curated news excerpts & citations
Anne Applebaum: Will the Beacon Go Dark?
What happens when “democracy” isn’t part of our identity anymore?
Millions of Americans have just joined one of more than 2700 No Kings demonstrations across the country. I went to observe the DC march, and found a lot of homemade signs, a wide range of people, many different kinds of opinions and a gentle, cheerful vibe …
The next day, the president posted an AI video showing himself as a pilot, wearing a crown, literally dumping sh*t on protesters from the air: A clear statement of what he feels about Americans exercising their rights to free assembly and free speech.
Just in time, the Atlantic has published an issue entitled The Unfinished Revolution to mark in advance the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution, a much older No Kings Rally. …
My contribution is an essay asking what it would mean, and not only for Americans, if “democracy” is no longer a part of our national identity.
(Anne Applebaum more…)
John Pavlovitz: Every Day is No Kings Day
Jack Hopkins: NSPM-7: The Quiet Memo That Could Muzzle a Nation
Why a new “counter-terrorism” order could quietly turn civic life inside out…and what every free citizen needs to understand before it’s too late.
Cleve Jones: “This Is Our Country”
The pronouns I use the most are the ones probably understood the least by those in the White House today. They are WE, US and OURS.
We are in this together.
And it is up to us to be the leaders we need to save our country and our democracy.
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – October 19, 2025
All last week, Republican leaders tried to portray the No Kings protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18, as “Hate America” rallies. G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers partnered with Atlanta-based science newsroom The Xylom to estimate that as many as 8.2 million people turned out yesterday to oppose the Trump administration. The mood at the protests was joyful and peaceful, with protesters holding signs that championed American principles of democracy, free speech, equality, and the rule of law. …
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Several administration videos and images have responded to Americans saying “No Kings” by taking the position “Yes, We Want Kings,” an open embrace of the end of democracy.
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How much difference will the No Kings Day protests, even as big as they were, make in the face of the administration’s attempt to get rid of our democratic political system and replace it with authoritarianism? What good is an inflatable frog against federal agents?
Scholar of social movements Lisa Corrigan noted that large, fun marches full of art and music expand connections and make people more willing to take risks against growing state power. They build larger communities by creating new images that bring together recognizable images from the past in new ways, helping more people see themselves in such an opposition. The community and good feelings those gatherings develop help carry opposition through hard moments. Corrigan notes, too, that yesterday “every single rally (including in the small towns) was bigger than the surrounding police force available. That kind of image event is VERY IMPORTANT if you’re…demonstrating social coherence AGAINST a fascist government and its makeshift gestapo.”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
- S.F. Chronicle: CHP cruiser on I-5 hit by shrapnel during Marine Corps event attended by JD Vance
Task & Purpose: Marine artillery shell detonates over freeway during Camp Pendleton event
Marines are investigating after a 155mm artillery round exploded over Interstate 5, hitting California Highway Patrol vehicles with shrapnel.
(Task & Purpose more…)NY Times: Artillery Shell Detonated Over Interstate 5 During Marines’ Celebration, California Officials Say
The mishap, during an anniversary celebration for the Marine Corps attended by the vice president and defense secretary, underscores safety concerns that Gov. Gavin Newsom voiced before Saturday’s event at Camp Pendleton.
(NY Times more…)Daily Beast: Newsom Explodes at White House After Artillery Fiasco at Vance’s Big Day Out
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Intercept: “Antifa” Protesters Charged With Terrorism for Constitutionally Protected Activity
After shots were fired at a protest against ICE, federal prosecutors pursued guilt-by-association charges against two protesters.
(Intercept more…)
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Jonathan Cohn: The Actual Human Beings Caught in the Shutdown Vise
There’s a reason so many people need help paying for their health insurance.
REPUBLICANS STILL WANT YOU TO BELIEVE that the government shutdown is all about Democrats trying to subsidize insurance companies and illegal aliens—and propping up what Republicans say is a failed government program, Obamacare.But at its core the Democratic party’s demand has always been about something else, something much simpler. They want to help millions of Americans who will have to pay a lot more for their health care if Congress doesn’t act.
Lindsay Corley is one of those people.
(Jonathan Cohn more…)
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Washington Post: Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal
In the days before the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador, the president of that country demanded something for himself: the return of nine MS-13 gang leaders in U.S. custody.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a March 13 phone call with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, promised the request would be fulfilled, according to officials familiar with the conversation. But there was one obstacle: Some of the MS-13 members Bukele wanted were “informants” under the protection of the U.S. government, Rubio told him.
To deport them to El Salvador, Attorney General Pam Bondi would need to terminate the Justice Department’s arrangements with those men, Rubio said. He assured Bukele that Bondi would complete that process and Washington would hand over the MS-13 leaders.
(Washington Post more…)
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KVUE: UT professor ousted from admin role over ‘ideological differences’
“We must end indoctrination and return to education fundamentals at all levels of education,” Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Austin American-Statesman: ‘Inflection point’: leadership shakeups over ideological differences continue at UT
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Jess Piper: Jake Brakes and Jackboots
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It was a cottonmouth that had bitten his boot while he was fishing — the snake was stuck in the leather boot. He had walked all the way from the pond with a poisonous snake attached so we could all see it.
…Papa would have recognized that fascism was a threat to his way of life and to that of his children and all of their offspring. He was rural to the bone and country to the soul, but he knew right from wrong better than most. No matter the political party.
…That’s why I attended a No Kings rally and protest in Kansas City on Saturday. That’s why I spoke at two different events in between the No Kings rally this weekend.
(Jess Piper more…)
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Your Local Epidemiologist: Lead in protein powders. What you need to know
ABC: Ancient lead exposure may have helped humans evolve over Neanderthals, study finds
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Borowitz: George Soros Declares Bankruptcy After Paying No Kings Protesters
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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