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Napa Rises on 'No King Day'
By Sasha Paulsen
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Around the country on Monday, Americans took to the streets in transforming traditional Presidents’ Day events into “No King Day” protests.
Napa County took part as U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson hosted a “We the People” rally at the site of the 9/11 Memorial Garden in downtown Napa. Approximately 400 people filled the square to listen to Thompson, California State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, State Rep. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell and Napa City Councilman Bernie Narvaez talk about the current state of the government, one month into the new Trump administration.
The crowd included seniors, students, mothers with babies, youngsters and all ages in between, many carrying signs that read “Stop the coup,” “Who let the DOGE in?,” “Impeach Trump –again,” “Hate has no home here” and “Make America Sane Again.”
Thompson opened the gathering by talking about the importance of “everyone knowing that the American flag is every Americans’ flag.”
“I am wondering if they have a plan to save democracy,” said Napa resident Jeanette O’Gallagher, as speakers addressed the onslaught of challenges the first days of the Trump presidency has presented, from fears of deportation, to Elon Musk’s DOGE teams’ access to Americans’ personal data, to threats to upend Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Thompson outlined the halting of National Institutes of Health research grants at UC Davis, located in his fourth congressional district. In addition to key ag research, he said, medical research into cancer and mental health “issues that touch us all” were in danger of being shut down.
The politicians’ messages, however, included the importance of the role “we the people” must play in halting the implementation of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s published plan to dismantle and reshape the government – from looking out for their neighbors to volunteering to help get accurate information out to the public.
“I was wondering when we were going to take to the streets,” said retired educator Lenore Hirsch, whose sign read “Deport hate, greed (and) lies.”
“It’s a start,” said Napa resident James Duggan. “We have to get out there every day.”
Napa artist Angela Tirrell summed it up simply: “I am here in defense of the nation I love.”
Cabaldon, who said resistance will be a “four-year marathon and a sprint every day,” provided a lighter note by singing a version of the Bill of Rights, and the gathering concluded with a rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” by the American Canyon High School Chamber Choir.
The key phrase in the national anthem, Thompson said, is the line “And our flag was still there,” written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland by the British Royal Navy during the War of 1812.
“That is our charge,” Thompson said.
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Sasha Paulsen is a Napa Valley-based novelist and journalist.
It was a start. Not enough, but a start. As my sign said, “Efficiency does not require disregarding the U.S. Constitution.
I get every Napa Valley publication and didnt know about this. Need more publicity