Those were the men who walked over to Nixon's White House and told him it was time to go. For the good of the country.

But that was long ago -- in another country, so to speak, and those men are dead.

Smokers pissed and moaned for years about the infringement on their liberty, but times had changed and it was a matter of public health. Smokers finally got over themselves, didn't they? (Altho tobacco companies came up with a new, even more addictive, device but that's another conversation.)

Our biggest problem right now with facial coverings is the Mad King in the White House. He uses this and everything else as fuel for culture wars, and the fact that it is his cultists who are going to get sick and become super-spreaders in Tulsa bothers him not at all.

We don't have to play his games, we just have to keep our heads on straight. Support or pressure your local government, as needs dictate. Wear your own facial covering. Act like an adult and avoid people who don't. Support businesses that require customers to comply with this new public health measure -- show them you care.

No Shoes
No Shirt
No Mask
No Service

...and bad Boy Scout leaders.

Oh wait, what do these 3 groups have in common? Let me think...

Strict male hierarchy, God and/or Law on their side, answerable to no one outside their culture, and secrecy. Toxic masculinity at its finest.

Well the Catholic priests, bishops, and archbishops had their years in the spotlight when enough victims found their collective voices. The Boy Scouts likewise.

Time for the police of the United States to have their turn in the harshest of light, and keep it up for years. The victims have been speaking out for decades, but these marches of the past 2 weeks are remarkable for their size and their diversity and persistence.

Maybe, just maybe, we have finally come to a hinge moment history.

...uprising of millions of outraged citizens of all ethnicities. Millions. People have had it up to their teeth with Trump's bullshit and with the systemic and unequal savagery of our police.

Without throwing a wet blanket on the outcry of millions, there have been people, both here in our DU community (which is not "the left" -- we are, as the name says, Democrats across a spectrum) and in the more rational voices commenting in the media (which is also not "the left" ) that people at protests are putting their health at risk.

We've discussed it here. One of the phrases from an MSNBC contributor that struck me was: "A virus doesn't care how noble your cause is" so take what precautions you can.

Twice in this thread you've accused us of "hypocracy." (That's hypocrisy, btw.) I urge you to rethink that -- or thoroughly explain what it is you see that strikes you as hypocritical.

Recommend the entire article at link.

Please take some time out tonight and tomorrow to write and/or call your Senators and Congressional Representatives. I'm going to include some of our heroes of the impeachment for good measure -- Adam Schiff, Eric Swallwell, Ted Lieu and others. Maybe Mme Speaker of the House as well. Don't forget: if yours are GOP, they need to hear from concerned freedom-loving citizens just as much.

These men are all dressed up in combat gear in our nation's Capitol and there's no indication of who they "belong" to and who they answer to. They were included in yesterday's Lafayette Park debacle and here's more "guarding" the Lincoln Memorial. I've expanded the photo on my iPad and could only see a couple of blurry patches. Who the heck are they if not US military?

Lincoln Memorial, copied from DU posts:

https://twitter.com/EliClifton/status/1267962264872783873/photo/1

There are too many disembodied posts showing up here lately, & too many are years old & repeated now for inflammatory & not informative purposes.

We expect disinformation and distortion from the RW, and we have to be careful not to fall into the same habit.

Again, thanks.