travels with toby

I don’t usually post political stuff but in this case I am making an exception because this is too important. I went to my second ever protest yesterday, the first was the No Kings protest in June. This one was just as grand as the last with many creative signs and shirts. This time the inflatable characters and some costumes were added. There’s a reason the preamble to the Constitution starts with “We, the people…” We, the people were out in the streets protesting this would-be king! Here is that preamble in all its glory(emphasis mine):

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This protest, just like the last one, was peaceful, joyful and very fun! We were on a boulevard and the majority of vehicles going by were supportive, honking and waving and some had their own signs in windows as well as waving the American flag. There were a handful of people giving us the bird as they drove by and my friend and I blew kisses at them. HA! It was so nice to be amongst like-minded people and I left feeling more hopeful than I have in a year. A year ago at this time I was hopeful that Kamala Harris would win. We all see how that turned out. I’m still not convinced there wasn’t hanky panky that was orchestrated by one Elon Musk. There is video of him out there and I’ve forgotten exactly what he said but it alludes to him rigging the election. The chump himself has hinted at it too. I have no evidence to share so I will just leave that there.

We saw all kinds of people, young and old and in between out protesting that we do not have kings in this country. The colonists came here to escape tyranny from the King of England. If you haven’t happened upon Heather Cox Richardson’s letters, I highly recommend you follow her. She is a distinguished history professor and writes the facts and relates it to history every day. Her substack is free to read or you can find her on Facebook. I prefer to read via substack as I’m not terribly fond of posting on Facebook much lately. Here’s a link to it:

Letters from an American

Please enjoy this conglomeration of mine and my friend’s photos of our couple of hours at the No Kings protest on October 18, 2025.

To close, here is a Bob Marley’s “Get up, Stand up” live in Munich in 1980. We heard this song playing near us and it is so appropriate for these times.