The wife of an old friend of mine was touting the Hands Off demonstration in their little town in upstate New York, one of hundreds of rallies across the country that drew hundreds of thousands of people.
Another old friend of mine wrote: “Amazes me how people will spend hours and days on something they have no control over.”
As someone who has participated in civil rights and antiwar demonstrations for decades, I heartily disagree.
The Weekly Sift guy asked on Monday, Is this a turning point?
Marathon
The previous “Monday, Cory Booker began his record-setting 25-hour speech in the Senate, making the case that ‘the country is in crisis'”. The Boston Globe (likely paywall) gave 13 ways of looking at it.
“It was a full-throated expression of outrage.
“It was a display of leadership.” Compare and contrast Chuck Schumer’s recent track record. As a pundit noted: “Any Democratic senator could have done what Cory Booker did, but only Cory Booker did it.”
“It was a superb piece of oratory. Even in his 25th hour, Booker was an elegant speaker, crafting and repeating memorable phrases. ‘This is a moral moment,’ he said. ‘It’s not left or right. It’s right or wrong.’
“It was at once political and transcendent of politics. Booker repeatedly appealed to Republicans to join Democrats in refusing to normalize the administration’s overreach.
“It was an act of physical stamina. Booker spent 25 hours on his feet, with no food or even a bathroom break — a pointed demonstration of strength and vigor in a party that has been criticized for having only leaders who are too old and/or too weak.
Brilliant
“If it was in some part a stunt, it was a brilliant one. If Booker’s speech was designed to capture attention, it accomplished its purpose. If it was intended to inspire and hearten a dejected party, and to speak for and to an angry American public, it accomplished its purpose.
“It included an acknowledgment of past mistakes. This was a neat mix of honesty, humility, realism, and shrewdness. By admitting that the Democrats had made mistakes in the past… Booker was striking a blow against ‘whataboutism.’
“It was a call to action. Above all, the speech was an exhortation to Americans not to let anger and alarm lead to paralyzing despair… He quoted John Lewis: “He said for us to go out and cause some good trouble, necessary trouble, to redeem the soul of our nation.”
Protest
Weekly Sift: “Tuesday, voters in Wisconsin… resoundingly rejected a Trump-supported candidate for the state supreme court…
“Saturday, “Hands Off” protest rallies took place in 1400 locations across the country. 800,000 people signed up for the protests, making the organizers’ claim that millions participated credible.
One Gal’s Musing one of my Sunday Stealing compatriots, wrote from the Chicago area: Yes, we live in a nation where Medicare, Social Security, medical research and free speech at universities need defending from our own President…It was peaceful, it was serious, and it helped me feel empowered, less alone, and less like I’m living in Berlin before The War.
Meanwhile, “New York state officials have formally rejected the Trump administration’s order that public schools certify they have ended diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, potentially putting federal education funding on the line…
Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner for the New York State Education Department: “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”
Hope
The demonstrations give cover to those folks who voted for FOTUS but now have buyer’s remorse. “Yes, you made an…unfortunate choice, but now we need to get democracy back.”
I surely feel better than I did at the end of January. It will take a while – my favorite MAGA gauge is still hanging tough – but A Change Is Gonna Come sooner rather than later.
David Brooks wrote in The Atlantic: “Until January 20, 2025, I didn’t realize how much of my very identity was built on this faith in my country’s goodness—on the idea that we Americans are partners in a grand and heroic enterprise, that our daily lives are ennobled by service to that cause. Since January 20, as I have watched America behave vilely… —I’ve had trouble describing the anguish I’ve experienced.”
Anguish is good. The vile have been there all along; they feel more emboldened. And we need to unembolden them. Foreign Policy’s Michael Hirsh writes: “Smart and strategic trade policy—one that includes surgically targeted tariffs and other threats of trade sanctions—can actually achieve what the president has said is one of his main goals.” Except that he’s seldom been surgical.
During 45’s term, the running joke was that the punditry would declare: “NOW he’s being ‘Presidential,'” until he wasn’t. He’s not going to “grow into the office.” Resistance is necessary as often as possible. Find your local Indivisible group because it is going to be a while…
My late former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Maurice (Mickey) Drown, died on March 24. He began his ministry in the Troy Conference in 1971.
I was going to write a review of Captain America: Brave New World, but I need to talk about a previous storyline, even though I did not see it. 
My old friend Dan asked “Seriously, folks. What do we do with dead friends on FB?” He linked to a Pickles cartoon.
I received the