How hard does it have to rain before the orange one agrees that it has?

I believe you are referring to that wet moment in history like the speech where Fat Donny claimed after it that "the rain just never came, you know, we finished the speech, went inside, it poured then we came outside."

Not sure if you're aware of this, John, but Trump has a penchant for fabulism. ;)

Will umbrellas be allowed on the parade route?

You mean like giant umbrellas for all that freshly painted hardware or like regular-sized umbrellas for troops?

It seems like that would be illegal to have them. It has to be illegal.

Checks notes:

None of the following objects will be allowed in the event:

* Aerosols
* Ammunition
* Animals other than service/guide animals
* Backpacks, bags, and soft-sided coolers exceeding size restrictions (18” x 13” x 7”)
* Bicycles
* Balloons
* Hard-sided coolers of any size
* Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems
* Explosives
* Firearms
* Flammable liquids
* Folding Chairs or Camp Chairs
* Glass, thermal or metal containers
* Knives
* Laser pointers
* Mace/Pepper spray
* Multitools (Leatherman, Gerber, etc.)
* Packages
* Range Finder
* Razors
* Recreational motorized mobility devices
* Selfie Sticks
* Signs exceeding size restrictions (20’ x 3’ x 1/4”)
* Structures
* Supports for signs and placards
* Toy guns
* Tripods and monopods
* Umbrellas (umbrellas without metal tips will be permitted)
* Weapons of any kind
* Any other items determined to be potential safety hazards

https://www.wusa9.com/article/entertainment/events/military-parade-june-14-prohibited-items/65-e23ed041-19e5-4d54-b7bf-a138303dbabb

*
What, no freaking drones! ;)

But John, we want more of those unforgettable wet moments in history like the speech where the Continental Army "manned the air," "rammed the ramparts," "took over the airports" and "did everything it had to do," including traveling forward in time multiple decades from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 where "it had nothing but victory."

Give us rain, dang it! :)

a commenter at newsweek said it even better: "Trump disregards environmental issues and climate change. So they literally rain on his parade. :D"

Heh.

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature *thunder*
;)

talk about poetic.

... justice.

Heh. :)

I actually did a psychology graduate paper on Brian Wilson's catalog of songs. creativity can be a challenge to even define, much less evaluate comparatively.

Exactly! And we're talking musical artistry here... not something that's easily defined, sometimes even by the artists and musical geniuses who created the art themselves.

Imagine trying to define or evaluate the production of even your own art created whilst you were tripping on acid (or weed or various other assorted mind-altering drugs). Not so dang easy! Uhhh... not that that's an admission on my part or anything of the sort. ;)

talk about poetic.

The annual Hash Bash started on April Fool’s Day, 1972.

Repost your link, please. I demand details. Heh.

I started attending in 1976 and I’ll leave it to your imagination what I may or may not have done.

Leaving it to my imagination could be dangerous and definitely involve handcuffs. Best to give us all the details. Heh. I'm teasing you. ;)

They were drawing thousands by that time and everybody sat down so everybody could see where the police were. Great fun, civil disobedience can be.

Define "fun"... *giggles*

Full Disclosure: I fell asleep listening to Pet Sounds and researching history trying to get to the bottom of the first of the smoke-ins on the National Mall.

That Facebook page, however, seems to indicate that this year will be the 45th gathering, so either a few years were skipped or somebody is counting wrong.

Maybe they aren't including the smoke-ins during the War of 1812 (just to clear up my earlier post since I can't edit the dang thing) but CW originally published in 2015, and my research into history determines the date of the first smoke-in to be July 4, 1970, so at least those dudes claiming the 45th gathering had gotten their math correct.

Interesting that first gathering. Turns out it was held at the same time of the Nixon administration holding a July 4th celebration that featured Bob Hope, Rev. Billy Graham and multiple other celebrities who were definitely considered pro-war by the counterculture. I was actually able to find some history reported in 2019 (updated 2025) and very recently in 2025, years after CW's original publication. Highlights and links:

Nixon’s July 4 Bash Ended With Tear Gas and Nude Protesters

President Nixon's 'Honor America Day' featured the Rev. Billy Graham and Bob Hope in an Independence Day event that critics saw as a pro-Vietnam War rally.

Becky Little
Published: February 25, 2019
Last Updated: May 28, 2025

President Richard Nixon had a PR problem. He had just deepened U.S. involvement in the extremely unpopular Vietnam War by invading Cambodia. In May, Ohio National Guard troops had killed four student protesters at Kent State. So, to drum up support for the war—and his administration—he and three of his high-profile supporters decided to hold an “Honor America Day” on July 4, 1970 in Washington, D.C.

...

The event’s pro-Nixon, pro-war stance wasn’t exactly a secret. “The prominent involvement of the administration and its allies led many to dismiss the event as little more than a rally for the right,” writes historian Kevin Kruse in One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America.

...

As the crowd gathered near the Lincoln Memorial for the event’s morning religious service, protesters behind them started a “smoke-in,” lighting up joints that were red, white and blue and waving Viet Cong flags.

“As the service went on, a few hundred radicals, some completely nude, waded waist deep into the reflecting pool and launched into antiwar chants,” Kruse writes. While some “Honor America Day” attendees were simply annoyed, others were invigorated by a chance to confront their political enemies.

History

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In 1970, the July 4th Holiday Turned Into a Culture Clash on the National Mall

By Paige Little
Published March 13, 2025
Updated March 14, 2025

Photo [A police officer on horseback overlooks Hippies wading in the Reflection Pool on Honor America Day, July 4, 1970.]

July 4th celebrations in Washington, D.C. have always been a big deal, but Bob Hope predicted that Independence Day in 1970 would be the “biggest celebration in American history.” Addressing the press at the Statler Hotel in early June, the comedian announced he would emcee a star-studded show on the National Mall featuring music performances, sermons, and guest speakers. The event, dubbed Honor America Day, was designed to be a pick-me-up for Americans “downtrodden by the rough news from Vietnam…and countless demonstrations against one aspect or another of American life.” 1

...

Months earlier, on the heels of Woodstock, Yippies and other counterculture demonstrators had pledged to have a demonstration of their own on the National Mall over the July 4th holiday: a pot smoke-in. 9

A ‘Yippie’ was a member of YIP – the Youth International Party based out of New York City, a group of young, “angry” political activists with penchants for hippie lifestyles.10 They smoked marijuana and took LSD, embraced nudity and sexual freedom, and they believed young people were the answer to ushering in the new era of social change.

Yippies were terrifying to supporters and leaders of the anti-counterculture, traditional, and conservative movements. Richard Nixon notably held very anti-drug, anti-marijuana views throughout most of his presidency, especially because of drug’s role in the ‘youth revolt.’11 Indeed, much of YIP’s identity was in its opposition to the established power structure. According to the Yippie Manifesto: “Amerika is a death machine. It is run on and for money whose power determines a society based on war, racism, sexism, and the destruction of the planet. Our life-energy is the greatest threat to the machine.” 12

Boundary Stones | WETA's Washington DC Local History

There you go. The original smoke-in, July 4, 1970. It's got drugs, nudity, wading into the Reflection Pool... definitely sounds like a DC protest circa the '70s. :)

If you prefer one version of Pet Sounds, then why would you direct me to another version? Don't answer that. ;)

Maybe they are including the smoke-ins during the War of 1812. Heh. ;)

I actually did a psychology graduate paper on Brian Wilson's catalog of songs. creativity can be a challenge to even define, much less evaluate comparatively.

https://youtu.be/gAT6UD8x-y0?si=kWm7UNLpjm5hvVCK

Elizabeth Miller, I direct you to this version: Pet Sounds

Brian Wilson was (almost completely) deaf in his right ear, and I cannot fathom how that didn't affect his production of the band's sound... because I'm not deaf.

I prefer this version: Pet Sounds

There's A Riot Goin' On

Thanks for the memories. And thanks for a column not about the fascist assault on one of America's great cities, etc., etc.