Happy Birthday to James Baldwin

This photo was taken by me at the Women's March in D.C. on January 21, 2017.

"Ignorance Allied with Power Is the Most Ferocious Enemy Justice Can Have."

"Her Body! Her Choice!"

I'm a middle-aged American white guy, so I should have absolutely no say in what any woman decides to do with her body. Period.

Neither should these 25 middle-aged American white guys (The Guardian has supplied mug shots) who voted yesterday in Alabama to outlaw abortion (with sentences of 99 years in an Alabama prison for doctors who perform the procedure) from conception, even in cases of rape and incest (yes, the doctor would get a longer sentence than the rapist).

January 21, 2017. Washington, D.C.

Reading about the men of Alabama blithely stripping away the rights of the women of Alabama, I keep thinking back to the Women's March in D.C. on the day after the current occupant of the White House moved in. We couldn't get near the speakers on Independence Avenue, but sat most of the day perched precariously on top of leftover inauguration-day cyclone fencing just outside the Hirschhorn Museum taking lots of photographs of the massive overflow crowd filling the Mall. One of the most common chants that we heard was "My Body! My Choice!" All of the men in my area would respond with a loud, "Her Body! Her Choice!" That's the echo I keep hearing today. I want to scream it again, but since I'm sitting here alone by a computer, I'll scream it into cyberspace hoping that one of those self-righteous holier-than-thou Alabamian legislators might get the message that women's bodies (in addition to being complete mysteries to them) are also none of their business.

As men we have the right to say, "Her body, her choice," or we can shut the fuck up. Period.

Some of my favorite signs from Saturday's Climate March in D.C.

Continuing a tradition that began here at trueblueliberal.org after the January 21st Women's March, here are a few of my favorite signs from the April 29th People's Climate March in D.C., for those of you who were in a different place in the long line of march ... or who avoided the 92°F temperatures and stayed at home ... or were marching in another city.

Waiting for the March to Begin.

One of many "There is no Planet B" signs.

Parachutes waiting to be deployed.

"Make Siberia Hot Again" (his Russian-accented pro-Trump spiel was  even
better than his sign and his uniform).

"Resist Hell & High Water"

"It's The Planet, Stupid!" and "There Is No Climate Change On This Flat Earth"

"Justice is what love looks like in public. -- Cornell West"

"Homeless. Thanks Trump."

"can't wait under 3 years & 265 days"
and
"Don't Trump On Me"

"Won't Somebody Please Think Of The Children? Stop Global Warming!"

"91° April 'Sad'!"

"Greenhouse gasbag"

"Sick & tired of greedy assholes destroying my home"

"Who Knew? (Everyone but you, Idiot!)"

"Enough Hot Air From Washington. Climate Change Is Real!"

Globe hats.

"Paid Protesters" as far as the eye could see up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Lorax giving the finger and "I can't take this heat -- or another 100 days of this asshole!"

Trumpty Dumpty[?], a JFK quote, and "Ivanka Lives Here Too"

"Mother Earth Says: Keep Your Hands Off My Body!"

"I can't believe I'm protesting for reality!"

Puppets of Trump and a corporate lobbyist passing by the National Archives building.

"He Has A Small Mind Too!"

"Welcome to Mar-A-Lagone!" (with Trump's D.C. Hotel tower in the background)

Giant inflatable cow promoting veganism as it passes Trump's D.C. Hotel.

"THIS IS OUR OM"

"Animal Agriculture Must End For Our Kids' Sake"

Birds taking flight at the corner of 14th and Pennsylvania.

"Lancaster Against Pipelines" and their quilt.

"Don't Worry
Jared Took
Earth Science
He's Got This"

Stilt walker turning from 15th St NW back onto Pennsylvania Avenue.

"The Only Toxic Waste We Should Be Dumping is Donald Trump"

Looking on the positive side of climate change, "At Least Mar-A-Lago Will Be Underwater!"

Red flags in front of the White House.

"Stop destroying our planet, it's where I keep all my stuff!"
and
"Keep the Earth Clean, it's not Uranus."

This guy.

Puppet and flags.

"people thinking the earth was flat never made it less round"
and
"3% of scientists say this march isn't happening"

Trees marching past the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

I was obviously only able to see a small percentage of the signs and marchers on Saturday; I hope some of the many other people with cameras are posting photos and videos too.

Some of my favorite signs from Saturday's Women's March in D.C.

Anyone who was at the sprawling massive Women's March on D.C. last Saturday could only see a small sample of the tens of thousands of creative signs that were made and carried by the hundreds of thousands of marchers. Here are a few of the favorites that crossed my path (most of these photos were taken from a precarious perch on top of a temporary seven-foot tall fence near the Hirschhorn Museum).

"We are the Great-Grand-DAUGHTERS of the Witches you didn't BURN!"

"PUTIN IS NOT MY PRES."

"ORANGE YOU SICK OF HIM YET?"

"DONALD TRUMP HAS A CIRCUS PEANUT FOR A DICK"

"1962 is Calling. DON'T ANSWER!"

"The Presidency Is NOT an Apprenticeship"

"FREE MELANIA" A popular sentiment expressed by many poster artists.

"YOU'RE THE PUPPET"

"DUCK FONALD"

"I'M WITH HER" (with arrows pointing toward the other marchers)

"NOT USUALLY A SIGN PERSON, BUT C'MON"

"THIS PUSSY GRABS BACK"

"THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK"

"I'M NOT YOUR SISTER, I'M NOT YOUR DAUGHTER, BUT I'M A FUCKING HUMAN"

"Donny you're out of your element / So you have no frame of reference here Donny"
and
"THEY TRIED TO BURY US. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE SEEDS. Mexican Proverb"

"KEEP YOUR Tiny Hands OFF MY RIGHTS"

"Not Mein Führer"

"Good Morning America / YOU HAVE A SHITHEAD FOR PRESIDENT"

"SORRY WORLD"

"I WANT SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE BUT WILL SETTLE FOR YOU NOT KILLING US. 

"Many Snowflakes together make an AVALANCHE!"

"DON'T TREAD ON ME" (with a uterine twist)

"NO DICKTATER"
and
"GIRLS just wanna have FUNDING for SCIENCE"

"TWEETING DOESN'T MAKE IT TWUE!"

"WE ARE NOT NASTY / WE ARE REVOLTING"

"'People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that distinguish me from a doormat.' -- Rebecca West, Suffragette -1913-"

"THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN BELONGS IN A MUSEUM"

"SHUT THE F*CK UP DONNY"
"DONNY, YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT"
and
"THIS ISN'T NAM / THERE ARE RULES"

"WELCOME TO MOSCOW ON THE POTOMAC"

"Dear Donald, Go fuck yourself" (expressed politely with cursive and flowers)

"I AM NOT FREE IF ANY WOMAN IS NOT FREE. --Audre Lorde"

"THEY PUT THE 'MOCK' IN DEMOCKRACY"

"P.S. -- I CAN'T BELIEVE WE STILL HAVE TO PROTEST THIS SHIT!"

"I WALK for my MOTHER SISTER and the FUTURE"

"Ceci n'est pas un président."

"IGNORANCE ALLIED w/POWER IS THE MOST FEROCIOUS ENEMY JUSTICE CAN HAVE." ~~JAMES BALDWIN

" 'You have to treat [women] like SHIT.' --Fuhrer von Gropenpussy"

"RIGGED PIG"
and
"KEEP YOUR TINY HANDS OFF OUR RIGHTS"

"WE SHALL OVERCOMB"

An annotated Donald Trump battle flag near the White House.

"SEXUAL PREDATOR LIVES HERE"
A friendly official Neighborhood Watch warning across Lafayette Square from the White House