When Institutions Fail
The Streets Speak
More than half a million people packed the National Mall on Saturday. Thousands more took to the streets in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and dozens of other cities across the U.S. And this wasn’t just a national outcry. From London to Berlin, global allies joined in solidarity rallies. The “Hands Off” protests were coordinated, massive, and deeply personal for the people showing up.
They were there to say: enough—not just to Donald Trump, but to the system that allowed him to return to power.
At its core, this was a protest against authoritarianism. A protest against billionaires bankrolling state capture. Against the courts chipping away at civil rights. Against an increasingly complicit Republican Party, and a Beltway media ecosystem that still treats this crisis like a horse race.
But more than anything, it was a demand:
Hands off our democracy. Hands off our bodies. Hands off our books, our classrooms, our communities.
The scale of the protests was historic. Organizers estimate over 500,000 people descended on Washington, D.C. alone. That crowd included reproductive justice advocates, climate organizers, trans rights activists, union members, librarians, students, parents, veterans—people who recognize that this isn’t just about a president. It’s about a political movement that sees democracy itself as a nuisance.
“The aim is, get people to rise up,” said Diane Kolifrath, a 63-year-old protester from New Hampshire.
And they did—many for the first time. In Los Angeles, a retired attorney in his seventies told reporters that he had never protested before, but “when the guardrails break, you don’t just sit and watch.”
This is what solidarity looks like when people realize the overlap in their fights. Reproductive rights, racial justice, labor, climate, education—they’re not isolated issues. They are all under attack by a political machine that wants to consolidate power and crush any form of collective action.
And while the protests were grounded in domestic concerns, the message resonated globally. In London’s Trafalgar Square, protesters held signs that read “Hands off Ukraine,” “Hands off Canada,” and “Hands off Greenland.” Symbolic, yes—but also painfully literal in the context of Trump’s foreign policy record. These international rallies remind us that the erosion of American democracy isn’t just an internal matter. When the U.S. emboldens authoritarianism, the entire world feels the consequences.
This is not normal opposition politics. This is organized resistance to an anti-democratic movement that’s been building for years—and is now operating with impunity from inside the federal government.
We need to name what's really happening:
This is a coordinated effort to roll back multiracial democracy and reassert a far-right, billionaire-backed vision of American power. It’s happening through abortion bans, anti-trans legislation, book bans, voter suppression, union busting, and the militarization of law enforcement. It's being broadcast through platforms owned by men like Elon Musk, who treat fascist rhetoric as just another algorithmic asset.
And it’s being enforced through a judiciary stacked by Federalist Society loyalists who are actively dismantling federal protections that took generations to secure.
The protests were a mass rejection of this agenda. But protest alone isn’t enough.
The real work is what comes next:
Voter registration in red and purple districts.
Local organizing around school boards and statehouses.
Union drives and strike support.
Fundraising for legal defense funds and abortion networks.
Digital organizing to combat disinformation.
And sustained, strategic pressure on every institution still capable of resisting.
This is a moment of clarity. The protest energy is real—but it has to be converted into long-term power. Because the truth is, the people who want to roll back civil rights, rig elections, and criminalize dissent are already in the building. They’re not coming. They’re here.
But so are we.
This was not a one-day outburst. It was a mobilization. A warning. And, if we choose, a beginning.
The “Hands Off” movement offers more than a slogan. It offers a path forward—one that demands boldness, solidarity, and a willingness to abandon illusions about business-as-usual politics. The stakes are too high for anything less.
I was planning to give the following speech in an abbreviated, bullet form at yesterdays, "Hands Off" protest at the Capitol but there were too many official speakers and no time of speeches by the public. But I will use the following to send editorials to the Patriot news. "1. First and foremost, God has given all of us many unique talents to use for a healthy, prosperous life and to make the world a better place. We all need to embrace our dignity and our worthiness and the same for others. We must rebuke those who want to put us into derogatory classes like lower class. middle class, higher class, poor class. We must rebuke those who want to call us average Americans, ordinary citizens, and the general public. Because we are not average, ordinary, or general; we are all extraordinary human beings and should be cherished as such. From this day forward, we should only accept positive names like honorable Americans, honorable citizens, honorable residents of the United States. From this day forward, let us rebuke any derogatory names that are used to attack us and keep us down, because we are all just as worthy and important as the rich and powerful, and there should be no rich and powerful, only prosperous, and peaceful people. The only wars that should be waged are wars against greedy, corrupt, wealthy individuals and corporations, that abuse and extort their employees and their consumers. It is the employees and the consumers that keep them wealthy: they need us more than we need them, and it is time to fight back with our boycotts and other resistance.
2. From this day forward, I want all of you to push for open borders around the world. This is God's world, and He wants his people to be respected, prosperous, and peaceful. Immigration is a global issue that can only be solved through global compassion and cooperation. We should be able to travel the world, establish roots in any country, and be productive, peaceful residence of any country. Immigrants make a country's economy prosperous and strong. Countries should be competing with other countries to bring people into their country; not keeping them out. Our nation was founded by immigrants: explorers, trappers, pilgrims, adventurers all seeking a better life, and all they had to do was put down roots; there were no ridiculous laws or tests or certifications keeping them from realizing their dreams. Native Americans were the first inhabitants of this land, and we treated them horribly as we treated horribly blacks and other minorities who deserve reparations. Leaders of countries that persecute and kill their own people are NOT sovereign countries; they should be invaded by a unified, cohesive force of nations to RESCUE their people from harm, establish free and fair elections, and establish democracies or some form of compassionate governance. Dictators and oligarchs must be eliminated from this world.
3. Now about the Federal Workforce. The idea that there is massive fraud, waste and abuse in the federal workforce is a lie and propaganda perpetrated by trump and musk. The federal workforce has been downsizing for over 40 years: since 1968, the federal civilian workforce has decreased by 2.9% while the private sector labor force has increased by 140%, and the US population has increased by 77%. For 33 years, I worked in the Defense Department including departments of position management, manpower management, and force development. Every federal agency has at least one department like these whose sole purpose is to evaluate, review and justify every federal position using strict quantitative and qualitative measures called engineered standards. Every federal position must be reviewed and justified every three years. If a vacancy occurs, that position must be justified before filling the vacancy. It is a comprehensive, workforce justification system that is unparalleled, and is not found in private industry. Inspectors general for every federal agency also require audits on every federal position and they run the “whistleblowers’ protection initiative” whereby any federal employee or the public can file a complaint of fraud, waste, or abuse of any government function. Recently, trump fired many Inspectors General. Additionally, there are a variety of downsizing and efficiency initiatives to ensure economy and cost savings in the federal workforce like the Total Quality Management (TQM) initiative and the A76 Project that determines what government functions can be contracted out. Every federal agency has a rewards program to encourage employees to recommend cost saving initiatives. Most federal agencies have limited staffing and are always asked to do more work with less staffing. The federal workforce is the most trustworthy, diligent, dedicated, and competent workforce in the United States that performs life essential work for the public. It is time for our elected officials and the public to give unwavering support to the federal workforce.
No one talks about how contractors rip off the federal government. I was involved with the A76 program and responsible for establishing the government’s “Most Efficient Organization - MEO" to compete against a contractors bid. Contractors would "low bid" to get the contract and then once they had the contract, they would dramatically increase their contract price in the "out years." The whole contracting out initiative was a scam and never saved the taxpayer any money; in many instances, the contractors' workforces cost more money, and they performed terribly. To add insult to injury, dedicated federal workers would have to train the contractor's workforce and clean up their messes.
How dare trump and musk lie saying that federal employees don’t work, and they don’t show up for work; yet trump spent 11 days of his first 30 days in office on the golf course costing taxpayers thousands of dollars. How dare trump and musk say the federal government is “bloated” when the only one bloated is fat, feeble, felon, Fascist trump. The only ones “bloated” are the egos of trump, musk and maga. As recently reported, Defense Secretary, hegseth wasted $400 million in taxpayer dollars for botched deportations, and using sophisticated, military aircraft to carry deportees. The only ones causing illegalities, fraud, waste, and abuse are criminal trump, musk, and maga.
4. Finally, trump has threatened and intimidated businesses, universities, financial institutions, law firms, spiritual institutions, the media, our allies, and others; many of whom have capitulated to trump. We must put the fear of God in all of them so that they fear us more than they fear trump. It is time to take back our country with massive boycotts and resistance. Boycott all businesses that support trump. Take your money out of financial institutions that support trump and put your money in other financial institutions, preferably credit unions, that support their employees and their members. Students should leave universities that support trump and find other universities that focus on their students and new students should seek universities that focus on the education and welfare of their students. Stop attending spiritual institutions that support trump and seek spiritual institutions that value and teach true spirituality and love for one another. Remove your business from law firms that support trump and find other law firms that are dedicated to you. Rebuke the media that supports trump and financially support independent media that fight for democracy, decency, honesty, and integrity. Sign petitions and let our allies know we have their backs, and we rebuke trump, musk and maga. Urge governor Shapiro to make comprehensive trade agreements with our allies whereby Pennsylvanians can buy directly from allied countries. We can and must break the backs of all greedy, wealthy entities and show them that the POWER is with the PEOPLE!
5. If all else fails, remember that the 2nd Amendment wasn’t put in place to give everyone an assault rifle to kill innocent, US residents. It was put in place to establish a militia to fight against any foreign or domestic enemy who tries to destroy our democracy or establish dictators or oligarchs. The Second Amendment gives us the constitutional right to defend our democracy that has been under attack by republicans since the 1970’s.
REMEMBER: the January 6th insurrection was an abomination; it was not about defending democracy; it was about the destroying democracy. Don't let anyone forget it!"