In spite of very \u201cunspringlike\u201d weather, there was substantial turnout for No Kings #3 in Owego. The number given was 600 something which seems somewhat high but hopefully not too far off the mark. <\/p>\n
The rally started with a march up Front Street from Ahwaga Park at 12:30. A number of us stood on the bridge side with the main rally and speakers by the Veteran’s Monument, which ran from 1 to 3 p.m. Hats off to Kevin Millar, Marita Florini, and the Tioga County Democratic Committee for all the organizational work they did to make this successful. <\/p>\n
The national effort is spearheaded by the group Indivisible and the National Democratic Committee. Special thanks to musician Mike Tucson Farro for providing great music in spite of the weather. I was hoping to play some soprano saxophone but that wasn’t going to happen.<\/p>\n
The response from people driving by was overwhelmingly positive, which says something since we are in \u201cMAGA Land.\u201d There was one individual who leaned on his horn excessively. Let\u2019s give the group Indivisible plenty of credit for getting this many people out in the street. There is certainly more than enough reasons given the track record of Trump 2.0 for this level of outrage.<\/p>\n
For those of you who missed the rally for whatever reason and don’t want to wait another three months for the next one, a group of us are on the Courthouse Square from 4 to 5 p.m. every Monday (weather conditions permitting). This is a revival of a vigil, demonstration, and protest that Tioga Peace and Justice conducted in response to the invasion of Iraq in 2004. The Rev. Len Bjorkman was the driving force behind this. He was a social justice advocate throughout his entire career; may he Rest in Peace. Come on out for an hour every Monday afternoon to let Tioga County know that the country is moving in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
Estimates run into the 8 million range for the number who came out nationwide, which included a number of protests in foreign countries. While it is certainly wonderful seeing this many people out in the street exercising their First Amendment Rights, I’m concerned by what this will mean in the long run. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s wave our magic wand and put the Democrats back in the House of Representatives and the US Senate (can we dream). Exactly what is that going to mean? What kind of policy changes will be advocated? There will certainly be less of the craziness, the stupidity, the inhumanity and the meat cleaver approach to reducing government services but is this all we can expect?<\/p>\n
At various points in US history, third parties have played a significant role in our elections. There was the Liberty Party before the Civil War that helped push a stronger anti-slavery stand from the Republicans at that time. In the late 19th c. and early part of the 20th c. there were Farm-Labor, Populist, Prohibition and Socialist parties. More recently the Greens, the Progressives, the Libertarians, and the Worker-Family Party. However, the Republicans and the Democrats have things pretty well sewn up although we do have two Independents in the Senate: Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders from Vermont.<\/p>\n
Unless you have been hired to promote party propaganda, both parties are in a state of turmoil. (\u201cA pox on both your houses\u201d as Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet.) Although Trump is still head of the Republican Party and those that identify as MAGA are still maintaining loyalty, (currently in the neighborhood of 85%), there has been some serious erosion of late and the erosion is coming from some very high profile individuals: Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Anne Coulter, Megan Kelly, Lauren Boebert and Candace Owens to name a few. <\/p>\n
Joseph Kent, Trump’s former head of National Counter Intelligence, had this to say in his resignation letter: \u201cAs a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking at the Democrats reminds one of Will Rogers’ saying \u201cI am a member of no organized political party. I am a Democrat.\u201d Yes there is an organized Democratic party but there is no leader. There are the corporate, establishment Democrats, \u201crun of the mill\u201d Democrats, those that use the \u201cprogressive\u201d label, those that use the \u201cjustice\u201d label and then there is the \u201csquad.\u201d Jon Stewart does a great impression of mimicking the hand-wringing toadiness of Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n
So if the Dems win back the House of Representatives and the Senate, where do they go from here? If the Dems think that all they need to do is engage in a retread of the policies of the Clintons, Obama, Biden and Harris, they should think again. <\/p>\n
When a reporter asked Kamala Harris what she would have done differently had she sat in the Oval Office her response was \u201cthere is not a thing that comes to mind . . . .\u201d <\/p>\n
I don’t know if this was the kiss of death for her campaign but it certainly didn’t gain her any votes and a lot of people decided \u201cwhy bother.\u201d Kamala Harris is not a stupid person. You mean to tell me that all the time she was riding shotgun, all she wanted to do was rubber stamp the decisions from her boss? This is why millions of Americans voted for Trump 3X (although at least one woman publicly admitted to being an idiot).<\/p>\n
The Harris campaign spent almost $2 billion between direct campaign spending and contributions by outside groups. The Democratic National Committee did an autopsy of why the 2024 election was so disappointing. Don’t you think everyone should know what their \u201cthink tank experts\u201d had to say before they send out more junk mail or emails or social media messages asking for more money? The report sits on a shelf.<\/p>\n
We are in MAGA country. We have farmers and \u201ccountry folk\u201d that are friends and neighbors. This is the way many of them feel: \u201cThe Washington elite don’t give a rat’s ass what happens to us people out in the boonies. It doesn’t matter which party they belong to. They just want our resources and hope we keep working until we’re disabled or we’re dead. We watch our young people go to the urban areas to find work or they join the military because that’s the only way they can afford a college education. It’s called \u2018economic conscription.\u2019 Look it up in the dictionary. Hopefully they don’t get caught up in some foreign fiasco that might get them killed or emotionally or physically scared for the rest of their lives.\u201d <\/p>\n
Think about this when there is a No Kings Rally #4.<\/p>\n
For those of you who are interested, after the demonstration, protest, and vigil that happens on Monday afternoon, you can go to Luca’s Lounge at 169 Main St. in Owego for open mic night from 5 to 9 p.m. A variety of local musicians share their talents along with people who might share their poetry, their stories or maybe just get something off their chest. <\/p>\n
The counter culture is alive and well in Owego.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Ed Nizalowski<\/p>\n
Newark Valley, N.Y.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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