Today is Saturday, April 19, 2025. Today with the sun shining and the skies clear above us – except for the occasional helicopter hovering above us – I participated in another day of action directed against this current “president” and his administration in Bryant Park at 12. This time I expected only one other member of my “Defenders of Democracy” group, but as expected, no one came. Again, I was on my own at 12. Maybe the next time, I should try to rustle up some friends to accompany me, but I’m not sure I would have anyone to go the distance since the demonstration is at least 2 hours and it was actually a little tiring walking up Madison Avenue all the way up to 5th Avenue and to Central Park. However, I’m very happy that I did this and I hope to participate in as many days of protest that I can humanly can.

An online article that I printed reveals more details about this day of action in the “‘50501’ protests rally small towns and big cities against Trump policies,” written by Emma Uber, Tatum Hunter, and Reis Thebault. I’m not sure from whence the article comes. It’s not a CNN piece.

Thus from Wyoming to Washington and Mississippi to Manhattan, protesters at hundreds of rallies in small towns and big cities gathered today to denounce the liar in chief’s sweeping policy moves, the second day of mass action this month as opposition to the administration continued to coalesce.

The more than 700 planned events were part of the “50501” movement, a decentralized campaign that began on Reddit and got its name from a February 5 push for “50 protests in 50 states in 1 day.” A spokesperson for the group, Hunter Dunn, described the group as a “prodemocracy, pro-Constitution, anti-executive overreach, nonviolent grassroots movement.”

It was symbolic that today’s demonstrations occurred on the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolutionary War – with the ride of Paul Revere in Boston. This coordinated effort came two weeks after the April 5 “Hands Off” rallies, which drew supposedly 3 million people across the country in the largest single-day protest of Dump’s second term.

Rather than a traditional protest, 50501 billed today as a day of action in response to aggressive immigration policies, economic uncertainty from unpredictable tariffs, and the reduction of the federal workforce. In addition to the rallies, today’s day of action saw communities coming together through food drives and donation campaigns, offering support to those most affected by the administration’s draconian policies.

One of the average Joes who participated in one of these rallies across the country is Chris Gilbert, a 40-year-old Air Force veteran who drove six hours from his home in North Carolina to hold up a sign that read “I didn’t serve for this,” punctuated with an expletive. “That situation is enraging to us.”

Gilbert, whose time in the military left him disabled, relies on his local Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital for health care. He’s obviously nervous about how the U.S. DOGE Service’s cuts to the VA might affect him. What brought him to the D.C. rally was Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation and the Dump’s administration’s refusal to facilitate his return.

At the D.C. rally, the crowd chanted for due process rights and erupted in cheers of “Free Kilmar, Free Kilmar.” When I walked up Madison Avenue, my marchers erupted in the usual chants: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, immigrants are here to stay!” and some chants of “Fuck Trump!” Also, “What is democracy called?” This is what democracy is called!”

The article points out that “thousands of marchers stretched down multiple blocks in Midtown Manhattan. Many held signs decrying the deportation of legal residents and the detention of some deportees in foreign prisons. One read ‘Tarrified.'” Which I saw at the rally two weeks ago.

An attendee at this Manhattan rally was Jill Scipione, 65, who took the train from her home in New Jersey to attend the demonstration. She said the Drumpf’s administration’s refusal to facilitate Garcia’s return to the United States, in apparent defiance of a Supreme Court order, was a major blow to her confidence in American democracy. That was the point, she believes, Dump became a dictator.

Commenting on the overall effectiveness of such campaigns, Ben Zinevich, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition who protested on April 5 and demonstrated again today, said, “It’s really about building a sustained movement that can show itself as a political force.”

By the way, the best sign I saw today was “MAGA = Morons Are Governing America.” To me, this sums up the whole philosophy behind MAGA quite beautifully.

And after the rally, I did not linger in Manhattan. When I started walking out of the park, who did I see? Elliot’s first girlfriend “Deborah” who was sitting on a bench in the park with several of her rallygoers. These were all women in their 70s, I guess, or even older. And here they were demonstrating like everyone else instead of staying home and baking cookies. What a wonderful sight!

Have a Happy Easter tomorrow!

And so it went!

Here is one pic from today’s rally.

I certainly liked this sign.

Here’s another apt sign for today’s rally.

Here rallygoers are entering Central Park.