Kevin Fry

No kings today. No kings ever.

It's time to draw strength from the resistance movements of our past. This (non-postal) stamp is from the Council Against Intolerance in America, which celebrated ethnic & religious diversity, believing it necessary for national unity as we were being drawn into WWII. (Illustration: Rockwell Kent.)

Need a break from the ongoing horrors? I can strongly recommend Jacob Collier's new album, The Light For Days, which contains beautiful, raw acoustic tracks, by turns soothing and emotional. If you need a good cry, this is the album for you. I'll link to the YouTube page with videos for the songs.

I will never set foot as long as I live in the Eva Braun, er, I mean the Melania Trump Opera House. There are plenty of other venues in D.C., but we may need to start building a few more. www.rawstory.com/melania-trum...

They can expect a call from Sigourney Weaver.

I can’t even identify the various formless lumps, except maybe the sad overcooked carrots, and I’m not even sure about them. Perhaps someone with experience with prison food can help me.

Should we start a betting pool on when Trump will discover Richard Nixon's insane Palace Guard uniforms and make his cabinet and Secret Service wear a new MAGA version? Will he get the full getup for himself for the military parade? Does Stephen Miller already have one, which he wears at home?

It's well known that the city surrendered after months of psychological warfare, as the smell of the Zinger Burger wafting over the city walls broke the will of the starving Byzantines.

Can someone explain to me where all the former presidents are as the country they used to lead is being dismantled and the Constitution to which they swore an oath is being abrogated? Were they all deported to an El Salvadorian prison? Seriously. WTF.

Watch out for something like getting Elon Musk to contribute $1 billion for the renovation of the Kennedy Center and giving him permanent naming rights. It would be the Elon Musk Center for American Culture at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. At that point I will never set foot there again.

Serious Q: What organizations have the capacity and experience to organize a Budapest-scale protest in D.C., and how can we get them to do it? In D.C., unlike some other places, hundreds of thousands of people can't just show up. It will require funding, permits, an army of lawyers, etc. Thoughts?

I'm in Virginia and I understand Sen. Warner is squishy on the CR, so I wrote and pointed out that it contains major cuts in highly regarded cancer research (+ other diseases) conducted by the Defense Department. I told him I have stage 4 cancer and would prefer that my senator not vote to kill me.

People should note the ages of people at the town halls. If those ignorant, out-of-touch MFs touch Medicare, Medicaid, or Soc.Sec. in any meaningful way, this will get volatile quickly. As someone who relies on Medicare and Social Security to live, you/they cannot fathom the anger that'll erupt.

Question: Once it's clear the US is no longer extending military protection to its allies, won't that lead to rampant nuclear proliferation as even ostensibly friendly countries try to get their own nukes, since the American nuclear umbrella has been folded up and put in the metaphorical closet?

Democrats need to understand that the SOTU isn't a speech. It's a TV show -- Fascist Theater, designed to humiliate and mock Democrats, with Republicans acting like Greek Chorus of sadistic creeps, and Musk cheerleading form the Gallery. Don't be Zelenskyed! Don't agree to be a prop. You can't win.

Happy Second Great Depression Day everyone!

Not a single Democrat, including leadership, should attend the State of the Union. Instead, simultaneously host “The Real State of the Union” town halls in every district and state, where citizens share their stories and concerns. Force the networks into a split screen presentation during the speech

The plan to cut Soc Sec staff by 50% is absurd. But it's clearly an end-game scenario since it'll require MAGA electeds to grab the third rail and commit harikiri. He's sacrificing the GOP Congress in a one-shot effort to kill the safety net, presumably because he believes he won't need them anymore

We should apply a "broken windows" approach to resistance. Fight & object everywhere, even for the smallest transgressions--especially for those. No battle too small, or big. Resist at a personal level, at city council or school bds, at state leg, with corporate cowards, and at the federal level.

Social media reports that the Kennedy Center cancelled a concert of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington and a Pride-themed concert by the National Symphony Orchestra. Of course the guy in charge of the KenCen is Richard Grenell, who is GAY, and is forced into the ritual betrayal of his own people.

I never thought I'd be doomscrolling about actual doom.

I know we're all mad at the congressional Dems, but where the hell are Obama and Clinton? American democracy is on life support and they won't even visit it in the hospital.

Since D leaders are useless, no reason why prog AND moderate House & Sen D's willing to fight can't work together to unify messaging. Easy to go around leaders since they have no charisma or media presence. Step into the breach on TV & socials and shove themselves to the front. Follow AOC lead.

The reality is that, due to our idiotic system, we're trapped for the next 4 years in the disordered mind of a psychopath and can't escape. We're stuck in a dysfunctional marriage where Daddy is starting to hurt the kids. What would you advise a friend stuck like that? That's the convo we must have.

I think this day of my dad, who served as a navigator on B-17s during WW2--one of the war's most dangerous jobs. He willingly risked his life fighting fascism abroad. If he were alive, he'd be heartbroken that after defeating fascism abroad, at noon today it will just walk in through the front door.

The weather here in DC for the inaugural is likely to be bitter cold and windy, with wind chills near zero. And somehow, my thoughts turn to William Henry Harrison. No reason.

Why does this whole thing have the flavor of the Soviet takeover of Eastern European countries, where they'd force out the existing power structure and bureaucrats and install their own apparatchiks? It feels like what would've happened if Red Dawn had gone the other way. Where are our Wolverines!?

What amazes me about Gaetz, Hegseth, and others with a graveyard of skeletons in their closet is that they know what they've done, they know others know what they've done, they know there's a high likelihood of exposure, yet they put themselves up for positions where that becomes a certainty. Why?