Today is June 14. It is, among other things, Donald Trump's birthday, and as you may have heard, he made the Army throw him a parade. It happened—but given how badly he seems to want the attention, just this once, let's look at what people who aren't Donald Trump did today.

What did people who aren't Donald Trump do today?

Quite a lot, actually, all over the United States of America.

Beachgoers in San Francisco made some art.

 

In Atlanta, people were turned away from Liberty Plaza when it reached its capacity of 5,000.

Boise's capitol grounds were bustling.

Thousands of people rallied in downtown Minneapolis, in spite of warnings that the man who impersonated a police officer and murdered one Democratic legislator and her husband, and shot another and his wife, was still at large and planning to target a rally.

In West Palm Beach, citizens got as good a look at Mar-a-Lago as you can get without paying a million dollars a year for a membership. (For some reason, the bridge leading right up to it was blocked.)

In Arlington, some folks celebrated the Army's 250th birthday.

Versatile character actor and anti-war activist Mark Ruffalo, best known for his starring role opposite Channing Tatum in the sports thriller Foxcatcher, was mobbed by fans on the streets of Manhattan.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Homer, Alaska (pop. 5,000).

Bostonians stood up for trans rights in a Pride parade.

In Starkville, Mississippi, a tiny little dog and her person spoke out against dangerous and cruel cuts to Medicaid.

In Philadelphia, someone put together a budget proposal for the administration to consider.

They pondered theology in Tallahassee.

 

In Cincinnati, some friends went for a stroll.

A woman in Gig Harbor, Washington, had some thoughts about fish. 

Residents in Gulfport, Mississippi coordinated their parasols.

Dolores Taylor of Denver got out and enjoyed the sun. 

Folks enjoyed novelty balloons in Los Angeles.

Approximately 2,000 marches, rallies, sit-ins, gatherings, and other forms of protest took place in big cities, small towns, and tiny villages all over the United States today, which is also Flag Day. Millions of Americans took part in them.

It wasn't all happy news today in America, though. Washington, DC hoteliers were lamenting unseasonably low occupancy rates for a June weekend with the Nationals playing at home. (The Nats dropped their seventh game in a row, 4-3, in a day game in front of a crowd of 21,129.)

Why does this matter?

• It matters because Americans can and still do exercise their rights to free speech and freedom of assembly no matter how much their government might wish they wouldn't.