I hadn’t heard of this gentleman below, but he’s decided enough is enough. It’s not much, but he decided that, basically, that “this aggresssion will not stand, man.” A woman over the weekend said something similar. Both are desperate to do something, anything, to send a message to the clown car of lunatics and cult enablers inside the Beltway. Someone has to.
Monday 6/23 on the capitol lawn with my sign, a synopsis of my day…To say that today was hot, would be a profound understatement. As I anticipated a very warm week, I brought my trusty digital thermometer with me. Believe it or not, it was reasonably comfortable under my umbrella, even though the temperature hovered around 97° all day.My biggest problem where the biting flies who didn’t seem to be deterred in the least by my deep woods off bug repellent. Now what’s up with that? 🧵1/5
Got a ride from Alyssa up to the top of Capitol Hill on the electric cart. When she saw my wagon with all my stuff in it, she asked if I was “the guy with the sign?” When I said yes, she said she was happy to be taking me up to the top of the hill. Alyssa was very accommodating and helpful with my wagon. Apparently, I’ve become well known amongst the locals. 🧵2/5
He adds
That’s the temperature in the shade under my umbrella.
Although both houses are in session today, the parking area in front of the capitol was nearly empty (see photo). There were very few tourists, and fewer than a dozen capitol tour groups. No one came by to chat, except for people I’ve known for the past few months.Mark with his guitar stopped by to say hi. Amber with her sign stopped by a few times to chat as she did multiple loops around the capitol. Jamie Dupree was on his daily circuit around the Capitol to see what’s happening.🧵3/5
The Capitol police walked, what I must assume are their explosive detection dogs, twice around my protest area today. This is not the first time they have walked their dogs very close to my wagon. Intimidation tactics can be very subtle.Did I mention it was a really hot day? I’m not sure I’ve ever appreciated air conditioning as much as I did today. 🧵4/5
Today was an astonishingly quiet day out on the lawn. So ends my 21st day of attempting to shame the shameless.I have consumed my dinner and I’m done writing. It was a long day in the hot sun and now it’s time to relax. I wish everyone a pleasant evening. And I’ll see you tomorrow.🧵5/fin
And that’s it, isn’t it? “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
That’s what we do here every day. Push back, doing what we can in our own little ways. Not because we want to but because we have to.
Sometimes in politics you get run over. But being in the fight means I stopped feeling like road kill decades ago. The antidote to cynicism and despair is stepping back into the fight the way Rick Blaine does at the end of Casablanca.
“Why doesn’t somebody do something?” has become something of a joke question in my house. It’s one of those questions we ask when exasperated over whatever daily outrage comes over the radio, TV, or Web. After hearing the question one too many times, it finally dawned on me that I was somebody. Look at the trouble that’s gotten me into.
Thank you for being in this with us. None of us asked to live in a police state.
