Across the United States on Saturday, millions of people took part in “No Kings” demonstrations protesting the expansion of executive power, the conflict with Iran, and the rising cost of fuel, food, and housing. Democracy Now reported the marches in its Monday headlines.

The demonstrations took place in more than 400 cities. They were among the largest coordinated protests in the country since the 2017 Women’s March. The name — “No Kings” — was a direct response to the administration’s accumulation of power: the press bans, the raids on legislators, the voter database, the 3,000 enforcement actions per day, and the conflict that the Senate voted to end and the White House ignored.

The courts have ruled against the machine four times in one month. The Senate came one vote short of ending the conflict. The Nobel Committee gave the prize to accountability. And now the public is in the streets.

Every check has been tried. The courts. The Senate. The Nobel. And now the streets. The machine has survived every one. But the streets are the check that does not need a ruling.

Millions of people. Four hundred cities. One name. No Kings. Fifteen days before the election.

BREAKING

The President Waived Sanctions on Russia — After Bipartisan Senators Told Him to Stop Buying Russian Fuel

The president waived sanctions on Russia. Democracy Now reported the move in its Monday headlines. The decision came days after bipartisan senators sent a letter demanding he stop purchasing Russian diesel to replace the fuel supply his own conflict destroyed.

The senators told him to stop buying fuel from the country the United States sanctioned. The president responded by lifting the sanctions instead. The letter said one thing. The policy did the opposite.

The machine sanctioned Russia for crossing a sovereign border. The machine started a conflict that broke the fuel supply. The machine bought fuel from Russia to replace it. The senators said stop. And the machine lifted the sanctions entirely.

Every step contradicts the one before it. The sanctions said Russia must be punished. The waiver says Russia must be paid. Both are signed by the same hand.

EXPOSED

Masked Settlers Nearly Ended the Life of a Washington Post Reporter During an Olive Harvest in the Occupied West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of Palestinian farmers during an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, nearly ending the life of a Washington Post reporter who was covering the event. Democracy Now devoted a full segment to the story Monday.

The reporter was beaten severely. Palestinian farmers were assaulted with stones and metal bars. The Israeli prime minister dismissed the reports as “sensational headlines before the full facts emerge” and called them part of a smear campaign.

An American reporter was nearly ended while covering an olive harvest. A firm linked to the same ally used invisible surveillance tools to infect the devices of journalists at another outlet. And the government that shields this ally from the international court also banned three of its own networks from the White House.

The machine bans the press at home. The ally beats the press abroad. The leader calls the coverage a smear. The pattern is the same on both sides of the ocean.

DEVELOPING

More Than 2,400 People Were Rounded Up at Cost-of-Living Protests Across France

French authorities rounded up more than 2,400 people as hundreds of thousands marched in more than 140 cities on Saturday. They were protesting the rising cost of living, education cuts, and what they called a government that serves the wealthy at the expense of the public. Democracy Now devoted a full segment to the crackdown Monday.

The protests in France are driven by many of the same forces that put millions in the streets in the United States the same weekend: rising fuel costs, a government that serves donors over the public, and a feeling that the system is no longer listening.

The conflict with Iran raised oil costs across Europe. The fuel crisis is global. The cost of food is global. And the protests are now global too. The streets in Paris and the streets in Philadelphia are responding to the same machine.

The machine does not operate inside one country. When the conflict raises the cost of fuel in Europe and the people march and the government rounds up 2,400 of them… the machine is running on both continents.

They rely on the shadows.
It’s time to turn on the lights.