As part of their “Project Pipes” campaign to shut down Washington Gas instead of giving them a $5 billion subsidy to replace their leaking pipes, Extinction Rebellion DC (XRDC) researched their ownership. On turning over a rock, XRDC uncovered a toxic mess: turns out Washington Gas is owned by Michigan-based AltaGas, an investor in the infamous Mountain Valley Pipeline or MVP.

Looks like XRDC is jousting against a much bigger opponent than they originally suspected! The MVP has been delayed for years by repeated “goal line stands” using heavy-duty civil disobedience and more to buy time for lawsuits to win more delays. Over and over permits have expired or simply been denied. The MVP was supposed to be dead, but Joe Manchin forced Federal permit expedition into the summer debt ceiling budget deal, so back to the trenches go land defenders.

Activists have known for some time where Joe Manchin lives: his “Almost Heaven” houseboat at Washington Marina was the subject of kayak protests and dockside visits back in 2021. At one of them “Masarati Manchin” used his Masarati parked in a garage at the Marina to push his way through early AM protesters.

Now activists know where Washington Gas’s bosses live too-in Michigan not DC, MD, or VA. Details should not be hard to find. Whatever the financial and environmental comparisons of replacing Washington gas’ $5 billion worth of leaking, rusty, and unfit for further use gas pipes vs replacing every gas stove and furnace in DC with electric, there is no question that all the corporate parasites behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline need to be shut down and NOT replaced.

Photographic proof exists but I do not know how to upload photos with the current “block editor,” see https://dcindymedia.org/node/4287 for the screenshot of Altagas’ website

On the 2nd of September, hard Nazi groups Blood Tribe and GDL never made it into Orlando proper, instead terrorizing people in Crane’s Beak Park near their staging area where they left their cars. The walk to Orlando was too much for these “store bought tridents” to consider. Black Lives Matter marches in DC have sometimes walked over 10 miles, neo-Nazi losers apparently are not up for this.

Instead, the hassled the park, then gathered on an I-4 overpass near Orlando (as close as they got) chanting “Sieg Heil” and even “Jews Will Not Replace US,” the chant made infamous by the violent Charlottesville torch march Aug 11 2017. Also they directly threatened our Jewish friends with death, chanting “Jews get the rope,” a variation on their “pedophiles get the rope” which is actually aimed at everyone except strictly cishet folks.

After the highway overpass blustering, the neo-nazi bigots retreated towards their cars, the media in pursuit. They managed to lose the overt media tail with direct threats, but angry bystanders recorded them near their cars, and someone even got a partial Texas tag from one of them.

Video credits Ford Fischer, plus an activist who shot video for my use at Charlottesville (I was still too hot from the Deploraball to deploy there), and finally some of the bystanders the Nazis pissed off. Edited by Iron Snowflake.

On the 1st of September, protesters gathered at the N Orange Ave office of the Orange County area’s state prosecutor. Protesters called out new prosecutor Andrew Bain’s extreme right, racist, transphobic, and homophobic agenda of hate. This agenda is being imposed on Orlando over the objection of voters, who did NOT choose Andrew Bain. It is the Federalist Society and DeSantis who selected (NOT elected) Bain.

On Aug 9, Florida dictator Ron DeSantis “suspended” the Orlando area’s elected reformist prosecutor Monique Worrel. He installed far-right, Federalist Society affiliated judge Andrew Bain as her replacement. A similar outrage in Tampa was directly responsible for the Tampa 5 case in which 5 peaceful protesters on a university campus against one of DeSantis’ bills were charged with major felonies.

People were SURFING on Bayshore Drive in Tampa this afternoon! Actually more like water skiing, but with a surfboard. Hurricane Idalia served Florida a HUGE lemon, so Tampa made lemonade. Both a surfboard and a tube raft were pulled behind 4 wheel drive trucks, plus a pair of ATV’s easily handled the flooding, throwing huge rooster tails as they passed

On Monday the 28th of August, what was to be a commemoration of MLK’s March on Washington in Jacksonville, FL instead turned into a furious protest against Saturday’s murders-and of Fl Governor Ron DeSantis. The Governor is being considered responsible for the shootings. He is being called out for all but soliciting the murders with his steady drumbeat of racist laws and propaganda.

Marchers and speakers called ou DeSantis as a racist, a white supremacist, and an out and out Nazi. While march organizers asked everyone not to engage any counterprotesters or hecklers, not a single Proud Boy or member of any other fascist group other than the cops dared to show up openly.

On Sunday, the 27th of August, Fl Governor Ron DeSantis had the nerve to shot up at a vigil for the three African-Americans murdered by a white nationalist the previous day. He was roundly booed for as one speaker at the Monday August 28 rally described, “offering thoughts and prayers with the same mouth he used to fan the flames of white supremacy.”

On the 26th of August, drag defenders kept a sold-out drag show at Aunt Helen’s in Washington DC safe, defeating an attempt by hatemongering street preachers to invade at least their space if not the venue behind them. Defenders deployed umbrellas to shield families with children from the potentially doxxing cameras of the Christian extremist preachers and their allies.

Near the end of the show, the attackers crossed the street and in what appears to have been a determined attack started pushing and attempting to break the line of defenders. Several umbrellas broke under the assault, but determined defenders held the line. The show was uninterrupted, and all attendees and performers kept safe.

It seems that street preachers and Christian hate cults are playing a major role at least on the East Coast if not nationwide in harassing drag shows and Pride events. It was hate preachers from another “official street preachers” style outfit that showed up on August 13 at an all ages drag event in Lakeland, at St Petersburg, FL Pride, and assaulted a child at Pasco Pride again in Florida.

On the last Friday of every month, Critical Mass Orlando takes to the streets. Hundreds of bike riders show up every month in cities all over the US, Orlando is one of a great many still holding the monthly rides.

Critical Mass dates back to the 1990’s, even fierce police assaults in San Francisco (1990’s) and New York City (2004) were unable to stop the rides. They began as a protest of cars making it impossible for bicycle commuters to safely cross some intersections without first building up a “critical mass” of riders, and some grew into militiant protest rides. Today, many of them (Orlando for instance) are family-friendly social rides.

Video begins with videographer arguing with a DeSantis, pointing out that DeSantis (as a theocrat) is to the right even of the Nazis, and that an attempt to impose a Christian Nationalist theocracy would end in civil war. Right-wingers were later reminded by the same videographer that they would be fighting a war of choice with nothing even to gain, while their opponents fight a war of survival.

The proposal to eliminate ALL proclaimations from the Polk County, FL school board passed with the extreme right supporting and LGBTQ+ activists objecting. LGBTQ+ activists called out the hypocrisy and religious bigotry of those favoring the vote to abolish all proclaimations so as to avoid the Pride proclaimation. One also called out the felony committed by School Board member Rick Nolte. He accepted a $5,200 cash campaign contribution. More than $5000 is a 3ed degree felony in Florida. As expected with ruling class “just-us,” his punishment was a $1250 fine.

One of the hard Fascists was photographed in the seats wearing Nazi Germany’s 1939 Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. Probably the Nazi equivalent of a store bought SEAL trident as the actual medal was awarded only ONCE and five more captured by US troops. While the wearer did not speak, the swastika in the center of the Iron Cross in this medal makes his loyalties clear.

On the 17th of August, protesters once again showed up at the entrance to the posh private community so-called “Justice” Clarence Thomas lives in.

Protesters called out his corruption and pay for play politics as making him unfit for office. Can you say “billionaire Republican megadonor Harlan Crow” and “Clarence Thomas” together?

The cops must have been caught by surprise, it took them nearly an hour to show up.

(video liberated from X/Twitter. Note that Elon Musk with his 1mpg private jet may remove the original at any time!)

On Saturday the 12th of August, Climate Defiance managed to obtain tickets to a closed Biden fundraiser featuring Kamela Harris in Massachusetts. As she spoke, Climate Defiance activsts stood up and interrupted her. They reminded her that the Biden administration is expanding “expanding fossil fuels faster than TRUMP!”

They demanded Kamela and Biden keep their promises on climate change, but the hypocrisy of the Biden administration on climate is obvious.