I was just reading 'Stars and Stripes', and their coverage of tRump's parade

[70sEraVet]

It started off truthfully enough, but seemed to purposely avoid giving actual numbers.

Thousands of people flocked to the nation’s capital Saturday for a city-wide celebration to honor the Army’s 250th birthday.

However, as the report went on, the vague numbers got a little more telling:

As hundreds of people poured into the National Mall area, Werner said the turnout was “impressive,” bobbing his Army-issued black cavalry hat as he took in the attendees....

Then the scale of the embarrassment shone in its full glory:

By midday, less than two hours after the festival opened to the public, dozens of attendees gathered around the Army’s technology of the future —

https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-06-14/army-birthday-parade-national-mall-festival-18121919.html

The "thousands" managed to slip to "hundreds" quickly, before nearly disappearing into "dozens", all within the space of " less than two hours".

[Mz Pip]

1. MAGAs are posting pictures

from the July 4, 2024 celebration on the National Mall saying the media is lying about crowd size.

They refuse to believe what a flop the parade was.

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. Had to google that

"What was the weather in DC on 7/4/24"

On July 4, 2024, Washington D.C. experienced hot and humid weather. A heat wave brought "oppressive heat and humidity" to the area, with high temperatures in the low 90s, feeling closer to 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit when factoring in the humidity. A heat advisory was in effect from noon to 8 p.m

Sounds just like Saturday when we saw all of those people sweating buckets in the heat.

[Mysterian]

2. Always liked Stars and Stripes when I was stationed overseas

They seem to be OK.

[70sEraVet]

3. I agree. Their reporting always seemed truthful.

And I think this article was carefully written to be as truthful as it could be.

[sop]

10. Without the author being court-martialed.

[Mysterian]

13. It's not a military publication

It's not military people writing for Stars and Stripes

[sop]

15. I learn something new every day.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

8. I liked them, also.

But my overseas tour was decades ago and I haven’t read Stars & Stripes in a long time. I hope they are still a good, objective read.

[33taw]

11. Any federal funding will be stopped ASAP.

[jmowreader]

14. I was never a huge fan of Pacific Stars and Stripes

There are two papers using that name, Stars and Stripes which is for soldiers in Europe, and Pacific Stars and Stripes which is for soldiers in Asia.

Pacific Stars and Stripes very, very rarely had anything in it about units in Korea, even though that's where most troops stationed in Asia are. If you were at Kadena Air Base (the biggest USAF installation in Europe) or Yokota Air Base (which is near Tokyo, and is headquarters of US Forces Japan and Fifth Air Force), you got a lot of coverage. The guys up north at Misawa Air Base got less coverage. You might have seen two or three articles a month about units in Korea.

I would have liked to see more coverage of the Berlin-based units in Stars and Stripes, but overall it was a decent paper.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. The turnout at this event made me smile

[Brother Buzz]

7. LOL, that's grand!

[dchill]

5. I've heard "Tens of people" used to describe it.

[erronis]

6. Military.com is also a good read.

"The Army Turns 250. Trump Turns 79. Cue Funnel Cakes, Festive Bling, Military Might — and Protest"
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/15/army-turns-250-trump-turns-79-cue-funnel-cakes-festive-bling-military-might-and-protest.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — There were funnel cakes, stands of festival bling and American flags aplenty. There were mighty machines of war, brought out to dazzle and impress. And there was the spray of tear gas against demonstrators in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and rolling waves of anti-Trump resistance coast to coast.

In scenes of celebration, protest and trepidation Saturday, masses of Americans cheered for a rousing Army parade like none seen in Washington in generations. Masses more rallied across the country against a president derided by his critics as an authoritarian, would-be king.

On Saturday, the U.S. Army turned 250 and President Donald Trump 79. The double birthday bash energized crowds of well-wishers and military families in the capital while others decried the militarization of city streets — in Los Angeles, where a federalized National Guard and U.S. Marines remained deployed against unrest, and in Washington for the parade.

. . .

It was all too much for Wind Euler, 62, who flew from Arizona to join the protesters. “My father was a Marine in Iwo Jima, and he was a Republican," Euler said. "I think he would be appalled by the fascist display this parade shows.”

Opinions as plentiful as the imagery

In a camouflage jacket and Army baseball hat, Army veteran Aaron Bogner of Culpeper, Virginia, decried how he believes Trump is using the U.S. military to advance a personal agenda. “I think it’s shameful," Bogner said. “It’s just an engineered birthday party. It’s an excuse to have tanks in your streets like North Korea.”

. . .

[Martin68]

9. I see why they did there.