This is 16th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. At the direction of DC mayor Muriel Bowser, it's been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza — with giant yellow letters spelling it out on the pavement, 35 feet long.
And as you can see, running south, the street dead-ends at the North Portico of the White House.
The District of Columbia is especially vulnerable to Donald Trump's autocratic fantasies, because it is not a state, but under the thumb of the federal government. Which means that Trump and Bill Barr and his fellow fascists don't have to go through a governor to do what they want. That's why you're seeing a zillion new fences go up around the White House and strange military dudes without ID policing the streets. It's scary as hell.
But DC is still a city, and it still has a mayor — so Bowser has decided to say, nuh-uh, nope, no way, step back. And neighboring Democratic governors like Ralph Northam can pitch in by refusing to send their National Guard. And, it turns out, even the lily-livered Defense Secretary Mark Esper can grow a pair and decide to de-escalate without consulting the White House.
Under these circumstances, tomorrow's expected demonstrations in Washington should be especially interesting. Also, it appears that Benedict Donald has canceled his planned trip to Bedminster, New Jersey, to play golf. So, he'll be behind his baby gate at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, while thousands of Americans protest him? We cats can't wait. And we PURR.
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