[Note from BenIndy editor: Black lives matter! And multiracial solidarity is increasingly important in our times as we confront a powerful and coordinated renewal of overt white nationalism. – Roger Straw]
Please join Benicia Black Lives Matter for an important event in honor of Juneteenth 2025.
A Promised Land – America as a Developing Country, by Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, June 7, 2025 [UPDATED ON 6/10/25] (Previously appearing in The Benicia Herald, “Benicia & Beyond,” 6/8/25)
In the 1962 film, “The Manchurian Candidate,” a US soldier is captured during the Korean War and brainwashed in Manchuria (a part of China bordering Korea) by Chinese and Russian agents. They then arrange his supposedly heroic “escape” that earns him the Medal of Honor back in America.
The point of this plan? Acting as an automaton, he will then unwittingly assassinate a presidential candidate and usher in an authoritarian regime serving our enemies’ interests.
Which brings us to Donald Trump. I am not suggesting that he’s been brainwashed or that he deliberately prioritizes the Kremlin over America. His main motivators instead seem to be money, power and narcissism.
But, speaking hypothetically, what if Trump were in fact a “Manchurian President,” brainwashed by Russia to undermine the United States? What would he do?
He would intentionally and illegally call in the National Guard and Marines to inflame legitimate protests and to open the door to even more inflammatory, repressive steps.
He would, in contrast, do nothing for hours on January 6, 2021, as insurrectionists violently tried to take over the U.S. Capitol and block a presidential election’s certification.
He would pardon those very insurrectionists and praise them as patriots.
He would badmouth democracies far more than despots.
He would insult long-time friends such as Canada and Denmark by threatening their territorial integrity.
He would have his vice president back a Russia-friendly neo-Nazi party in Germany.
He would alienate other democratic allies through statements, trade policies and foreign policy decisions that force them to reconsider their relations with us.
He would purge the U.S. military brass of many officers, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likely to prize fealty to the Constitution over loyalty to him.
He would gut our National Security Council staff and other parts of the government that guard us against efforts to cripple our security and democracy.
He would abandon Ukraine, whose fight against Russia’s brutal aggression is so crucial to European security and democracy that even formerly neutral Sweden and Finland have joined NATO.
He would appoint incompetents or people sympathetic to hostile powers to top national security positions.
He would take little action when such officials engage in discussions that leak combat plans to outsiders.
He would sabotage American soft power by ravaging foreign aid and sacrificing millions of lives abroad through public health cuts.
He would attack our democratic institutions right and left, including by condemning judges and extorting law firms and media outlets.
He would authorize a fellow narcissist and associated techno-brats to hastily purge the government of expertise, personnel and resources in a matter of weeks.
He would impose massive staff and funding cuts on medical and other research, harming public health in particular and American scientific leadership in general.
He would select individuals with bizarre public health ideas to head agencies charged with protecting the public against pandemics.
He would deregulate a cryptocurrency industry that could run amok even as it enriches him and his allies.
He would push tariff policies that whiplash practically daily and could hurl the U.S. economy into a tailspin.
He would back budget-busting, billionaire-benefiting legislation that would both damage the economy and deny health care to millions.
He would so undercut America’s financial and defense credibility that the world could lose confidence in the country for decades.
He would seek to block thousands of brilliant foreign students from studying here, ensuring that many of them will instead benefit other nations’ universities, economies and societies.
He would engage in rhetoric that cleaves our country in unprecedented ways, with boasts of retribution and brutal social media blasts against anyone who opposes him.
He would pardon other criminals in exchange for financial favors or political loyalty.
He would embark on an unparalleled reign of corruption that wreaks havoc on our rule of law at home and our image abroad.
He would order a $45 million, Soviet-style military parade on June 14, ostensibly to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary but in reality to celebrate his birthday that day.
He would do all this – and far more – less than 10 percent of the way into his presidency.
He would assume that he can’t and won’t be stopped.
>>> Which brings us to the “No Kings” rallies taking place across the country on June 14. The Benicia gathering will be at the City Park Gazebo (near the corner of 1st Street and Military West) from 1 to 2 pm. >>>Through such demonstrations, we demonstrate to the media, the world and ourselves that we’re not giving up. By showing up, we’re standing up for democracy.
Despite being an otherwise healthy city, our rates of many cancers are much higher than Solano County and the rest of the state.
Benicia’s rate of lung cancer is between 14.5%-21.8% higher than the county’s and about 44% higher than the California rate. Our prostate cancer rates are 32.8% higher than the county’s and 70% higher than the state’s. For breast cancer, we have a 36% higher rate than our county and a 94% higher rate than our state. This data comes from Solano County and state public health sources.
While it cannot be definitively concluded that these higher cancer rates are due to refinery emissions, they are similar to the higher rates near refineries elsewhere that are well-documented in medical studies.
Yes, it will be economically challenging to weather Valero’s exit. But there is little doubt that when this happens, our community’s risk of cancer will drop. Many Benicia residents are looking forward to being able to breathe healthier air and are willing to work with our city government to move into a post-refinery future.
>> IN BENICIA: June 14th NO KINGS DAY! 1-2pm at the Gazebo (map: First and Military Streets). Bring your signs, noisemakers, and your goodwill. We’ll “parade” this block for the hour on the sidewalk.
– Susan Street
>> IN VALLEJO: Vallejo-Benicia INDIVISIBLE is sponsoring a NO KINGS rally and march on Saturday, June 14 in the plaza at the Vallejo City Hall, 555 Santa Clara Street in Vallejo. The event will start at 10 am with brief speeches, with speakers including Benicia Mayor Steve Young and others. The Vallejo event is listed (with a map) on the mobilize.us website. Bring your signs. Crowns optional.
>> IN FAIRIELD: Sat June 14, 12 – 1pm, corner of Jefferson and Texas Streets under the flags, 605 Texas St., Fairfield. Here’s a map.
>> ALL OVER THE BAY AREA: Go to the nokings.org or mobilize.us website and zoom in on the big map. Then click on a city for detailed info about the specific event in that location.
‘No Kings’ Protest Leader Ezra Levin of INDIVISIBLE Reveals ‘Big Baby’ Trump Plan
A giant balloon inflated by activists depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as an orange baby is seen during a demonstration against Trump’s visit to the U.K. in Parliament Square in London on July 13, 2018. Tolga AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images
An activist involved with the “No Kings” movement has revealed plans for their upcoming protest.
Ezra Levin, the head of grassroots movement Indivisible, one of the groups associated with the movement, told the Jim Acosta Show that an upcoming coordinated protest on June 14, which is on President Donald Trump’s birthday and Flag Day, would take place in areas away from where Trump is holding a parade.
Why It Matters
The protesters, who are working with local chapters in more than 30 states, are targeting a military-style parade the Trump administration is planning on his birthday.
According to planning documents obtained by the Associated Press, Trump’s proposed event, which would follow a route from Arlington, Virginia across the Potomac into Washington, D.C., and conclude with a concert and fireworks, would include more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 military vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and potentially thousands of civilians.
Trump protestors protested out front to the Tesla Showroom to demand the the Trump Administration stop funding billionaires. Katie Godowski / MediaPunch /IPX
The counter-protest comes amid a wave of protests against Trump and his policies that have taken place since he took office in January 2025.
People are protesting to express their disapproval of policies implemented by Trump’s administration, including cuts overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Other protests have focused on Trump’s immigration policies. Recent polls have shown Trump’s approval rating at a historic low.
What To Know
Levin said their protest would take place in areas everywhere around the country, except downtown D.C., where Trump’s parade will take place.
“We do not want to give this guy an excuse to crackdown on peaceful protest,” he said. “We want the contrast – this guy’s a big baby, he’s throwing himself a big military parade for his birthday. We, the people, where power actually originates in this country, we’re everywhere else.”
He added that the protest was to “send a signal” to Trump and allied institutions to protect democracy.
Levin also said it wasn’t appropriate to spend money on a parade for Trump amid cuts to Medicaid and other government programs.
He also called Trump’s agenda “heinous” and said protests against him were “inspiring.”
What People Are Saying
Army spokesperson Colonel Dave Butler recently told the Associated Press: “We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us. We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers. A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.”
The “No Kings” group previously said: “Real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.”
What Happens Next
The “No Kings” protest takes place on June 14. The coalition has said it will release more information about the event closer to the time.
Law enforcement agencies in Washington, D.C., are preparing for heightened security, though officials have not disclosed specific plans.
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