump focused on what truly mattered: remodeling the Lincoln bathroom in the White House.

“This, the crowning achievement, is a bold reminder that the president isn’t just a businessman, he’s taking care of business. It stands as a tribute to an unwavering visionary who looked down, saw a problem, and painted it gold.”

Earlier last month the anonymous artist group installed near the U.S. Capitol a tall statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands and riding atop a replica of the Titanic’s bow. Before that the group installed a golden television depicting Trump and Epstein at a party sometime in the 1990s. (Story and video.)

Dozens queued outside the front steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a chance to get photos of themselves sitting on the king’s throne, or high seat, or commode, or any of these, however one looks at it, either from a seated or standing position. It is likely they’ll share their selfies with their besties and followers home back in the commons where commodes are usually made of hard white porcelain.

The installment closely resembled the golden throne Trump had installed in the renovation of the Lincoln bathroom at the White House last year. During that renovation tens of thousands of federal workers were losing their jobs and livelihoods during Trump’s DOGE takeover and takedown of many government agencies.

An on-site security guard said the commode didn’t actually work. Artists had glued down the lid to prevent anyone bold enough from actually putting the throne to the test. But that glue apparently didn’t hold up. A day later a strong man strong-armed the lid open as he had an urgent need to test the throne; and yanked it pulled it open to see if it actually worked. He found out for himself that It wasn’t actually functional so he had to go elsewhere. The artists returned to reattach the lid according to the security officer. Now the lid is screwed shut so others won’t be so inclined to test the king’s prerogative.

There was verifiably no plumbing underneath, below, or behind the throne so security wasn’t pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes in saying it didn’t actually work. In any case, the throne was a big hit with the tourists and the DC residents who were there to see it, experience it, and for one glorious moment sit on the throne of a king, albeit a wannabe one.

The installation came several days after a No Kings III march passed by that very spot. One of the art pieces in that parade was a giant inflatable Trump complete with a gas exit hole in its rear with streamers indicating the presence of methane. Too bad the ‘Throne Fit For A King’ came two days late. Someone is eventually going to have to clean up that mess too.

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Washington DC—Thousands of citizens from across the DC-Maryland-Virginia region rallied at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery, for the third No Kings protest (NK3), the site where Trump plans to build the world’s largest arch, in honor of himself. They performed a skit with paper-mâché caricatures lampooning Trump and six of his most notorious staff and cabinet members. They spent weeks building the caricatures which included Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pat Bondi, White House Chief Advisor Steve Miller, FBI Director Kash Patel,White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Vice President JD Vance.

The skit called out each cabinet member for their most egregious actions over the past year. Several of the organizers spoke about how the power of people was the strongest column and still standing up to authoritarianism.

Then they walked across Memorial Bridge into DC in a challenge to the rising autocratic rule of President Trump, his cabinet, and corrupt influencer billionaires. The NK3 march carried giant banners heralding their approach, “No Kings,” “Join Us,” and “Arrest Them,” referring to those protected by a cover up of the Epstein files.

Just behind the banners came the seven cartoonish paper-mâché heads, posted high on wooden stakes: one of Trump, and six of his most discredited appointees and cabinet members. The life-like heads bobbed like drifters among the sea of protesters carrying them across Memorial Bridge.

A team of drummers set the pace as they walked across the Memorial Bridge into Washington DC. They walked past the Lincoln Memorial, in the spirit of many social justice rallies of the past, including Dr. Martin Luther King’s civil rights rally where he delivered his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. They sang and chanted until they reached their goal at the Washington Monument where several spoke.

Susan Douglas, Press Liaison of Third Act, Northern Virginia, said, “We unite to say, we the people have the power. After months of increasing lies, corruption, alarming cruelty, and willful disregard for the rule of law, we march to reject the current regime. No ICE. No war. No Kings.”

The Third Act DMV organizers partnered with a network of 20 groups to organize the protest. Their action was one of over 3200 events held across the nation with numbers of attendees thought to be have exceeded the No Kings 2 March held on October 18 of last year. The first No Kings March was in June 2025.

No Kings III was mirrored in cities internationally as well as the citizens of other Western nations have felt the tremors of the democratic collapse in the US. Trump’s policies have caused economic and social insecurity abroad. The US-Iran War has caused global energy prices to spike by an average of 25% globally in the month since Trump started the reckless war on February 28. Trump’s shutdown of USAID in February of 2025, an agency which provided assistance to many developing nations, had devastated African and Asian nations.

The NK3 goal was to reach or surpass at least 12 million participants nationwide, or reach a 3.5% population participation rate. This number is thought to be a key indicator in whether or not an authoritarian regime can sustain its power grip and influence over a population.

This regime has by design upended so many of the institutions and the guardrails of liberal democracy of the US republic, that it may require a generation to fix it, even if the Trump MAGA party loses the midterms. Opposition to the regime grew slowly at first but gradually it accelerated because with each outrage, it created a vortex of anger and rage resistance to its policy injustices. The anger and rage has been building slowly and flowing silently like blood through the veins of the citizens. But across the nation on NK3, is was on view for all to see in major metropolitan areas as well as many suburbs and towns.

According to the Center for Progress, if 3.5% of a population engages in sustained peaceful political opposition towards a government, they can effectively challenge and make the government change course. “No government around the world has withstood a challenge when 3.5 percent of its population peacefully mobilized against it,” according to a study conducted by professor Erica Chenoweth of Harvard University.

In January, 2025, Trump and his cabinet began to take down democratic institutions and began breaching long established norms. They had expected to overwhelm the citizenry with their government agency takeovers and takedowns. They tried to exhaust citizens and courts with their power-playing against the rule of law by disregarding individual rights and courts’ legal orders. They flooded the streets with masked lawless Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to subdue resistance. All of their actions are the mark of authoritarian regimes that came before him.

Trump believed his cabinet could dissuade and silence opposition voices. But, as it has done many times before, Trump and his cabinet and his billionaire supporters have underestimated what they could accomplish.

In the US-Iran War, a lawless war, they grossly underestimated the will of Iran’s resistance to their attempt to defeat it. Now the war has stumped Trump and his War machine as he clamors to see it through. As a result of ICE terror roundups, kidnappings, and disappearances across blue-States’ cities, Trump has seen his popularity plummet, as more and more mobilize against his immigration policies.

His on-again off-again tariffs and trade wars, his threats to take over foreign countries such as Greenland and Canada, and his attacks on the press and US political opposition, have served to make him appear weak and impotent. His near complete takedown of environmental regulations and deregulation of oil and gas companies has mobilized ecological groups as well.

Trump’s tariffs caused inflation on consumer goods and that was one thing. His pop-up war on Iran further devastated the world economy frayed alliances abroad, and further set back the home economics of every working American dependent on affordable fuel prices with more inflationary consumer costs.

No Kings 3 was a coming out of millions to say, in effect, they are not allowing Trump’s policies to take down the country, they are not afraid of standing up to he and his enabler billionaires, and they aren’t going to stop fighting against his policies no matter how desperate he becomes in enforcing them.

The post Third No Kings March Draws Millions In Protest Of Authoritarian President appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Alexandria, VA—One week out from the No Kings III March planned for March 28, and grassroots groups were finishing final plans and projects likely to result in one of the most massive protests in US history. The groups have built formidable clout by coalition building and linking dozens of groups in the DC-Maryland-Virginia region. They’ve pooled talent and drawn on expertise from carpenters and artists by building visual art props, and painting the leading banners that will criss-cross Washington streets. The props and banners are likely to feature the cover stories on international websites the world over as they did for No Kings II March last year. Others have been organized behind the scenes producing a network of contacts, signup sheets, flyers, signage, and logistics support.

No Kings Day III has gathered more signups than previous No Kings Marches as public opposition has grown against the unpopular authoritarian takeover of the republic. With each democratic guardrail Trump has mowed down, with each outrage he and his cabinet have carried out, with each institutional takedown, the regime has thrown kindling onto the furnace of national anger and distrust. No Kings III has required very little financial advertising because Trump and his cabinet have freely provided the needed opposition advertising for the No Kings III March.

With every norm Trump’s courtiers have steamrolled, grassroots groups have been buoyed with volunteers. The result has built even more support from citizens than the No Kings II March held on October 18, 2025 when an estimated 10 million poured into the streets of over 2500 cities across the nation. Grassroots groups throughout Northern Virginia, many of which are barely a year old, have completed a full year of networking and collaborating on unique art projects, certain to capture the attention of photojournalists’ lenses.

Coalitions have linked arms in a mass mobilization from ordinary citizens in an extraordinary way, many of which have not been involved in coalition building before. The No Kings III March is likely to result in even more than the millions of Americans who peaceably demonstrated against Trump’s chaotic on-again off-again policies in hundreds of cities across the country during No Kings II on October 18 last year.

The original No Kings rallies in the region were timed for Trump’s birthday on June 14, 2025 and were designed to effectively discourage citizens from attending Trump’s self-tribute military parade and birthday celebration held on the National Mall. We of Action (WofA) helped organize a messaging campaign at busy overpasses and bridges throughout the Northern Virginia region with giant billboards reading “No Kings In The USA,” “No Kings Since 1776,” and “Dump Trump,” among others. This encouraged motorists not to travel into Washington DC for Trump’s birthday. We of Action also held a multi-mile human chain through Arlington which drew 1000s from the local communities and from the suburbs.

Montgomery County (MoCo) also built and displayed bridge and overpass signage over major roadways in Maryland on October 18, reaching 1000s of motorists for No Kings II.

Props and Banners Lampoon Trump Cabinet

At a one-storied house in Alexandria, under a giant nude oak tree, not yet showing any signs of Spring buds, a group of visual artists from Third Act of Northern Virginia is busy inside a shed, building a set of paper-mâché heads parodying Trump’s cabinet. The artist’s shed is small but potently stocked with the ingredients of every sort of artist’s delight. A montage of blues music plays pianissimo on a miniature speaker while bottles of glue and unused paper-mâché in plastic buckets line the floor. Carpenter tools and paints line the shelves. A 150 lb anvil rests on an old tree segment base. This is used to bend the metal parts that support the paper-mâché heads.

The oversized heads they’re building will take the lead in a march into the city on March 28, a Saturday morning. They are certain to be photographed and sent around the world onto the front pages of printed newspapers and featured in the lead stories about the No Kings March on news websites. Independent media will largely cover this action.

The artisans take their time and dole out liberal amounts of skill rendering Trump’s cabinet from paper cartoon images, to three dimensional life-like replicas. Later they will finish them with hand-painted strokes drawing out their features. To transform them from cartoon images into three dimensional cartoonish heads will take weeks and the skillsets of both carpenters and artists.

One of the team’s artistic leads, guides the artists with a gentle patience as the paper mache slowly takes shape. Marcos Smyth, a metal and wood sculptor, painter, and abstract artist with over 50 years of experience, works in his studio shop under shadows of the old oak tree. He guides another artist in shaping the facial features of Pete Hegseth. She declines to give her name. She is determined to see the regime’s behavior stopped before it destroys another country. The war in the Middle East is still a few weeks old and the damage is already too much to calculate. There’s only a short discussion about the nihilistic destruction of the global order at the hands of the Defense Secretary before she starts shaping Hegseth’s eyebrows. But that destruction is driving her forward with deliberation to do something, anything, to expose the regime, and for her it means using her skills as a visual artist to create a parody of one of its key henchmen. “ I haven’t done paper-mâché before” she says but the features are coming out just like Hegseth appears.

Smyth is simultaneously working on a paper-mâché of Pat Bondi. He describes the details of crushing used paper into a mashed up concoction of glue and water while he forms a paste. He previously successfully completed a giant paper-mâché of Trump which was used in the No Kings II March. It was photographed and shared on the covers of major newspapers and websites across the European Union. It reached millions of viewers. It is proof that art as protest can have a gravitational affect on political branding.

The cabinet heads will take many days to build. They will chacacture six figures—Hegseth, Levitt, Bondi, Patel, Vance, and Miller.

One Week later, the cabinet and banners are moved to another home in Alexandria where on its driveway there is more space for the team to work. They are in their final phase of finishing as 15 artists and carpenters scurry around them like bees in a hive.

Lisa Finn, an organizer at Third Act, speaks about the project and the purpose of the No Kings III March. “We are all going to show up at No Kings with our communities, our friends, and our families. We’re going to be a loud voice to say this is not normal. This is authoritarianism. We don’t need a war. We don’t need ICE in our neighborhoods. We’re going to bring a lot of great artwork to No Kings.”

Finn also emphasized that artwork is a big part of a protest as well as chanting and songs. “It’s really important that we enjoy ourselves, and that we have a good time, We’re mad about what’s happening in our communities but we want to be a joyful protest. We want others to join us.”

Other Grassroots Groups Participate

We of Action is in its final stages of planning a hands across Northern Virginia “human chain of conscience” consisting of 1000s of citizens holding hands across 4 miles from North Arlington to South Arlington. Their peaceful protest will not block streets and is a family friendly action to draw in mainstream families and children who have either rarely participated or not participated in First Amendment activities before. We of Action (WofA) media liaison Chris Adair said that the No Kings actions and rallies are designed, in part, to help get out voters for the Virginia April 21 redistricting special election and to vote’Yes’ to temporarily redistrict Virginia to make up for the lost districts signed into law by Texas Governor Abbot in August 2025.

“Join WofA and Friends as we form a human chain of conscience across Arlington in peaceful protest against Trump’s illegal and authoritarian actions. We will line the sidewalks along Glebe Road from Chain Bridge in North Arlington to National Gateway in South Arlington. This is a peaceful protest. We will not block streets or businesses along the route. Bring signs, flags, and wear your favorite resistance wear! Inflatable costumes if you have them and make some noise! We will also be running Bridge Brigades, the morning of! If you can’t make it on March 28th, we could use your help prepping in advance (see volunteer form) Still have questions? Email handsacrossarlington@gmail.com

We of Action is always looking for volunteers. You may join without cost or request for membership at https://wofava.org/ by following the prompts.

Of course on most everyone’s mind are the illegal extra-judicial roundups of 10,000s of immigrants legally seeking citizenship and migrants searching for safe haven through amnesty applications. WofA has a plan for that too. And their website provides answers to questions on how citizens can prepare and what they can do.

For citizens witnessing ICE roundups WofA has created this two-sided printable zine to help them document illegal ICE raids, kidnappings, and brutality against persons legally in the US. ICE has also been documented murdering US citizens who have gotten caught up in their extra-judicial lawlessness. These murders were caught on video tape by citizens who were using the principles outlined in the WofA zine.

Many Reasons To Join No Kings III Marches

Maybe you don’t like your country bombing other countries in a war (the US is involved in 8 wars presently) without a coherent justification and costing a billion a day while you can barely afford groceries and healthcare. Perhaps billionaires buying elections for $300 million as Elon Musk did in the 2024 election, while you can barely afford gas to get to work, is not your style of government by and for the people. Presumably you get nervous when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents drive through your neighborhood in unmarked cars wearing masks, knock on doors, provide no warrants, and round up your neighbors or worse, shoot and kill citizens getting in their way.

Maybe you’re a federal worker who has had their agency summarily disbanded without Congressional approval, or you doesn’t much appreciate your employee data being taken by DOGE operatives and distributed to unknown entities. The passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” giving tax breaks to billionaires while you paid increased consumer taxes based on arbitrary tariffs, may be unsuitable to your home economics, wages and posterity. Presumably you’d prefer a government that works for your needs like healthcare, education, and public services like airport safety, and honors the taxes you pay to it by intentional and responsible funding, not frivolously allocating tax revenues on bloated budgets for Departments of War and Homeland Security (ICE). Conceivably you’re a fan of the environment and ecology and don’t want Big Oil and gas companies lobbying away the health of the planet so your grandchildren may inherit a livable planet.

Or maybe you just don’t care much or even agree with the slanted hypotheticals above and you’re conservative and you love the republic and what it stands for and don’t want to see it converted into an authoritarian state. If so then perhaps the No Kings III March is a place you’d find yourself on March 28. To learn more about it in the DC-MD-VA region you may register here: No Kings III March on Saturday March 28.

Then maybe you’re libertarian and don’t trust sign-ups anyway. You can still show up unregistered. Many conservatives showed up in October for No Kings II.

The post No Kings III March To Break Records Say Planners As Activist Artists Ready Protest Props appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Washington DC—Longtime activists from the DC, Maryland and Virginia area joined hands on Wednesday night to cherish the life of a charismatic activist who kept night watch at the Peace Vigil during a most tumultuous period in its 44 year history. One by one they spoke of how Will Roosien touched their lives and left indelible memories, shared fond moments of joy and hope in their hearts. They told their individual stories, read poems in his honor, and shared their delight in the memories of how he influenced them. Yet they shared a common rumination that he should not have been taken so early from them as his life had barely begun.

He now takes his place at the Peace Vigil among a long lineage of venerable activists who gave their final full measure in the continuing battle for peace, justice, and the end of global nuclear armaments. Beginning with the Vigil’s founder, William Thomas, there have been many Peace Activists who have given such final full measure before Roosien arrived at the Peace Vigil. He certainly will not be its last fading voice. Roosien stood out in unique ways as an unparalleled unifying force, his influence on others was revealed in the stories they told of him.

How Does One Measure Another’s Influence?

At 23, Roosien joined the William Thomas Memorial Peace Vigil as a traveling activist, seemingly and accidentally falling into its fold at a time when rogue powers had begun dismantling democratic institutions across the city, splintering the architecture of the republic and its government, and driving deep fissures between the US and its allies. There was much peace fieldwork to be done and Roosien came ready to do it.

Roosien was drawn to the Peace Vigil and specifically expressed a desire to make a positive difference in the world and encourage other youth to join him with his efforts. He actually sought out the Peace Vigil and did not happen on it by chance as many activists do.

Roosien came to the Peace Vigil after previously traveling through 23 countries and experiencing many cultures abroad, the most recent of which was Chile. He could easily relate and connect with anyone he met and he could speak to others on a personal level by sharing experiences he had in common with them. He would often begin by asking others “where are you from?” and build relationships with others who had also traveled abroad by sharing less significant details of the countries they traveled.

He began a 90 day commitment to the Peace Vigil during mid-June last Summer with an idealistic approach and was not afraid to speak up for what he believed in, while challenging others if he found their facts were out of alignment with what he could prove otherwise. But he was not aggressive in the act of disagreement. This made him both approachable and likable.

His curiosity of opposing ideas and other points of view and his ability to speak to others was a skill not often seen in the activist community. He sought to reach beyond divisions and this ability made him particularly popular among the other activists. He would not agree with consensus for consensus sake. He sought truth and was his own man.

He had come to Washington DC early in the Summer with meager means, and he pitched a tent somewhere along Beach Drive near the National Zoo in a hideaway thicket of the woods of Rock Creek Park. He would show up to cover the shifts at the Peace Vigil whenever there was a need of coverage or if shifts otherwise had no volunteers. Then he extended those shifts as the needs of the Peace Vigil increased.

The Summer heat is as daunting a season as is the dark days of Winter cold in Lafayette Park at the Peace Vigil, for it offers no shade and no protection from the elements. The heat of summer lingers in the red bricks long into the deep of night after the cacophony of tourists and rabble rousers have gone, sucking the energy and vitality from any activist who sits at the tent; and drains even the vitality of the young, who are typically more resilient, can find it relentless. They too succumb to its driving heat and relentless drone of bullhorns, protests, and curiosity seeking tourists. But here Roosien found his footing and an opportunity to do something good inside the vortex of chaotic times. It may be said that he did much more than sit at the Prace Vigil, he energized it with his presence, his originality, and his words.

He wore his red hat inscribed’Not Good,’ a rebuke to Make America Great Again,’ a tired and worn out slogan. He often carried a sign reading, “Hate does not make America Great.”

He carried his own signs back and forth from his tent in the woods to the Peace Vigil until Melaku-Bello said he could leave them in the Peace Vigil tent. Not everyone received such a privilege bestowed to them.

He took detailed notes of his experiences and his cursive writing style was both articulate and artistic. He had planned to write and publish a book about his travels and interactions with others. His notes from the Peace Vigil would certainly have shown his insights and philosophical points of view.

The Man Who Refused To Go

On Friday, September 5, 2025, on Friday night after a conservative right wing media personality described the Peace Vigil to President Trump during a press meeting at the White House, as an “eyesore” and “anti-American,” Trump ordered the immediate removal of the Peace Vigil. That afternoon, Melaku-Bello was joined with Will Roosien and many other activists through that night and they began a round-the-clock watch. They stayed despite Trump’s order to “immediately remove” the Peace Vigil. They expected the imminent removal of the Peace Vigil tent from its court-protected place on the red bricked sidewalk and wanted to be there to defend its right to remain. Then night gave way to daylight and they lasted through the first day, expecting a police raid at anytime.

After a 40-hours’ marathon watch, it seemed the removal threat had passed and the others left. Roosien remained and continued the Peace Vigil after Manager Philipos Melaku-Bello, was the last to leave for some rest. Within minutes of Melaku-Bello’s departure, several US Secret Service walked up to the Vigil tent. They had been waiting for this moment and were likely monitoring the Peace Vigil from several cameras mounted on lampposts nearby.

They asked Roosien to vacate the tent so they could remove it. He told them it was his First Amendment right to be there. They insisted leave. He refused to go. The Secret Service summoned a team who suddenly “came out of nowhere” to forceably remove the tent but Roosien, in a fearless act of defiance, almost certain to result in his arrest, jumped on top of the tent to protect it. He was detained and US Secret Service removed the tent, its suport structure, signs, and anchors. They transported it in a truck to an impoundment station at Haines Point. His act of defiance was hailed as a legendary example of resistance and endeared him to the other activists in a special way.

He reflected at length about why he stood against about a dozen police during an interview at the moment he stood as a resistor against overwhelming odds and against the increasingly oppressive police presence in Lafayette Park. More and more Secret Service had been bringing their dog team every hour to check the area around the Peace Vigil tent for drugs or explosives as a form of pressure-harassment of the vigilers—searching for items Park Police and Secret Service knew the vigilers would not keep at the tent.

Roosien spoke to DCMediaGroup on September 15, 2025, several days before he left Washington DC for the last time. He told of what he believed was the heart and soul of the purpose of the Peace Vigil—that it was a “visual representation” of the First Amendment in action, “one of the most important rights in the United States,” and why he stood up for it the day Secret Service came to take it away.

“I think it’s important that even if you’re in a losing battle where you’re outmanned, that the people who are making the transgressions against you, know that there was resistance, he said. “If evil is beating good it’s important it’s not easy.” He said that was his guiding philosophy.

The next day, many supporters gathered around the area where the tent once stood, Roosien among them. They vowed to fight to keep the Peace Vigil going even without a tent they depended on to protect them from bad weather days. Melaku-bello put up a giant umbrella and several brought chairs and signs, although it was much less of a presence than before the raid. But the Peace Vigil had beaten the odds because its activists persevered. They continued their presence on the red bricks anyway.

Peace Vigilers Sound Roosien’s Memory

On Wednesday night after disk, while the DC Activist Street Band played the song, “We Shall Not Be Moved,” in the background, Nadine Selior and her friend Karen set up a slideshow with photos of Roosien and other Vigilers and projected them onto a white banner they hung up on the metal fence. Above that they hung another hand-painted banner reading, “We Will Continue to Fight,” a symbol of Will’s courage and commitment.

The metal fence, on which the banners were hung, was erected around Lafayette Park several months ago, restricting access from anywhere near the White House as well as the red bricked location where the Peace Vigil once stood. So they set up Will Roosien’s memorial service on a small dirt block remaining accessible on Eye Street, where activists of Black Lives Matter Plaza once clashed with police during the civil rights movement that year against police violence. They added streamers and several carried signs about peace and anti-war messages.

BLM Plaza signs and markings had long been removed as a result of pressure placed from the White House on DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration. It may be said that she complied in advance by removing Black Lives Matter bricks and markings before she was forced to do so.

The Peace Vigil did not comply in advance when police went into Lafayette Square to take it down. That was partly a result of Roosien’s courage and doing.

The activists set out rows of candles and hooked up a battery to a speaker. It was cold and dark so several wore headlamps to help the assembled group see the speakers.

Carrie Muniac sang a song she wrote in Roosien’s memory.

Shell, a ling-time Peace Vigil activist folded hundreds of cranes over the days after she learned of Roosien’s passing. She hung them in rows in the tradition of the Japanese custom in remembrance of someone dear that has passed.

Phillipos Melaku-Bello told a heart-warming story of Roosien and his influence on the other activists with his zeal and compassion for others. He drew amazement even from the older activists who had been around a long time and were not so moved as they were when Roosien showed up.

Luci Murphy, a longtime activist and songstress, led the group in a participatory Spanish song “We Want Peace And Freedom In This World” an easy sing along because she made it easy for them to sing. It was about peace and perseverance. She also spoke of her personal experiences of overcoming the difficulties of life hardships and the necessity for having tenacity in the struggle to live despite hardships. Her message of survival was tempered with the wisdom she gained as a necessity to care for her children. She had no choice but to survive difficult times.

Nadine Selior told of many conversations she had with Will Roosien and their friendship despite their differences on issues. She said he was able to come to accept her points of views on many issues of the present times.

Each story conveyed a deep love for a young man early departed. No one said out loud that they loved Will but they did not need to. No one broke down inconsolably moved. But one could feel their broken hearts. They danced to a song about joy and happiness and everyone posed for a photograph. Then they cleared out of the small space and went home leaving the dusty dirt square silent. In the background the machines continued their work in Lafayette Park, tearing up the place where the blue tent once stood. The Peace Vigil had survived anyway. Against the odds, it proved its endurance.

The hotline for suicide prevention and awareness is 988. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

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Washington DC—A grassroots group of activists staged another powerful light show on Tuesday night at the Department of Justice (DoJ) in Washington DC after rush hour had already ended. The slide show was laid over a giant banner of President Trump across from the FBI building. Police were parked outside the FBI but did not stop the projection activists — projectivists — from carrying out their contemptuous display.

The slides framed the giant banner of Trump’s image which hangs from the recessed facade of the DoJ which appears similar to the ‘Big Brother’ caricature in the book 1984.. The slide show ran for about an hour over the banner which appeared to measure 15 feet wide and 30 feet long. The distance from the projector to the banner stretched the limits of the light projection luminance—set about 400 feet from the facade.

As in past varieties of projection actions this month, the projectivists did not announce their action. Many passersby stopped to watch and photograph the slides—essentially a collection of statements about Trump’s scorched earth policies upending global order, reading: No Dictator, No Wars, No Graft, No Police State, No Vendettas, No Ego Monuments…

A statement released to DCMG from the group read,

“In his vainglory, Trump has tried to honor himself ad in finitum or ad nauseum. This banner is also his boast of owning the DOJ. If it is true that this was Bondi’s attempt to adulate him, we know no other president would accept this blatant admission of complicity with a department tasked with being impartial in the execution of justice. This is no different than the huge portraits of authoritarian leaders on building in China, Russia, North Korea, etc. This video highlights things he is already guilty of, that the DOJ should prosecute him of if they were doing their job!”

There is a second banner hanging from the DoJ building on its Connecticut Avenue corner. The DoJ takes up one full square city block. Other banners of Trump hang from the Departments of Labor and Education.

The activists projecting lights are in their own way, messaging warnings to the citizens of a crumbling republic and a dictatorship rising from its dust. It is imperative that its citizens continue to organize and take effective actions against the self described dictator and his enablers. The signs are all there that the US is following in the wake of the authoritarianism regimes of bygone eras.

No Wars

The US-Iran War which the US and Israel began in the early hours on February 28, has been condemned by UN Secretary General António Guterres. “The use of force by the United States & Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace & security,” he wrote in a statement.

The war strategy seems to have no ‘plan B.’ The war has quickly become a quagmire for the US with conflicting exit plans depending on who from Trump’s cabinet is answering reporter’s questions. This alone demonstrates a policy gone terribly wrong with little forethought to the consequences of the attack. The initial justification for the war was neither a coherent plan adequately explained to Americans nor debated and approved by Congress as required in the Constitution. Most Americans disapprove of the war, according to a March 4 G. Elliott Morris poll, an average of reliable polls. Only 38% of Americans supported the war at its beginning, while 49% disapproved of it, an historical low compared to the start of all other wars, where polling data was available. The US-Iran War is extremely unpopular and it is only 12 days in.

The president said that Iran was planning to strike the US so the US and Israel struck first. It was a circular argument to justify the attack on a nation which it had been negotiating with up to the last minute before it began its sneak-attack. This followed a deployment of 10,000s of service members to the Middle East to pressure Iran into accepting its demands. It was self evident the plan was to attack Iran all along.

The war has had economic consequences. It is costing 2 billion every day it is fought. Oil and gas prices are soaring to prices not seen in years. The price of gas went up even though the fuel sources were extracted, shipped, refined, and distributed months before their prices were arbitrarily raised. The economic victims are anyone who depends on transportation, which is everyone. The benefactors of this war are the oil companies, its stockholders, and the military aerospace companies.

An elementary girls school was bombed with Trump blaming Iran for attacking its own school children. Over 170 children died. The BBC exposed this as a clear lie with published footage of a US Tomahawk cruise missile hitting the school. If that wasn’t bad enough a ‘double tap’ missile struck the school less than an hour later, killing first responders and families at the destroyed school.

Iran struck back and promised not to surrender. The damage from Iran against 14 other countries most certainly would not have occurred if the US had committed to completing negotiations. Now the Straight of Hormuz is indefinitely closed as Iran struck Tankers on Wednesday, March 11, choking of the world supply of 20% of oil, fertilizer, and chemicals which transit the narrow straight.

Iran is not the first country Trump has attacked and will not be the last. Venezula, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen have all suffered attacks from the US since Trump’s second term began. There’s also the US military hardware support of Israel to decimate Gaza, a territory recognized as a country by 150 of the 193 members of the UN. Trump has promised to send US military forces to attack Cuba as well. He has threatened to take over Greenland but the European Union reacted swiftly and in unison and those plans have not followed through.

Does the American public even know how many wars or military operations its government is waging?

The answer to that from a search assist is eight. Eight separate military operations across six wars.

1 through 3:

• War on Terror: Includes operations in Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
• War on Cartels: Specifically, Operation Southern Spear in Venezuela
• Iran War: Ongoing military actions related to Iran

4 through 6:

• Russo-Ukrainian War: U.S. involvement in support of Ukraine
• Gaza War: U.S. involvement in the ongoing conflict
• Israel-Hezbollah Conflict: U.S. support and involvement in this conflict

But there is another operation search assist does not count. That’s an actual attack on its own soil against its own citizens. The roundup across cities by the Department of Homeland Security of 100,000s of migrants, immigrants legally on US soil seeking citizenship, their disappearance into concentration camps, their deportations without due process, and the arrests and detention of US citizens who get in the way is the uncounted war. Several US citizens have been killed in this war on immigrants and immigrants rights. This is another unnecessary war that should be counted among US military operations.

No Lies

It can’t be overstated how important it is for a democratic nation to trust its top leader’s statements. Democratic institutions rely on truth to function. But the unreliability of information coming from the Trump White House is immeasurably destructive to the institutions affected.

Once trust is lost it is not easily restored. This president has been given extremely wide girth in the corporate media to speak whatever he wants during press conferences. And when media personalities question him about topics he doesn’t want to discuss, such as Epsteingate or Ukraine, he personally attacks press correspondents, calling them names to humiliate them or he attacks their news services.

He has lied about many issues, painting them with a broad brush to characterize them as he sees politically expedient. He lies about the tariffs and who is actually paying the costs of tariffs. It is Americans, not foreign countries as he falsely claims. He has changed his rationale for the war on Iran, and about the damage and impact of it on the world economy. He claimed his vanity ballroom project would not disturb any part of the White House but soon thereafter demolished the entire East Wing. His lies about immigrants being criminals, rapists, and drug gangs was the basis for rounding up and disappearing 100,000s into concentration camps around the country.

No Dictators, No Kings

From the very first day of his presidency, Trump promised to be a dictator but only for “one day.” There has never been a dictator who assumed power that willingly gave it up after one day.

And to protect himself, he transformed the DoJ from its purpose of an investigative agency into a personal protectorate for himself, just as a dictator would do with a secret police force. Under Attorney General Pat Bondi, the DoJ has fired or forced to resign many of its seasoned attorneys and replaced them with obedient lackeys promoting the protection of one man and his enablers.

The most consequential investigation of the century so far, Epsteingate, has been cynically relegated to a contest of cat and mouse between the Attorney General, the person with the passwords to the unreacted and unreleased files, and the Congressional Oversight Committees attempting to release the files and hold accountable the people hidden under black blocks covering the files texts.

No Kings March Part III

On March 28, organizations across to county plan a mass march against Trump’s policies. Most cities will hold marches and these provide citizens an opportunity to connect with others and respond to the challenges they are facing.

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Washington DC—One might say the anonymous light projection group that keeps staging slide shows on DC buildings has finally struck a blow at a real life “Wag The Dog” moment. Tuesday night, under cover of drizzly clouds they beamed images to 1000s of commuters reminding them the Epsteingate cover-up isn’t going away, even though the U.S. has effectively declared war on the entire Middle East. The U.S. Iran War is turning out to be a major distraction but the activists are not letting it eclipse the Epsteingate cover-up.

Activists projected a six-panel slide show onto a metro train bridge near I-395 as commuters left Washington DC on a drizzly commute. Some drivers blew their horns in support of the slide messages as they passed beneath the bridge of the light projection. The slide show bared a harsh truth that Epsteingate would not be permitted to slip behind a regional war that popped up out of nowhere. And even though the war embroiled 14 countries directly, activists refused to let it be a wide enough curtain to cover what a UN panel described as “meet[ing] the legal threshold of crimes against humanity.”

The slide included a flash of ”The files aren’t in Iran,” shaking the pretense that the U.S. Iran War is legally sound. It also illustrated the wisdom of the 1997 move ‘Wag The Dog,’ a fictional dark comedy about a president who tries to cover up a sexual scandal by fabricating a war in Albania. One couldn’t have recreated this sordid scenario any better than the present administration has, even if they had written the plot themselves. One could also say that Trump and the Epstein co-conspirators have some nerve trying to play off their Epsteingate saga under cover of their latest war, but they have.

The slides beamed “Release The Epstein Files” … “All Of Them” … “Do Right By The Victims” … and “The Files Aren’t in Iran,” in all-caps, and the slide show ended with the now famous photo of Trump and Epstein palling together at one of Epstein’s gatherings.

The activists cleared out after about an hour and before police stopped them. There were plenty of police passing by, but they either had other priority calls or just didn’t want to be bothered with a few resisters in a damp drizzle a few degrees north of freezing. The activists promised to be back at it with another theme at another location another day. They just have to recharge their batteries and scope out another prominent location. Washington Monument? Big Beautiful Ballroom? We’ll have to wait and see.

Dual Victim Classes: Sexual Assault Survivors And Veterans Of Illegal Wars

It is generally being reported that there may have been a thousand or more children coerced into trafficking and abuse rings during Epstein’s tenure in powerful circles. The slow-drip release of the Epstein files, itself a violation of the law ordering their expedient release, have taken down and destroyed the reputations of high profile people abroad.

In the UK high profile people have already been arrested. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Brother of the King of England, and former royal prince of the Windsors, was arrested February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but released after 11 hours without charges.

Peter Mandelson, former UK ambassador to the US was arrested February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and was later released on bail.

While a few high profile persons linked to Epstein in the U.S. have only been forced from their positions, or forced to issue apologies, none have yet been charged. There is no sign the Department of Justice (DOJ) has even begun conducting investigations of those who had roles of varying degrees in email communications with Jeffrey Epstein.

Several high-profile persons in the US are mentioned in the files, including Trump and Lutnick. But they seem so far to be untouchable. The DOJ has blacked out the names of those presently active in government and mentioned in the Epstein files. In some cases, the DOJ has released victims’ names. This has been another traumatic experience for them aside from the abuses they suffered.

The U.S. Iran War has is victims too—those civilian innocents caught in missile and air bombings. The Veterans are victims too. For they are being dispatched by the tens of thousands to fight a war with murky justifications that seem to change by the day depending on who in the administration is answering the question of why the U.S. is involved in yet another war. These Veterans of the U.S. Iran War will return with physical and mental injuries from the stressors of war as Veterans have experienced since the country’s beginning. The stressors of this war will lead to disabilities for the rest of their lives.

The Epstein files will chase this president around the Oval office and in public circles no matter where he wages war, no matter what democratic foundations his administration breaks, and no matter who he nominates to cover the details up for him. And the file contents are likely to chase the co-conspirators no matter where they go, even after Trump’s DOJ is long gone and can no longer redact their names.

The Epstein files aren’t in Iran  They’re at the DOJ.

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Washington DC—Activists staged a guerrilla light projection show on the rear parapet of the Kennedy Center, catching security guards by surprise on Wednesday night. The small group snuck their equipment along a bike trail next to the Potomac River and projected a series of still images above traffic on Rock Creek Parkway as rush-hour was underway. Thousands of motorists saw the projected lights as they passed under the outcrop section of the Kennedy Center which sets above the parkway like a giant ceiling over the outbound lanes of traffic.

A series of slides controlled by a computer, flashed through a sequence, pausing between slides. They depicted John F. Kennedy’s vision that the arts should be a celebration of the freedom of the human spirit and uninhibited in its creativity. Counter to that, a single slide showed Donald J. Trump’s viewpoint that the arts should be a tribute to himself.

One slide depicting John F. Kennedy was captioned with “Bold Art” and another depicted a ballerina dancing and captioned with “Fine Art.” Then a slide shows Donald Trump captioned with “Braggart.” The last slide depicts a photograph of an elevator platform outside the Memorial Center taken on the day Donald Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center. It is captioned with “Keep your tiny hands off our landmark.” (See video below).

Security officials photographed the activists from a different parapet above the road but there was little they could do to stop the light show as a heavy wave of rush-hour traffic and a barrier separated the guards from the activists below.

Kennedy Center Changed to Reflect Political Climate 

In February 2025, Trump dismissed the Board of Trustees and appointed his own board of members close to him. He appointed himself the Kennedy Center Chairman. Then two months ago on December 19, the Trump appointed Board voted to commission a name change to the venerable Memorial and within a day workers added his name to the North Wall outside of the center above John F. Kennedy’s name. This was met with a sharp rebuke from across the arts community and a controversial reaction by many performing artists who canceled their commitments to performances they had earlier planned. Senator Schumer said the name change broke existing law, prohibiting a change to the name.

As more and more performing artists canceled and donations began drying up, attendance began dropping at the center. The Washington National Opera which held residence at the Kennedy Center for a half century, canceled its residency. Then on February 2, early this month, Trump announced that the Kennedy Center would undergo a two-year renovation beginning in July of this year. This was met with questions of just what that renovation would actually entail.

As it happened back in October of this year, a “renovation” of the White House East Wing was actually a complete demolition of the venerable landmark portion of the “People’s House.” The demolition took place despite Trump’s assurance that his ballroom plans would “not interfere” with the existing White House structure.

Would a “renovation” of the Kennedy Memorial Arts Center also result in its complete destruction akin to the destruction of the White House East Wing?

Activists Declined On The Record Statements

The activists declined to give their names because of increased political pressure over the disposition of the Kennedy Center and the possibility that fallout over resistance activities taken there could pursue them elsewhere. But they told DCMediaGroup their reasons for staging the light show had a lot to do with Trump’s imposing himself as the Kennedy Center master.

The designer of the slides said they couldn’t trust what Trump meant when he said the Kennedy Center would be renovated but “we would have to wait and see.” They also spoke to the symbolic meaning of the slides and its statement about how authoritarians regard the arts and artists. “When you attack the arts and insist that the arts are in your image it comes right out of the autocratic playbook. It signifies the times we’re living in and it demands a response.”

Another of the activists said they are coming up with “prominent ways to push back against the trampling of the constitution.”By taking over the arts center the government is in effect discouraging First Amendment rights to freedom of speech by suppressing freedom of expression. “We plan more actions in the future,” they said.

Are The Takeover and Renaming of the Kennedy Center Truly First Amendment Infringements

On Wednesday night outside the Kennedy Memorial Center For The Arts, special security guards dressed in dark blue suits with bright yellow vests walked around its North side and hung about on its parapets. Security outside the Kennedy Center was not required before.

On the inside things appeared as normal as they ever have been on a Wednesday night when there was no major performance scheduled.

No one inside seemed to realize there was artistic drama unfolding right outside the windows of Kennedy Center. There were only a handful of people in attendance of a free performance by the U.S. Naval Academy Band Chamber Players. At the end of their free performance they played a montage tribute of the hymns sung by each of the branches of the Armed Forces. Who knew that the Space Force had its own hymn?

Near the east side entrance an art display was being set up. Several children played and chased each other along the galloping red carpet in the concert hall. The red carpet extends the length of the promenade, which is long enough to suit the triumphant walks of a truckload of kings. There were no burned out lights in any of the giant hanging chandeliers hanging in the promenade. Incidentally there are 24 giant hanging chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of the promenade. Each chandelier has eight hanging rows. Each hanging row has eight light caverns. Each cavern has 16 bulbs. Thats a lot of bulbs to keep burning. None were out on Wednesday night.

Everything appeared normal at the Kennedy Center. But it didn’t feel normal. Soon the Kennedy Center would be closed—in four months—and what was likely to come in its wake no one could tell for sure. No one could trust that it would remain the Arts Center it once was.

The Kennedy Center has seen thousands of performances over the last 55 years it has been open to the public. In 1971 when it first opened to a black tie gala, many famous artists and actors from Hollywood and New York and attended the gala. They celebrated the great achievement of its construction which took nearly a decade. It was a who’s who moment in the arts community and was aired live on television. The opening was a big deal for the arts community for those times for it was the first time the arts were the center of the national consciousness.

Since then it has become a complex of displays and cultural centers as annexes, gardens, a bridge to the Potomac, and improvements have built its structure and its reputation into a thriving community for the arts. That was until now.

When the Kennedy Center goes under the wrecking ball in July as many are beginning to sense it will, another important institution will be extinguished from Washington DC. Individual charitable donations will likely continue to dwindle as well because there will be no performances incentivizing donors to contribute to the center.

As the grasp of an authoritarian reaches into the heart and soul of a republic to change it into their own image, the heart and soul of the republic longs to remain free so it does not and cannot remain. One never appreciates something they treasure, or even know they treasure it so much, until it is gone.

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Washington DC—On Monday afternoon, the grassroots Virginia Chapter of Third Act theater group players selected speeches of the founding fathers outside the Capitol on President’s Day. The one-act play was free and open to the public and drew a small crowd of admirers on the chilly overcast holiday. Few tourists were visiting the Capitol as tourism in Washington DC has effectively collapsed to near covid levels not seen since  2020, during Trump’s first term.

The purpose of the play was to interpret what the founders would have said if they could speak from beyond the grave about the current leaders and their congressional enablers. But there was really no need to ask the question of what the founders would say because they had already said it, according to a flyer the Third Act members handed out to those assembled before them. The flyers had speeches the dates they were spoken.

The roles of George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln were played by Lawrence MacDonald and Jim Lardner. Dressed in the authentic looking costumes of the presidents they portrayed, they read portions of speeches and letters from the two former presidents.

The founders were accompanied by two other notable characters, Lady Liberty, consumed by Jackie (last name not given), and the Town Cryer played by Mary (last name not given). An ensemble of rhythmic instruments were played by other Third Act members to add beat and meter to the play. The town cryer acted in the role as a stage manager, directing questions to the characters.

Lardner, fit Lincoln’s role well with his tall slender build, top hat, black suit, and beard. He read the Gettysburg Address as well as several of Lincoln’s most notable quotations. One such quote was taken from his October 15, 1858 speech during which he spoke to a nation still trying to find its way as to whether or not it would continue to be a nation of individual rights, equality, and liberty for all, or would it be transformed into a nation ruled by a king.

“”[The] two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time and will ever continue to struggle [are] the common right of humanity and the…divine right of kings.”

Lincoln uttered this during his seventh debate with Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery and whether or not the clause in the Declaration of Independence “…all men were created equal…” meant all men should be free with no enslavement. Lincoln of course argued the inhumane treatment of slaves was inconsistent with the meaning of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

Although Lincoln lost the Senate race for the State of Illinois that year, it helped him gain enough popularity to win the Presidency in 1860. And Lincoln’s election to the presidency that year led to his Emancipation Proclamation and an historic change of direction for freedom for all.

Lardner also recited from Lincoln’s November 20, 1860 speech during his presidential campaign that year, “Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling.”

These two quotes skewer Trump’s defense for the elimination individual rights and respond to a Department of Homeland Security running roughshod over established legal protections enshrined since the nation’s earliest days. DHS disregard for the individual rights of both citizens and legal immigrants, and the inhumane conditions he’s has directed in the concentration camps where immigrants are being held are anathema to every right the founders intended when they wrote the constitution.

Lawrence read from George Washington’s farewell address about the importance of respecting the separation of powers in a republic, even before the new nation was in its second presidency. “[T]he habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional spheres; avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another.”

Incidentally, MacDonald reminded those present that it was Washington himself who declined a third presidential term and rejected being thought of or considered to be the nation’s king.

Donald Trump managed to slide a few statements into the script from sidewalk next to the venerable presidents as they spoke. Dressed in a rubber pull-over mask with a bottle of bleach attached to his arm from an IV, Trump’s character responded to the founding president’s speeches with accolades to himself, offered unworkable solutions to problems he himself had created, and swore that Jeffery Epstein was as good an historical figure as any other the country had known.

The theater was implying how far from grace the office of the presidency had fallen.

But it should remembered that the Colonial life of the 1770s, the new nation of the 1780s, when George Washington was President, and during the Union of the 1850s and 1860s when Abraham Lincoln was president, was more of an ideological concept than a reality.

The founders offered a glimpse of what a republic under their vision of liberty and democracy could become, though the country still had a long way to go. Many of the most cherished rights were not granted until the 20th century. Among the rights to come were a woman’s right to vote in 1920, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Roe vs. Wade in 1971 and the right for one to decide whether or not to give birth, and later, the recognition of same sex marriage in 2013. These were just a few of those advances in the republic’s governmental infrastructure.

On President’s Day 2026, it was a bittersweet moment in the history of the United States that we pause to reflect on the words and wisdom of our founding fathers. They told us how far we could go if we adhered to their design, and followed their wisdom. They warned us how vulnerable we were, and predicted how rapidly we could fall in losing those rights should we divert even a little bit.

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Washington DC—The Venerable Monks of the Dhammacetiya arrived in Arlington Monday on their second to last day of crossing through Virginia. Their 2,300 mile “Walk for Peace” which started in Fort Worth, Texas, 107 days ago neared its final destination of Washington, DC, their journey’s end. They will host a peace gathering at the Lincoln Memorial and at the National Cathedral on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thousands have queued along their long trek and waited many hours in bitter cold to watch the 20 monks walk past for a brief moment. Many have showed them respect by bowing or giving them flowers. Some offered other gifts such as fruit or hand warmers. Some have smiled while others have unexpectedly cried with effervescent emotion as they passed.

Their reddish faces, the product of many days of weather and sun, seemed to glow with a deep radiant hope which was reflected from the faces of those watching. Dressed in head wraps and neck carves, their deep red robes blew in the stiff cold wind as their double bagged back packs bobbled with their steps. The lead monk smiled as he accepted flowers and fruit given to him from admirers and then returned them to other admirers as a blessing.

Earlier in their journey some walked barefooted but as dual polar vortices swept south they donned boots or heavy shoes and layers of clothing. They walked an average of 20 miles a day, day after day, stopping only for meals and resting at night in churches, guesthouses, universities, and pagodas. During afternoon meals they spoke to those assembled about peace and their gratitude for the support they received. Their companion dog Aloka accompanied them through parts of the walk until a medical condition sidelined him. A white mobile home followed them with a white flag reading “Walk For Peace.”

The 20 or so monks are not requesting anything from anyone. They seem placid like a resting lake yet steadfast like a rising mountain. Their walking is a continuous statement, like a prayer without end. Their pace is fast, and their stamina is as a marathoner.

Why The Walk For Peace Matters

Their Walk For Peace began at Fort Worth, the southern most state of Texas and traversed to the nation’s capital at a time of deep anguish and upheaval throughout the country and beyond. It comes at a moment when many are worried about the future and concerned about the direction of civilization which seems to have lost its way. Many are looking to the monks for a graceful solution and here they have found a way towards that and if not, then at least through internal reconciliation.

But their message is as invisible as the breeze but as certain as a gravitational force pulling everything to its center: peace. For peace is more than an absence of conflict. It is also a state of mind. It is an intentional disposition of the spirit within and through it all beings may exist in harmony. Through their walking the monks may see every step and every crack of the pavement, every tree and body of water with each bridge they cross. They see every face and greet each voice they hear with a smile of acknowledgment and with wise contemplation. They exchange flowers with others as others give flowers to them. And as they do this they are acknowledging the significance of each human being and non-human being that meets them.

Each step they take is live-streamed so others who cannot be physically present can follow their progress. Many may take pictures too for their own benefit or perhaps to share with their followers. Others take no pictures and instead want to be completely in the moment with their contemplative thoughts of peace and hope as they pass.

Along the way, there are children holding signs with messages of peace. One of the monks gave a friend a white carnation as he passed by her which she photographed and shared with others on her chats. Someone painted “Peace” on the ice next to the road they walked. So their peaceful expression is contagious and spreads ephemerally like prayers from the prayer wheels and like wisps of breeze across the colorful prayer flags: blue, white, red, green, and yellow.

The five colors of the prayer flags represent the five elements: blue symbolizes sky and space, white symbolizes air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. Health and harmony are present when these are in balance.

In the Buddhist faith it is said millions of prayers are spread by the wind across the colors of the prayer flags. Maybe the monks are harbingers of peace and maybe not. But it is certain they instilled moments of peace, hope, and love with those who met them.

This then is their intention, to spread hope for peace through their presence.

Previous Famous Walks Have Invoked Passion For Social Change

Others have walked across the country to draw attention towards a social cause or for a benefit. In 2015, the climate marches walked from California to Washington DC over a period of six months. Their journey through many States drew attention to the climate crisis. As they passed the State line from Maryland to DC, the recited the States in the order through which they had passed. Their arrival in Washington DC in May of that year drew several hundred to Lafayette Square and spawned the local climate group Beyond Extreme Energy which still meets monthly to advocate in Congress to fund renewable energy sources.

Others have trekked across the country for various political or social purposes but usually without as much fanfare as the Monks of the Dhammacetiya have achieved in 2025-6.

In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis (later a U.S. Senator) walked with hundreds in a series of three 57-mile walks from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to require local governments to grant access to the voting polls for African-Americans. An ensuing attack by police against the peaceful walkers at the Edmund Pettis Bridge was broadcast live when ABC News broke into its regular programming to cover it. The violence of police beating peaceful walkers was broadcast live into American living rooms. It resulted in the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson later that year. The walk was seen as an historic moment in the country’s history and is often repeated as a reminder of that tumultuous period in the Civil Rights movement. What began as a walk for justice helped free millions in a nation of “freedom.”

The Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 was organized by Ralph Abernathy with others of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference. Abernathy and others walked from Baltimore to Washington DC and set up a camp on the Mall in Washington DC after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The Poor People’s Campaign was organized for economic development, labor rights and reasonable wages. The walk has been repeated many times since to draw attention to the struggle of the working poor. What began as a walk for economic rights enlightened millions as to the working impoverished.

In March to April 1930, Mahatma Ghandi embarked on a 240 mile disobedience walk in opposition to a British monopoly on salt sales and high salt taxes in India. With each village he passed he spoke of the injustice of British colonialism and its unfair salt taxes on the poor. This led more to join his walk to its end at Dandi at the Arabian Sea. Once there at the salt plane, he collected salt in his hands, which was considered a crime. Other were inspired by his disobedience to act. Over 60,000 were jailed based on this immoral statute. This led to an eventual agreement between Ghandi and the British colonizers. It drew worldwide attention. And as Ghandi led more civil disobedience campaigns, he eventually gained power in the government and led his country to independence over the British. In 1947, India gained its independence. What began as a walk liberated a race and gave birth to a nation.

Dhammacetiya Monks Stir Yearning For Peace

No walk in modern U.S. history has stirred a support similar to the Monks of the Dhammacetiya Walk For Peace. None have had a spontaneous effect as seen in the last few weeks across the east coast. Thousands have been drawn to meet the monks as they have passed. Had it not been for live updates on interactive maps, spontaneous chat groups, and grassroots organizing, many would not have known to come out in support as the Monks of the Dhammacetiya passed. But they did know because there is great mobility in the commons. Mobility of the commons can move mountains and still waters.

With the response to The Walk For Peace, is a yearning for a peaceful nation. Citizens have grown weary of chaos and fear. They hope for a peaceful nation, not a nation funding occupation and bloodshed on its city streets from federal forces. They desire equality among races, not oppression based on race, religion, country of origin, or color of skin. They seek compassion from their government, harmony in their communities, and respect from leaders for others despite their differences.

The monks walked 2300 miles over 108 days without saying anything to their observers as they passed. They spoke no ill of anyone or of anything. Their message was peace, a simple prayer and a one word statement. Perhaps their prayer will be answered and it will come to pass.

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Arlington, VA—Arlington citizens came out in a skin-biting cold at 8 pm on Saturday night to heed a call by Minnesotan organizers to place candles out for another victim slain at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents early on Saturday, January 24. They lit many candles and laid them at the base of a mural created last week to remember ICE victims which was erected on the side of a building on Columbia Pike. The candles blew in the wind but remained lit despite the cold.

They held a moment of silence and then stood while several said prayers for the victims. They discussed the extreme ICE violence they saw in videos over the past four weeks, and the most recent video of yet another killing of Alex Pretti. They tried to make some sense of a tumultuous day. A member of the Arlington Council also joined them for a while. To them it seemed to be like a turning point of whether or not cooler heads will prevail or civil unrest would erupt across Minneapolis and possibly across America.

Alex Pretti, a nurse who worked at the Minneapolis Department of Veterans Affairs in its ICU, was observing ICE agents during one of their actions which they were in the process of detaining several people. As he moved towards several people who had just been pepper sprayed, agents immediately tackled or knocked him to the ground, kicked and punched him while he was underneath six of them, then one of agents shot him 10 times in rapid succession at point-blank range. The agent then ran from the scene while other agents backed away from Pretti’s motionless body, providing the mortally wounded man no aid.

From the moment ICE agents first encountered Pretti, who was observing them and not involved in the action himself, to the moment ICE tackled and killed him, Pretti virtually had no chance of survival. The video shows he was clearly not engaged in any behavior or instigation to counter ICE activities and he was not engaging in any provocative behavior.

An analysis of a compilation of multiple videos shows one agent approaching Pretti, forcing him to walk backwards, and pushing him up against a wall. In his right hand is a small camera, not a gun. His left hand is raised as if to surrender. A short clip taken from a passing motorist is shaky, but shows Pretti already on the ground being beaten by up to five agents. One agent pulls a firearm from his trouser waist.

Yet a third video taken from inside a store window depicts a group of up to eight agents piling onto Pretti. There is one gunshot and then a rapid succession of ten more shots fired from an agent. Agents recoil as the shots ring out, leaving Pretti lying on the ground.

A fourth video taken from farther away but on the street shows a wider angle of all the agents while they are assaulting Pretti and when he is killed. Pretti never pulls a weapon and the video confirms this.

The open source videos sparked immediate reaction from many sectors of the country. The minority members of Congress, which had been considering a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, announced it would categorically decline to proceed in any further negotiations with the majority, unless ICE actions were suspended. This effectively threatens the Continuing Resolution (CR) currently in effect and raises the possibility of another government shutdown next Friday, January 30, when the CR expires.

The combined videos taken by a Minneapolis motorist, from the store, and by other bystanders in the street who happened to be present while ICE was macing a woman, depicted the harrowing sequence. The video evidence completely disproved Department of Homeland Security claims that Pretti was intentionally attempting to ambush or disrupt ICE agents’ activities. There is no evidence of Pretti either drawing a weapon he purportedly had on his person or interacting with agents. It was reported that he had a license to carry a firearm. However, a license to carry firearms is a Second Amendment right and not a justification for any law enforcement to kill a citizen.

The sequence lasted about 20 seconds, too short a time for there to be any reasonable attempt by agents to warn Pretti to leave or to afford him his legally established rights which law enforcement officers typically follow during enforcement actions. The video also demonstrates that the framework in which ICE agents are now operating is completely outside any established lawful procedure.

The incident angered Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz who posted this statement on Bluesky: “I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”demanded the White House immediately remove ICE from the city. He later activated the Minnesota Army National Guard.

We will update this story as it is continuing and developments are occurring by the hour.

This story was clarified to reflect more details of the shooting.

Sunday, January 25, 2026 Update

More video continues to circulate of Saturday’s federal agency shooting of Minneapolis citizen Alex Pretti. It shows that Pretti was not an aggressor. It further damns DHS claims Pretti was brandishing a weapon which DHS claimed on Saturday after agents assaulted and shot him as he was on the ground.

A gofundme had already amassed $475,000.00 by Sunday morning for Pretti’s memorial, over 20 times the initial request of $20,000.00. Donations continued to go to the charity.

The donation link is here.

On Saturday afternoon a Trump appointed Federal Judge granted an immediate Temporary Restraining Order that all evidence gathered at the scene of the shooting be preserved. The TRO had immediate effect.

The post Federal Agents Kill Another Minneapolis Citizen In Cold Blood appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Arlington, VA—They came in the bitter cold to leave flowers and notes beneath the mural of the dead. By the afternoon locals had lain flowers and roses on the sidewalk beneath the mural. The flora had by then frozen and wilted in the cold but the notes remained. “For I was a stranger and you welcomed me—Mathew 25:36,” read one note. “No One Deserves This,” read another.

Some of the pictures of the dead were already gone by the next day, either blown off the wall by the stiff cold wind during the night before, or taken down by someone eager to save a memento of the slain. For what had been 36 photos dwindled to 30. There was talk about replacing them amongst the creators. But would the replacements remain?

“For The Dead and The Living We Must Bear Witness”

Maybe the mural itself was not meant to last. Maybe the missing photos were in a better place and were never meant to be displayed on a billboard in the first place. Certainly the creators and team that put them there had intended them to remain displayed as a permanent reminder that they existed. Perhaps the photos were instead meant to be taken down and rescued from that cold place—to be preserved by someone needing them as a comfort in their bereavement.

Some forms of grief are rather strange and comparatively different from the norm. But what is a norm? Each grieves differently and so each must accept the ways of others in their bereavement. Who is to tell what is the normal way to grieve and what bereavement should look like?

In the moment of death of our own kin, we are forced to accept their absence forever. But the calculated killings by ICE are not being accepted by Minneapolis, for they are not required to accept them. They mustn’t accept them. So they are resisting them. They are resisting them with every fiber of their existence. Because there can be others. There will be others. They must resist them both for the living and for the dead.

Elie Weisel wrote, “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” Why did he write that and what did he mean by it?

Weisel was a survivor of the holocaust. He survived Auschwitz to bear witness to it. The Nazis sent him there because his family was Jewish. But he survived and witnessed incalculable inhumanity. He later became a famous author who wrote about the indifference of others to atrocities. He became a messenger for peace and later he won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work. He understood why it was imperative to remember the dead so the atrocity of the Holocaust would not be repeated.

ICE Has Morphed Into A Killing Machine

Every day, with each jump-out assault or deliberate attack against citizens that are nearby monitoring ICE actions, with each kidnapping and disappearance; with each needless spray of gas and chemicals into neighborhoods and onto protesters’ faces, and with every warrantless arrest of citizens exercising First Amendment rights or immigrants here legally, ICE inches the nation towards the unthinkable. It has become a barbaric machination of violence and oppression.

Green card holders are being taken, disappeared, and sent to ICE camps because of their race. The Department of Homeland Security has cast immigrants as criminals for being in the U.S. when their presence here is legal. Their reasoning that migrants have broken laws and are criminals by crossing the border is actually not a serious crime but a misdemeanor and immigration judges have been set up to determine the legality of immigrants in the cases of overstaying their visas and migrants seeking sanctuary.

These cases are not criminal matters. DHS reasoning and methods for taking them without warrants is the actual crime because it violates a basic principle of denying due process.

Statements from ICE about who immigrants are and about their character and the draconian methods they are using in their detention are like the statements and justifications the Nazis issued to justify persecuting, disappearing, and murdering Jews.

ICE camps are similar in degree to the Nazi concentration camps because the disappeared are dying there or possibly killed there and there can be no justification for it. There is no collective will in the leadership of the Nation to stop the runaway ICE machine so one can only conclude that it is condoned. The congress is in the negotiation stage of increasing DHS funding to a record $1.5 trillion.

ICE camps are kept locked from view and deliberately hidden from the rightful oversight they require by minority lawmakers seeking knowledge of the conditions inside the camps. This is because DHS does not want the truth about the camp conditions to be viewed or reported. Without oversight, how are the people to know truthfully that what is happening inside those closed spaces where 36 have perished.

What is known is that what ICE is illegally doing on the streets can be verified because citizens and independent media are available to video record events. The brutal actions of ICE on city streets, cannot be better than what is happening in the closed spaces of the camps where no one can bear witness.

“If There Is No Justice For The People…”

At the end of the banner, set apart from the tableau of the slain depicted, is another wheat pasted photo although this one is much smaller and easy to miss. A photo of Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican revolutionary, is also on the wall.

An iconic figure in Mexican history, Zapata organized a robust agrarian resistance movement of the agrarian peasants which became known as the Zapatistas. He led them to fight wealthy land grabbers attempting to dominate the peasant class. He eventually inspired them to defeat the wealthy class and governmental dominating over the agrarian peasants during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. He was assassinated in 1919 but his legacy of leading resistance of the people to an oppressive government still lives on. His vision of giving control of land to workers was eventually realized. But it came to be decades after he lived.

In the spirit of Zapata, the banner calls citizens to resist ICE lawlessness. In the spirit of Weisel, it calls citizens forward to speak out against ICE lawlessness. As ICE lawlessness and violence escalates and spreads to other States, citizens have no other choice.

The post Arlington Community Turns Mural of ICE Victims Into a Shrine appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Arlington, VA—Mix wheat and water and boil and you get a powerful concoction that can be used to wage an information war against the country’s most dangerous gang—Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And that’s what an anonymous grassroots group did in Arlington Virginia on Monday night after a week of planning and coordination. It put up a mural of all the ICE victims in 2025-6.

They created 36 images of those killed or slain while in ICE custody over the past year and wheat pasted them into a mural on the side of a prominent building on Columbia Pike. The building on which the mural is wheat pasted sees thousands of motorists passing by each day on their way out of Washington DC.

The action was taken in response to ICE targeting of brown and asian immigrants and the senseless killing of Renee Nicole Good two weeks ago.

The entire action took a week to organize and was carried out late when no one was around. It took the group less than 15 minutes to execute—to roll the wheat pasted onto the side of the building and affix the posters of the victims—too small a time frame for law enforcement to respond.

Don’t worry about vandalism though. They had the consent of the owner and agreed not to deface the building itself but added the mural to plywood at the site.

A spokesperson from the anonymous group told DCMediaGroup that multiple people took part in the action but did not want to identify the group or the people involved out of concern of response or harassment from ICE or other federal law enforcement agencies.

A different nation-wide grassroots group distributed the photos but an artist in this particular Arlington group designed the frame and artwork around the photos.

”We as a group wanted to make a prominent statement by dedicating a mural and memorial for victims that ICE murdered either in cold blood, while in detention, or by denying medical care, in 2025,” the spokesperson said.

ICE continues to ramp up its siege in Minneapolis, rounding up, kidnapping, and disappearing immigrants legally in the U.S. as well as arresting U.S. citizens and detaining them without warrants and without due process. It has created throughout Minneapolis a remarkably strong resistance in response, one which ICE is having trouble contending with. For example in many businesses owners and staff are posting signs reading “ICE Get Out.”

With each draconian measure ICE takes against citizens exercising their First Amendment rights, comes more video depicting ICE brutality, which in turn spurs more citizens to actively participate in resistance activities against ICE. The action taken on Monday night demonstrates that citizens can challenge ICE lawlessness without directly confronting ICE agents directly.

Another lesson is to always record ICE actions in their entirety and keep the camera steady.

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