What's the difference between celebrating No KINGS and on July 4? I saw an objection to No King's Day...we already celebrate it on July 4th. Obviously, some still do not get it, or else they are just being cute or trolling instead of being ignorant. Here is why we should also celebrate July 4th, in addition to the 8 million-plus who got it on March 28. Believe me, it is one more opportunity to make a point on July 4th. For the ignorant, not for the MAGA trollers, a reminder, here is to remember the reason why we declared independence: No tyrannical kings, and to get out from almost exactly what angered us about what the King did,(Bill of Particulars in the Declaration), which are mostly now enshrined in the Bill of Rights. We also rose up in 1776 because of one issue that resonates today: taxation without representation.
WELCOME TO THE BLOG This blog reflects my views of current political issues.. It is also an archive for columns in the Sky Hi News 2011 to November 2019. Winter Park Times 2019 to 2021.(paper publishing suspended in 2021) My Facebook page, the muftic forum, posts blog links, comments, and sharing. Non-political Facebook page: felicia muftic. Subscribe for free on Substack: https://feliciamuftic.substack.com Blog postings are continuously being edited and updated.
Monday, March 30, 2026
What's the difference between celebrating independence on NO KINGS 3/28 and on July 4? Not much
Trump thinks he's a dictator, acts like one, and ignores laws and Constitutional provisions he does not like, treating executive orders like a law, making up his own laws as he will, punishing those who do not support him with retaliatory action by the DOJ and threats of being primaried. Dictators are the modern version of a tyrannical king, and every day he violates those First Amendment rights, particularly press freedom and civil rights of individuals and the 4th amendments. Pro democracy, the protection of the Constitution, and the spirit of 1776 are inseparable.
The other reason for independence was that we were being taxed without representation...another provision enshrined in the Constitution, to make sure we, the people, would control taxation and its use through Congress, especially the House. Trump cowed the House into a bunch of yes people (whatever Trump wants, Congress gives him), whether with tariffs or the cost of war. Now, he wants to make it more difficult for voters to cast their vote, particularly old people, brown people, and women. FYI, we celebrate the freedom our forefathers fought for, now in jeopardy, too, on July 4
The patriots who were the founders of the Constitution and our form of governance sought to preserve our right to govern ourselves, to preserve all who were created equally inalienable rights to pursue happiness, and to keep us from a tyrannical ruler, making those governing subject to the rule of law instead of the rule of an individual. Those who experienced the revolution in 1776 were also given the opportunity to write the Constitution which was approved in 1787. Aside from limiting the power of tyrants with checks and balances of three power centers, legislative, judicial, and executive, they added more safeguards to protect the power of individuals to protest peacefully per the Bill of Rights. They attempted to tackle some of the trickiest problems of governance in the Constitution and in both the amendments and in the regulated election process. How do you provide a peaceful transition of power while still allowing an outlet for the masses to express themselves and let off steam peacefully? They gave those who lost the election the protections and ability through the Bill of Rights to convince a majority of voters that those governing need to be replaced by the ballot box and not by a bloody revolt.
Sunday, March 29, 2026
What's different about the No Kings protests March 28, 2026
What I saw in the TV coverage left me with the impression that not only were the numbers higher than in the prior No Kings, but that there was greater diversity in age and race, with handheld posters and banners supporting a wider range of public policy issues than we saw in the initial protest events. The difference now is that political science theory has met negative impact on people's lives after a year of Trump's second term. Trump has managed to anger more people in one year. Experience is always the best teacher. More are learning the lesson that democracy is worth fighting for. It is more than just venting protests: it is indeed solidifying into a pro-democracy movement.
An increasing number and wider variety of voters now get that without democracy, their own desires will be ignored and their voices will be suppressed, even if their views are supported by more than a 58-60% majority. Trump, in his delusions of unbridled power, has ignored many, reneging on promises he made, from affordability to avoiding foreign wars. Furthermore, he and his appointees have been acting with cruelty and armed force, while he has been using fear with his tools of abuse of power to enact revenge and retribution. Patriotism to him is loyalty to him, and he acts like it, using vengeance, abusing power, using it against those who oppose him, suppressing their voices in the media, and limiting voting access.
Trump, the wannabe dictator, has confused loyalty to Trump with loyalty to America. In his view, if you are not loyal to him, you are un-American. They are not the same: loyalty to Trump is not loyalty to the oath taken by public officials and military to be loyal to the Constitution and a government of, by, and for the people that respects and abides by the rule of law. If what Trump wants to do runs afoul of the laws conforming to the intent of the Constitution, he ignores them, defies them, or finds a workaround to what was the original intent. No staff person, no GOP-dominated legislature, stops him. He condemns judges, even those he appointed, who dare rule against his interests, subjecting them to violence and threats of violence by Trump partisans.
By refusing to bow down to fear, over eight million responded on March 28, feeling safe in numbers nationwide by putting their bodies on the line in dispersed masses, appearing with joy, sometimes humor, and ridicule. This has become a pro-democracy movement under the unifying umbrella and realization that, without democracy, those with their own agendas and priorities would be ground in the dust by an overpowering, out-of-control, mad King wannabe dictator acting as if he were already one.
The reaction by MAGA is mostly ignoring this pro-democracy movement. They do it at their own peril, and the polls are reflecting that. We are no longer a 50-50 divided nation. We are near 60-40. https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/we-are-non-longer-nation-that-is.html.
Friday, March 27, 2026
Hegseth and Trump threaten war crimes in Iran. See them in the Hague someday?
Yesterday, Pete Hegseth prayed for violence. He is the same one who called the rules of engagement such as the Geneva Convention, "stupid" and would ignore them.
The stupid rules of war came into being after World War II in response to the atrocities committed against civilians. Nuremberg and the Hague tribunals have hung or imprisoned many; most recently, the Hague was active, spurred by the ethnic cleansing of the Balkan wars of the 1990's. I have never heard of a public official with great power at the onset of any war anywhere advocating war crimes by prayer until Hegseth implied it. He is a religious fanatic and a throwback to the Middle Ages and the Crusades. Then Trump chimed in.
He fancies himself as the Dark Ages crusader who wears the Crusader cross on his chest and sees himself in a holy war as a follower of a church that believes in violence to advance their religion. Hegseth is a member of the worst extreme sect of the Christian religion.
Prayed Hegseth:“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
See you at the Hague someday if you act this out in Iran.
Then, to compound this, Donald Trump echoed that he would knowingly commit war crimes by destroying Iran's power plants hat keep
civilians afloat and alive. He is still threatening to do it in 10 days. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/03/trump-warning-attack-iran-power-plants-is-threat-to-commit-war-crimes/
See you in the Hague, DJT, if you carry that one out..
Geneva Conventions per Google AIThe Geneva Conventions are a set of four international treaties (1949) and three additional protocols that form the cornerstone of international humanitarian law. They establish legal standards for humanitarian treatment during war, protecting people not taking part in fighting (civilians, medics) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, prisoners of war).
The Four Geneva Conventions of 1949:
- First Convention: Protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war.
- Second Convention: Protects wounded, sick, and shipwrecked military personnel at sea.
- Third Convention: Applies to prisoners of war (POWs), requiring humane treatment, adequate food, and medical care.
- Fourth Convention: Protects civilians, including those in occupied territories.
Key Principles and Scope:
- Universal Ratification: All 196 states have ratified the 1949 conventions, making them universally binding.
- Common Article 3: Applies to non-international armed conflicts (civil wars), ensuring minimum protections.
- Core Protections: Prohibits torture, murder, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.
- Protection of Medical Facilities: Medical personnel, units, and transport must be respected and protected.
- Additional Protocols: 1977 and 2005 protocols added protections for victims of both international and non-international conflicts.
The conventions are overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and aim to limit the barbarity of war.
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