By CHRIS WALLACE
On June 14, 2025, a group of obviously concerned citizens gathered at the whale statue to sing and chant and demand we not have a king. I never did ascertain if they were opposed to a king for Juneau (Has anyone seen Bruce Bothelo lately?) or a king for the State of Alaska, or the country as a whole. The group was not clear in their precise intent.
Based on the attendance, I guess one could claim the Juneau “No Kings” Rally was a moderate success. While I never saw an official attendance estimate, from my viewpoint on the Douglas Island Bridge, I would say there were 700 or 800 people in attendance. Based on the stated goal, “no king”, you have to say the event was an unqualified success. We still don’t have a king. Thanks guys!! Great work, indeed. Thank you all for your dedication to achieving this noble and, in my opinion, worthy goal.
I find it ironic that so many people in Juneau and around the country at large are concerned about Trump being a king. To my knowledge, Trump has not attempted to assume the role of a king. He has worked very hard to get Congress to pass his Big Beautiful Bill. Wouldn’t a king just enact the Big Beautiful Bill by proclamation? Would a king bother building a consensus with a legislative body?
Yes, Trump did appoint a group of people to identify fraud in government spending. I’m an educated person, but I cannot speak intelligently as to why anyone would be opposed to this activity. It’s as if someone told you the bank was stealing your money and you get mad at the person who told you of the theft, but not the bank for stealing your money.
I am not aware of Trump mandating anyone’s behavior. I don’t believe he has mandated everyone wear a mask. He did not make an unproven vaccination mandatory. He did not mandate you to stay inside your house. Nor, to my knowledge, has he closed anyone’s business.
Trump has not, as far as I know, forbid anyone from going to their chosen house of worship nor going to a dining establishment of their choice. I have never heard of Trump mandating that your elderly family members die alone, surrounded only by people they don’t know. People wearing hazmat gear as if they were cleaning up at Chernobyl. Can you imagine the horror of that scene for someone dying with dementia?
Trump hasn’t opened any hotlines to tattle on your neighbors for not wearing masks or having small gatherings in their private homes with friends and family. Trump hasn’t mandated every public establishment put social distancing stickers all over the floor. I don’t think he directed stores to hang plexiglass shields all over the place with no discernable benefit to anyone. Well, no benefit other than apparently it makes people who are terrified by life “feel” safe.
Yes, Trump did establish a hotline for turning in criminals. We have had similar hotlines for years; Crimestoppers readily comes to mind. Trump did establish a hotline for turning in people who are in the country illegally. I know, I’ve read the yard signs, “No one is Illegal.” No one said anyone is illegal. THE LAW says entering the country illegally makes that person a criminal, period. The person is not illegal; their behavior is. For those who view life from a Christian bent, separate the sinner from the sin.
The Biden Administration chose to not in-force the borders of the United States. I have my own theories about why, but regardless, the Biden Administration did not in-force the law. Ignoring a law does not make the law invalid. Ignoring the law makes Biden appear to think he’s a king. Choosing to not in-force the law of the land, a law passed by the legislative branch and signed by a previous administration(s), seems a lot like kingly behavior to me. Hey, wait a minute….I’m starting to see what’s afoot here.
A king will mandate all sorts of behavior. A king would impose penalties without having a law, passed by the legislative branch, specifying what is illegal behavior. You know, things like if you don’t get a vaccination, you will lose your job. Not a vaccination recommended by your physician or health care advisor, but a vaccine mandated by a government bureaucrat. A bureaucrat who never talked to you, let alone gave you a medical examination.
A king would mandate his laws for your body, again without input from you or your healthcare provider. The hypocrisy of the “my body, my choice” crowd whole-heartedly embracing the vaccine mandate would be hilarious, if the consequences weren’t so dire. It is a very kingly act though.
What ever happened to “Keep your laws off my body”? Seems to me a king would mandate what you can and cannot do with your body. I don’t believe Trump has done anything close to mandating any medical procedure or prescribed any medications for anyone. Is anyone else starting to see a pattern here?
One other kingly behavior that has been absent from the Trump presidency: He didn’t issue blanket pardons for his friends and his family. Hey!! That’s it!! I finally got it. Trump isn’t the source of all the angst. It’s old Joe from Scranton who all my friends are protesting.
So the “No Kings” protest truly was a rousing success. Old Joe is gone from office, shuffled off to Lord knows where, doing Lord knows what, unburdened by what has been. The “king” has been deposed; run from office by his nobles. Lord Schumer, Lady Pelosi, and Lady Hillary, even Jester Clooney (Yeah, his king-maker act cracks me up, too.) rallied round the failing king and ran their swords clean through the old fella. In a way it is quite sad really. Kings should die on their feet, not on their knees, clinging to fading power, begging for life.
One other glaring irony of the “No Kings” day. The mob held it on June 14th. We used to call June 14th “Flag Day” a day when most Americans would proudly fly the American flag on the front of their houses. June 14, 2025, was also the 250thanniversary for the founding of the American Army. A lot of people seem to think of those days just aren’t a big deal any more.
But remember, fellow citizens, it is the American Soldier who protects our right to say what we want. They defend the rights of the “No Kings” crowd to show up with their signs. Signs that were often profane, but rarely profound, and chant sophomoric phrases with elementary rhymes. (Side note: Is there anything more tired and played-out than those insipid, re-worked 60’s protest chants? Honestly? Hollywood thinks those guys and girls need to find some original material.)
Probably a lot of people at the whale statue on Saturday and at all the other protests around the country failed to appreciate another irony of their actions. Not only did you potentially ruin a great day at a beautiful Juneau tourist spot, but you did it on Flag Day and the birthday of the United States Army.
The juxtaposition is beyond disrespectful. As a veteran, I think those people are fools and silly. But that is their right and I will proudly defend it. As a veteran who lost family members defending their right to be silly fools though, I have to ask, couldn’t you do it on another day? How about April 1st?
Chris Wallace is Juneau resident and long-time Alaskan, having first moved here in 1972 with his parents and four siblings. He grew up in Fairbanks and is a graduate of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and now owns and operates his own business. He lives in Juneau with his wife, JoAnn. You will often see them walking the streets, bike paths, and trails of Juneau and Douglas.