No Kings 3, Saint Paul

There were somewhere around 200,000 people at No Kings 3 in Saint Paul today. People were coming to the Capitol for three or four hours between at least 11:00 a.m. and well after 2:00 p.m., when the official program was said to start.

First, here's the sign I brought:

I went to the Western Sculpture Park, one of the rally points for people to gather to begin a march to the Capitol. It was the one closest to the Green Line light rail train, and also to Daughter Number Three-Point-One's house, so we walked from there.  

These are things we saw at the Sculpture Park:

 

Yes, that is the giant Constitution you may have seen in coverage of the general strike march in Minneapolis this winter.

These three are from the Capitol grounds:

It was really windy, which made it a great day for flags.

I didn't take very many photos on the Capitol grounds because it was just so crowded, you either couldn't move or were trying to avoid colliding with other people. Come to think of it, you generally couldn't see the signs people had, either.

I had to get back to my own neighborhood by 2:45 for an event, unfortunately. After it took us 15 minutes to squeeze through the crowd over a distance equal to only about a block, we decided we'd better turn around and head back earlier than we had planned. 

So we worked our way back to the northwest corner of the Capitol grounds before the official program even got started at 2:00 p.m., and were back at DN3.1's house by 2:15. Very hard to estimate how long things would take. 

As we were walking back to her house, we saw hundreds, maybe thousands of people still streaming into the Capitol area. 

This is a helicopter shot from BlueSky:

The previous large events I've been to at the Capitol have not filled that lower area of lawn the way you can see here (the part past the curved street), and they also were not packed as tightly as it was today.

I believe the 200,000 figure I've seen reported.
 

Happy Birthday, DC Metro!

I learned from Yonah Freemark, principal research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute, that today is the semi-centennial of the Washington, D.C. Metro system.

Happy birthday to the Washington Metro, which opened 50 years ago today with service on 4.6 miles of Red Line between Rhode Is. Ave and Farragut N. System now serves 130 miles.

The DC Metro shows that, with good planning and enough investment, the public sector can succeed and build something extraordinary. 

I can't imagine the time I lived in Washington without the Metro, even though I didn't even live particularly close to it — and the system was probably half that size at the time. 

This reminds me of one of my favorite (well, unfavorite) facts I've learned recently: When the U.S. interstate system was built, only 10% of its miles were within cities, but that 10% cost half of the money spent. As Eisenhower envisioned the system, it would not have gone into the cities, but instead would have only connected to the edges. 

If the money spent on urban freeways had instead been spent on subways, it could have built the equivalent of 36 Paris Metro systems.

That startling fact comes from a new report (summarized here on Bloomberg) that "offers a wealth of original data on the economic toll of downtown freeways, and the economic potential of tearing them down."

One More Thing

Posted by John Gramlich of the Pew Research Center, reporting the gist of a Politico story: 

89% – percentage of disaster aid requests Trump has approved for states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators

23% – percentage of disaster aid requests Trump has approved for states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators

This is one of the many things about the Trump regime I wouldn't have believed was possible.

It makes me remember this short clip from the Rachel Maddow Show on Monday (only viewable on BlueSky).

She begins, talking about the past No Kings Day events as a preface to the one scheduled this weekend. Then she lists off some of the unbelievable things Trump has inflicted on this country just since the last event in October — not quite six months ago. 

As bad as Maddow's list is, it's extremely incomplete (for instance, there's no mention of Trump's corrupt self-dealing, or RFK's actions!). It also doesn't mention this withholding of disaster aid to his "enemy" states. 

There are just so many impeachable offenses, it's not possible to include them all. He and his cronies have flooded the zone with shit, as they intended. Just like his AI fighter jet video showed.

A Local Post for No Kings Day on Saturday

Advice from a Metro Transit employee for this weekend's activities.

Making your way to the Capitol area on transit this Saturday? Here’s what you need to know before heading out the door.

• Pay your fare: $2 for 2.5 hours of rides. 
• Insider hint: Plan ahead and purchase an All-Day Pass through the Metro Transit app. All-Day Passes cost $2 to $4 and allow you to take as many rides as you need through 2 a.m. the next day.

If you take the Metro B, Gold or Green lines, pay before you board. If you take other bus routes, pay as your board. If you have a Go-To card or stored value transit card, tap your card on the reader at the station or on the buses. 

Be kind: Please give up your seat if someone needs more stability while they ride. The seats located at the front of the bus are for those who may have accessibility challenges.

Yes, you may have to wait. Metro Transit is attempting to meet the demand with extra buses and trains, but they can only do so much! After the event, consider supporting local businesses and enjoy the restaurants in the area and then go home at a later time. [DN3 says, I did this after the gigantic Women's March in 2017 and it was a good idea, and also fun.]

Remember, the train operators, bus drivers, TRIP Agents and Ambassadors are there to help you.
TRIP Agents may ask you to show you've paid your fare. Just show them and they move on

Transit service recommendations

• From the west, take the Metro Green Line, Metro B Line or routes 3 or 94.
• From the east, take the Metro Gold Line to downtown St. Paul, then transfer to the Metro Green Line. Routes 54, 62, 67, 68, and 71, among others, can also get you close to the Capitol Mall.

Temporary detours and delays are likely. Stay up to date by signing up for text/email alerts here.

Questions? Visit the website at metrotransit.org, text 612-444-1161 or call 612-373-3333.

This part is from me. 

Event schedule

Rallies start at 12:00 noon at three locations that surround downtown Saint Paul and the Capitol, with marches converging on the Capitol by 2:00 p.m. The main program is at the Capitol starting at 2:00 p.m. Expect quite a number of people to go directly to the Capitol.

Everyone expects the biggest name people (speakers, performers) to be at the Capitol, but I have heard that at least some of the named speakers will also appear at rally locations. 

That said, here are more specific transit instructions to the four locations: 

• To St. Paul College: Metro B Line or Route 72 are closest.
• To the Western Sculpture Park: Metro Green Line or Route 3 are closest. 
• To Harriet Island: Routes 62 or 75 are closest. The 94 express bus is not a bad option for anyone coming from Minneapolis. The closest stop is at Cedar Street. Walk back a little more than a block to Wabasha, then left (south) to the river (about three blocks). Cross the bridge to Harriet Island. Many other buses that go through downtown are similarly close to Harriet Island.
• To the Capitol: Metro Green Line or Route 3 are closest. Routes 54, 62, 67, 68, and 71, among others, can get you close to the Capitol Mall.

Plan ahead. And bring friends!

Two Tuberculosis Heroes

As a person who grew up in the latter half of the 20th century in the U.S., I've never given a lot of thought to tuberculosis, except in historical novels. I remember I had to have a tine test to check for the disease before I entered college, but that's about it. 

Yesterday was World Tuberculosis Day, though, and a person I follow shared a couple of links with information on two different people who made significant medical progress against the disease. They were more or less contemporaries of each other. 

One was Florence Seibert, a biochemist who co-isolated the protein that causes TB. Then through her own work, she refined the process for what's called purified protein derivative (PPD), which allowed for a simple, reliable test. 

In addition to her best-known work, Seibert was a woman who earned a Ph.D. in a scientific field from an Ivy League school (in 1923), wore leg braces as a result of childhood polio, created a safe, uncontaminated process for intravenous therapy during the early years of her career, and was honored with many awards. The University of Pennsylvania finally made her a full professor in the last four years of her 37 years there. Thanks, Penn!

Before Seibert's work, as I said, there was no simple test for TB. 

Alan Hart, a medical doctor and radiologist, was a pioneer in the use of X-rays to diagnose TB before Seibert's work. Early detection was critical, because it meant possible treatment as well as slowing its contagious spread: TB does not have symptoms until it has advanced too far. 

Hart created X-ray clinics in Idaho, published and lectured widely to lower the stigma associated with the disease, and later created a model TB screening program in Connecticut. 

In addition to his medical degree, Hart earned master's degrees in radiology and public health. He also found time to write four novels. And he was the first known trans man in the U.S. to undergo hysterectomy (1917). 

It's ironic (if that's the correct word) that the state of Idaho probably wouldn't let him use a public restroom of his choice today, even though he saved the lives of who knows how many of the state's residents. 

F Is for Fascist

You may have heard that a new coin has been approved to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Rather than portraying some of the usual symbols of this country, the gold (gold!) coin will inflict us with the currently living president's image:

As a recent Washington Post column by Philip Kennicott (gift link) put it, 

Trump faces the viewer straight on, instead of the more traditional side angle or three-quarter view. For millennia, profile images on coins suggested an outwardly directed vision, a leader surveying the world and looking to the horizons for both danger and possibility. Trump’s image functions more like a confrontation: He stares down the viewer, forcing a choice between accepting his authority or becoming his enemy.

Various wags on BlueSky have suggested it looks as though the grim Trump is having a bowel movement. Or that his stance suggests he is holding the grips of a walker, rather than leaning on a table.

For me, as a type-oriented person, I keep looking at the way the letter "E" in LIBERTY emerges from his head in a way that all but completely hides the lowest horizontal bar. This makes it look like an F. (Maybe we can call it the F-Head coin.)

On the coin's reverse, is an

"American eagle bearing neither the usual arrows and olive branch that symbolize war and peace but the wooden yoke of the Liberty Bell — a bit like an aggressive seagull making off with your hot dog." 

It is a "bellicose eagle whose clearly rendered talons echo the forward placement of Trump’s hands."

Kennicott goes on to explain that it was Julius Caesar who first had his image inscribed on a coin, and it was controversial when he did it, too. A contemporaneous historian

included the use of his image on coins among Caesar’s most egregiously self-aggrandizing acts leading up to his assassination.

“It is this moment when you see a transition from the collective ‘we,’ meaning the Republic, to the ‘them,’ to the individual, and you start seeing emperors putting image on coins,” [an American coin curator] said.

Caesar's actions were on the minds of Congress when they passed the Thayer Amendment in 1866, which prevented inclusion of living people on U.S. paper currency. Somehow, coins were not included in their action, but living people have not been shown on coins except in one instance Kennicott cites. In that case, "A lot of [the coins] were returned and melted down" because people did not like them. 

When the Trump design was approved, 

not one member of the Commission of Fine Arts — now stacked with Trump loyalists — objected to the legality or symbolism of the coin, or its egregious breach of democratic norms. They voted to approve it, and encouraged the U.S. Mint “to make it as large as possible,” because the president likes big things.

What a child. What a buffoon. And of course, what a would-be fascist dictator. 

He deserves the F he has designed for himself. 

Jamelle, Talking

I love Jamelle Bouie. And in addition to his writing, I love that he makes videos and doesn't try to make them perfect.

This 8.5 minute example is called "The Oligarchs Are Evil, Venal and Dumb as Hell":

It has always been thus, he concludes. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." And "it makes me very frustrated." 

Talking About Immigration

Lately, I've gotten very selective about which of the few podcasts I have in my phone that I ever get around to listening to. Ostensibly, I'm interested in all of them or I wouldn't have them automatically downloading, but as I think I've said before, listening to other people talk just doesn't fit into my life all that well, no matter how much I like the host(s). 

Here's one I gave a chance: "Why Is This Happening," Chris Hayes talking with David Bier, director of immigration at the Cato Institute. As you probably know, Cato is libertarianism central and not usually my cup of tea, but I knew Cato had recently published a study on the positive effect of immigration (whether legal or illegal). 

So what would Bier have to say about immigration under Trump 2.0? 

It's all worth listening to, but here are a couple of key takeaways:

• In the year before 1924, when immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, 98% of them were allowed into the U.S. This is the type of process many people's families went through when they say their ancestors had to come here "the right way." The various parts of my family, for instance.
• In contrast, during what some people call the "open borders Biden" years, just 3% of people who wanted to immigrate to the United states got in. That small percent includes refugees. It also included spouses and children of American citizens. 
• U.S. immigration law changed in 1924, restricting admission based on racist policies, until 1965 when the law was changed again.

During those so-called open-border Biden years, there was essentially no path to legal immigration as it would have been thought of in the early 20th century. CATO created an online game based on the 2024 rules (remember, the rules are much more restrictive now). It was basically impossible to come here legally even under the 2024 rules. 

Yet it's not uncommon for some Americans to think undocumented people are just lazy and not following an obvious, easy process.

This part is mostly quoted from Bier speaking in the podcast. Some of it might be paraphrased or condensed:

If you ask regular people to design an immigration process from the ground up, it never looks anything like what we currently have. 

[The current U.S. process] focuses on whether someone has exceptional ability or extraordinary ability... which costs billions of dollars to analyze, vs. asking, is this person a threat to the country, are they going to be able to support themselves when they get here? 

Those are reasonable questions to answer in an honest system. That is not what our system is about, it's about keeping people out.

If you want people who are hard-working, looking for a better life, not doing harmful things... That's not what we have. 

I think back to my late sister's intractable attitude about immigration and it just doesn't make any sense. It has to come down to xenophobia or racism. Or maybe more simply, some deep-seated fear of contamination. At one point in the podcast, Chris Hayes said something about comparing the fear to people who are neurotic about hand-washing, but he and Bier didn't pursue that. Maybe he was on to something with that. 

Billion with a B

So Trump is asking for $200 billion dollars on top of whatever the regime is already spending to bomb the hell out of Iran for no clear purpose, against all the accumulated strategic wisdom of the past 47 years and counter to the successful negotiations his own people were conducting (though they were likely faking). 

Billion is a hard number to wrap the human mind around. Someone on BlueSky this morning said the U.S. war on Iran was costing us $1.3 million per minute. When I do the math on $2 billion a day (1,440 minutes in a day divided into $2 billion per day), it comes out closer to $1.4 per minute. So yeah. That's not far off. 

$200 billion will last only 100 days at that rate of consumption. And as we all have to assume, $2 billion is only covering the most obvious and direct costs. 

As Jacob T. Levy said on BlueSky,

Is $200 billion a lot to fight a war that’s already been decisively, comprehensively, bigly won? It seems like a lot.

As soon as the regime's $200 billion ask was reported, reaction was swift, countering with — as it should — all the other ways that money could be spent:

Remember when DOGE was destroying foreign aid because it was supposedly too expensive? The entire US foreign aid budget in 2024 was $62 billion.  
Max Boot

Like ten years of annual federal transit spending
bikepedantic

They haven't even given a reason for the war, and are asking for an amount of money that would be like funding the whole EPA for 22 years.
Costa Samaras

$200B, the Pentagon's insane ask for the illegal Iran war, is comparable to all planned spending on energy and climate over *10 years* in Biden's signature bill, which Trumpists almost completely repealed last summer.
Kevin J. Kircher

$200b would buy 100 million ebikes and reduce American gasoline consumption by like a third.
David Weiskopf @dave.bzky.team

GOP and Trump said we didn't have the money to extend ACA health care subsidies- and now millions have no health care coverage and many more are facing crushing costs. So hundreds of billions of dollars to bomb Iran but nothing to help Americans pay for health care.
Nathan Newman

Trump wants $1,600 per household to pay for his "excursion" in Iran. That's equal to 800 Minnesota frauds.
Dean Baker

I guess we can think of this $200 billion (800 Minnesota frauds) as the cost of Trump's decision to nix Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran. And it will likely get higher.
Dean Baker

It would take anywhere from $20–$80 billion to end homelessness in America.
@mauratwit.bsky.social

Meanwhile, news has also come out that the U.S. debt has reached new astronomical heights, as it always does when Republicans are in the White House. 

Because Republicans are the ones who are good at handling the economy and run the government like it's a business.
 

Hermetically Sealed

It's too soon to breathe easy, but it looks like the voter-suppressing SAVE Act will not pass the U.S. Senate. 

I wrote about it a few days ago, and Jamelle Bouie gave it a trouncing a few days later (gift link), including something I had omitted: that it also would kill voting by mail. In addition, he made it even clearer that it allows specifically for the return of Jim Crow voter suppression.

Meanwhile, my MAGA relative continues to insist that it's no big deal since it only affects people have to register or re-register. 

I couldn't resist taking a screen shot of a recent post, with the responses from their like-minded friends:

(Click to better see the post and comments in all their SAVE-supporting glory.)

The fact that no one replies who disagrees reinforces the relative's perspective, of course, but there's a reason no one posts who disagrees. If you do, you get swarmed with illogical and sometimes hateful responses, and they never stop responding. They have to have the last word, and their answers devolve further and further. 

I checked out the profiles of the people who had commented. One woman had a picture of Jesus Christ walking on a beach as her cover photo, while one guy had this:

So that was a bit of divergence. At least he didn't add Jesus to his flag list. 

Locally, we had some good news recently: long-time political cartoonist Steve Sack has returned to the drawing board recently. Find out the whole story here. One of his recent cartoons is about the SAVE Act:

That's the truth of it, as Trump himself has said. I'm glad to have Sack back in the action.

The Emperor's New Clothes

For quite some time — off and on since the Republican Party became the structural support for carrying out any delusion Donald Trump wishes to pretend is reality — I've found myself thinking of the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Emperor's New Clothes." Like many people, I've waited for the moment that will be the equivalent of a little child in the crowd calling out the obvious truth: that our emperor is naked. 

It hasn't happened. 

So instead, I thought I would get my hands on an illustrated copy of the tale to remind myself of how it is told. Looking around online, this 1977 version, retold by Ruth Belov Gross with illustrations by Jack Kent, was most appealing. So I bought a copy:

The thing I had forgotten about the story is that it involves two con men who lie to the king about their ability to make the finest cloth. They say that "everybody knows" about their wondrous cloth, but some people cannot see it, even when they look right at it — because those people are too stupid and bad at their jobs. 

The con men pretend to weave at looms...

...and do a lot of fake sewing of the clothes, all night long.  

Several ministers and finally the emperor himself check out their work as they go along, and though none of these inspectors see any fabric, they each pretend they do. Why? Because they don't want to be thought stupid and bad at their jobs. 

By the time the emperor gets dressed in his new outfit, he appears to be convinced it's real. "My new clothes feel light as a feather," he says. 

As he goes out on procession in front of the people, none of the adults along the parade route say a word about what is — or is not — before their eyes. (The book's text verbally says they are going along with it, but their round eyes in Kent's illustration seem to contradict that.)

Then, on the far right of the illustration, a little child points and says to her mother, "He hasn't got anything on!" 

And suddenly the crowd's consensus shifts:

It's the moment we've all been waiting…and waiting…and waiting for:

Which we in the present day will probably never get — when the emperor realizes he's naked in front of the populace, and he is humiliated, as he should be.

The difference between Andersen's tale and our reality is that the con men in our government are not external actors, fooling the emperor, but the emperor himself and those closest to him. Fooling far too many of our fellow citizens, and fooling or intimidating (or buying off) the Republican Party. 

Plus, Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist, among several other mental deficiencies and personality disorders. 

But it's nice to entertain the fantasy for a little while.
 

Metro Surge by the Numbers

Minnesota 50501 recently gave us Operation Metro Surge by the numbers. As they put it:

Overall, not a very effective operation and these dummies suck at their jobs.

 

So just using DHS's own numbers, that's 1.25 people detained per agent on the streets — for 2.5 months. And that's even if you believe those detention numbers: how many of those are people who were released within hours, for instance? How many were not detained by a DHS agent, but were actually a convicted person turned over by a Minnesota corrections officials?

Note that Saint Paul has also estimated the economic loss to its residents and businesses ($247 million), and it's higher than the $203 million Minneapolis loss because Saint Paul has more immigrants than Minneapolis does.