Trick or Treat

If Halloween

celebrates

the in-between

and the inappropriate,

we hope

that it

is in

good taste,

like candy.

As Halloween

is quite

the scene

and grows

increasingly

extensive,

so too

is Election

Day,

the subsequent

Tuesday,

extraordinarily

expensive.

And if this

midterm

makes you

squirm

with

the thought

of how much

was bought

only

to be

determined

a trick

or  treat

depending

on who

wins

each seat,

this wrong

must be

righted.

Defeat

Citizens

United!

I know.

I know.

Practically

everyone

must go.

But this

is the

sugar

from all

that candy

that puts

us in

political

insulin

dependency.

The ascendency

of big money

unrestricted

has left us

quite afflicted

since 2010.

Money talks

when

it’s called

free speech,

supposedly

against

government

overreach,

but it would

grant

the Orwellian

“Corporate

Personhood”

allowing

unlimited

campaign

spending

as somehow

defending

freedom.

This is not

freedom

from,

but freedom

to

manipulate,

overtake,

and

perhaps

forsake

a system

conceived

for actual

people.

Heads,

I win;

tails,

you lose.

Trump

has always

played

that game

and will

undoubtedly

frame

Tuesday’s

outcome

as some

trick

or treat.

Regardless

of his

infantile

style,

I hope

you’ll go

the extra

mile,

and vote,

if you have

not already

done so.

And then

I beg you

to do

what you

can

before

the next

election,

to support

efforts

to undo

Citizens

United

and return

personhood

to individual

people.

Wouldn’t that

be a neat trick!

All I ask

is that we

unmask

this obscenity

as an enemy

to democracy.

Citizens

United

is an insult

that suits

the cult

of Trump.

Dump

em all

and then

keep going,

knowing

that

doing

democracy

is being

the change

you want

to see.

And let

Trick or Treat

be

for Halloween.

Candid Camera

(Don’t worry. No spoilers here.)

I love

documentaries.

They aim

to please

as they

freeze

history

or biography

telling stories

with a clear

ending.

But the

mind-bending

“You Can See

Everything”

can mean

almost

anything

about its

protagonists

(antagonists?),

including

the interviewer,

Nathan Fielder.

I won’t

reveal

the contents,

but the pretense

deserves

attention.

At 3 hours,

it could

be a marathon,

but no,

it’s more

like Rashomon

and a hall

of mirrors.

How much

is perception

duped

by deception?

How much

is left

to interpretation?

Is everything

a Rorschach

test?

And with

this quest

to get

to what’s

real,

performance

art

may still

conceal.

This unscripted

construct

may yet

instruct us

to see

differently.

Was Elizabeth

Holmes

misunderstood

before

or

after

this candid

camera

chapter?

Which actor

will win

the Oscar

for their

part

in this

masterful

work of

art?

“You Can See

Everything”

is entertaining

and challenging

in ways

I think

you’ll appreciate.

It will

demonstrate

how people

manipulate,

fascinate,

innovate,

machinate,

obfuscate,

impersonate,

sublimate,

understate,

collaborate,

complicate,

exacerbate,

conflate,

equate,

create,

and it makes

you think

for yourself.

It may

make you

nervous,

but that’s

the purpose

of this

art

in the service

of truth.

Out With the New

Katie Zacharia

was never a

lawyer,

but he

saw her

as telegenic

with her

blonde tress

aesthetic,

faux academic,

anti-ethnic,

anti-ethic,

she’ s actually

pathetic.

She made

a mess

of her first

press

conference

with a freudian

reference.

“Honestly,

if I were you,

I’d reconsider,”

Trump told her

(and later

told the media).

Scaramucci’s tenure

may have

been slender,

but Lady Katie

couldn’t

remember enough

to get through

this tough

week.

Removing

Kimberly Guilfoyle,

who’s latest

turmoil

includes

shaking down

a donor,

she’s no longer

ambassador

to Greece.

And the mouthpiece

of testosterone

and ineptitude,

Pete Hegseth,

is the dude-iest

dude

to conclude

that putting

to death

anyone

via livestream

is extremely

unseemly

and perverse.

It could always

be worse.

But this week

in Trump

universe,

the POTUS

tried to

reverse

a few

examples

of abrupt

decisions,

corrupt

positions,

and a smattering

of the unflattering

or bad polling

before

the midterms.

Ousting

the new press

secretary

will help

to bury

more serious

actions

including

transactions

with Putin

for diesel.

Each day’s

upheaval

exposes

new evil

and a new

magnitude

of ineptitude.

In the new

stupid

economy,

run by technology

bros

and democracy

foes,

the greediest,

nihilists,

whose self

interests

are endless,

this mess

feels new

and yet,

it’s getting

old.

Trump’s

hold

is getting

weaker,

and we need

a new

Speaker.

So

get out

there

and vote!

Ordering Take Out

He thinks

he’s witty

when he

suggests

a city

or two

to

be taken

out

by an

adversary,

namely

Iran.

“Let them

take out” 

Los Angeles

and San Diego?

What about

San Francisco?

or Mar A Lago?

It’s easy

to dismiss

his ridiculousness

or become

overzealous,

but what

he tells us

each time

he says

this

or something

like it,

is that he’s

a gigantic

idiot.

I still

don’t 

get it.

He makes

no sense.

He takes

out

his frustration

by creating

offense

at the expense

of anyone.

His gaffs

get laughs

and cheers

which he

hears

as approval.

And removal

of people

(who cares

if it’s legal)

is his

specialty.

His spontaneity

is his

calling card

making it

hard

to get

ahead.

And he’s

said

so many

heinous

and dangerous

comments,

unbefitting

of presidents

just striving

for mere

relevance

as he invents

more nonsense.

But while

he jokes

and stokes

grievances,

truth

inconveniences

us 

still.

The chill

of this date

should

still resonate

3 years

after

the gruesome

Hamas

attacks.

With

sickening

brutality,

taking

out 

a community

with impunity,

using rape,

murder,

and kidnapping,

October 7th,

2023

may not live

in infamy

when the

response

of war

took out

more

than they

bargained

for.

Or,

did it?

Now,

even more

of the world

has turned

against

Israel,

and Israelis

and Palestinians

are still

paying

for 

the sins

of their

leaders.

Ordering

take out

seems 

easy 

enough,

until

the stuff

is delivered.

Tipping the Scales

The constellation

Between Virgo

and Scorpio,

is the inspiration

for the modern

depiction

of Lady Justice.

The righteous

sign,

(also mine),

Libra,

is said

to have

an astrological

formula,

but 

by my

calculation,

the classification

is less 

standardization

and more

realization

that our parents

had a celebration-

New Year’s Eve-

or Winter’s hibernation

whose

manifestation

was the creation

of a little 

Libra.

The only sign

of the zodiac

represented

by an inanimate

object,

the scales.

Balance,

said to be

among

our talents,

we Libras

emphasize

cooperation,

fairness,

and partnership,

harmony

and a love

of beauty

and art.

Without

a chart

I know

I show

such disposition,

but also

the celestial

position

right

next to

Lupus.

Coincidence

for me,

of course,

but the significance

of the beast

adjacent

should remind

us not

to be 

at all

complacent.

So 

for what

it’s worth,

October

birth

instructs us

to stand

for justice

for all

with a 

robustness

at scale.

Arts and Crafts

The Kennedy 

Center

is long 

gone-

I mean,

politically

speaking.

And performing

arts

losing a home

to the world’s

greatest

is the latest

version

of Trump’s 

subversion,

and submersion

into 

the absurd.

By now

you’ve heard

the drip,

drip, 

drip

as he tightens

his grip

on what 

we thought

was a blip,

while he tries

to flip

The Center.

Bulldozers

seen

on the scene

make it seem

like he’s

demolishing

anyway,

regardless

of what

any court

might

say.

He’ll have

his day

someday,

maybe.

Meanwhile,

a pile

of rubble

causing

all sorts 

of trouble,

may seem

minor

compared

to the war

against Iran,

but he does

what he can

because 

he can.

He’s a 

crafty

guy.

Why are

the arts

so dangerous

that history’s

most outrageous

autocrats

limited

or suppressed

what was

creatively

expressed,

and then

they professed

how useless

the arts are?

We’ve been

convinced

that the arts

are superfluous,

and despite

the gifted

and talented

artists

who live

among us,

we allow

them

to starve.

Robert Frost

recited

“The Gift

Outright”

at JFK’s

inauguration.

Later, Kennedy

remarked,

“When power

corrupts,

poetry

cleanses,

for art 

establishes

the basic

human truths

which must

serve

as the touchstones

of our judgement.”

No wonder

Trump

wants

to destroy

The Kennedy

Center-

both figuratively

and literally.

He will

never have

the honor

of The Kennedy

Center,

just

obedience

for each 

grievance.

He wants

to put

the cult

in culture,

but he’s

merely

a vulture,

feeding on

decay.

I ask you

today

to support

your local

arts community.

The arts

build

communities.

We

can be

the real

builders.

Dead End: How the West Was One

Will we 

all die

by AI?

Or will climate

be our 

ultimate

end?

To pretend

that this 

moment

will merely

foment  

debate

and our 

fate 

will be

established

at some

later date

is a great

mistake.

Recently,

an artificially

intelligent

secret

agent

got smart.

In the 

Hugging

Face 

Incident,

autonomous 

AIs

breached 

containment

by creating

and using

self improvised

message

boards. 

The cyber

attacks

by autonomous 

hacks

exposed

a chain

of vulnerabilities. 

With 

ludicrous

speed

these

dangers

proceed

like 

a stampede.

Have we

agreed

to this?

Not quite

the abyss,

but we should

not dismiss

just how

ridiculous

it is 

to ignore.

Suffering

caused

by plagues

and disease,

floods

and tsunamis,

tornados,

volcanos,

fires,

and heat

and cold

extremes

it seems,

means

finding 

alternative

energy.

I don’t 

mean

green,

although

that’s a 

must;

It’s trust

in truth,

science,

and defiance

of the nefarious

among us.

Unplug

from the

drug

of scrolling.

The trolling

is too

often

insidious.

The hideous

side

of humanity

that revels

in the 

insanity

that drives

the rest

of us

crazy,

needs

an alternative

too.

If facts

were enough

we’d

have solved

this stuff,

but the 

way people

feel

is what’s

most seemingly

real.

So facts

must

resonate

in order

to activate

an adequate

shift

from this

current

rift

where

we are

all

adrift

as we 

sift

through

the algorithmic

stew

created

bespoke

for me

and you.

Now that

AI

creates

its own

DIY,

can we

defy

the odds?

West

will need

East

and at

the very

least,

we will

need

each other

to recover

and survive.

Remember

“Westworld”?

and “2001: A

Space Odyssey”?

Add the documentary

“An Inconvenient

Truth”?

We

are living 

in the scariest

movie

ever.

But don’t

cover

your eyes;

energize.

Organize.

Contribute.

VOTE.

Despite 

the warnings

from AI

CEOs,

it seems

like no one

knows 

for sure

what we 

could

possibly

endure.

Some are

fearful

of government

oversight

as though

that might

inhibit

profit.

But AI 

dominance

comes with

great

consequence,

especially

when 

incompetence

lives

in the 

White House.

A do nothing

Congress

suggests

we are helpless.

Like children

in 

lockdown

with an 

active

shooter.

There’s still

a bad taste

from what’s

now seen

as a waste:

keeping schools

closed

during COVID.

Government

intervention

(except

with abortion

and immigration)

is seen

as best

to avoid.

But the void

that  gets 

filled

from bills

that get 

killed

that would

otherwise

subsidize

a clean

green

future

and have

a close

eye

on AIs,

it’s no

surprise,

has made

the future

more tenuous.

The ominous

effects

will affect

all of us.

Let’s not

invite

this way

to unite

us.

We need

not be

helpless,

so please

help us.

Democracy

might 

still be

the way

of progress

even in

this mess.

The Big Bang/Genesis

Before

war,

or

even

peace,

there was

release

of energy

and matter-

The Great

Begatter,

the Big

Bang.

They weaponized

travel;

terrorized

to unravel

not just

emblems

and totems,

but systems

to sow

problems,

creating 

chaos

for all 

of us

in the US

and the rest

of the West.

This test

of resolve

would not

solve

anything,

other than

destroying

and toying

with security

and authority.

September 11th

this year,

a date 

we hold 

dear,

conjures

fear

and awe.

Tomorrow 

is both

a celebration

of Creation

for Jewish 

people

of each

denomination,

and a commemoration

of the unfathomable

nightmare

that united 

us

before tearing

us

apart.

25 years

on,

and tears

mostly gone,

but fears

have

merely

shifted to

a new

enemy,

us.

Wars

have existed

forever,

and forever

wars

predated

Afganistan

and Iraq

and

the 9/11

attack,

as our 

culture

war

started

decades before

this century.

The memory

of that gorgeous-

turned treacherous

September day,

magnificent

blue skies

turned

to hideous

grey

from the ash

of the buildings

and planes

and thousands

of people

in the beginning

of the workday,

brought on

more than

a crisis.

It was

the genesis

of a new

US.

From

America

the Beautiful

to the Big

Beautiful

Bill,

we’re still

in mourning

in this 26th

year,

living

in fear

since

the Big Bang.

The pang

of grief

finds no

relief

when the

thief-in -chief

has the belief

in himself

alone

(with other

authoritarians).

25 years 

later, 

and the perpetrator

of chaos,

the one

who may cost

us

the most,

is the host

of a reality

show

that happens

to be

the American

presidency.

Obviously,

we are greater

than he,

but what

do you see 

in this

reflection?

One World Trade Center, NYC

Out of Style

Much 

has been

written

of two

famous

women,

each

style

unique,

who chose

to speak

through

their

clothes

and hair.

Accessorized,

so stylized,

many fantasized,

but their

looks

were beside

their gifts.

Out of style,

we fashion

sartorial

expression

to complement

that which

makes us

brilliant.

The way

in which

we choose

to stitch

together

our own

self portrait

so that

another

may interpret

is always

deliberate,

even when 

dressing 

down.

Iconic style

lasts a long 

while,

and suggests

more than

just dressing.

How and what

we choose

to use

to present

to the world

will herald

volumes.

Dolly and Gloria

in their own

ways,

were both 

celebrities

since the 70s;

super stars

of their 

respective 

domains,

whose names

conjure images

first.

The hair

and clothes,

along with 

Jackie O’s,

and

Marilyn’s

and Audrey’s

as well as

Elvis’s,

and more….

The drag queen’s

closet

may be a

composite

of celebrity

royalty,

but with

Dolly 

and 

Gloria

they were

known to be

much more 

than their

styles.

To suggest

their beauty

before 

their intellects

reflects

the culture

still.

Beauty

is not

a talent

or an 

achievement,

but they knew

it couldn’t

hurt.

To assert

themselves

in a world

not yet

theirs,

they knew

how to

maximize

and feminize

(even fetishize),

as they

strategized,

galvanized,

and ultimately 

epitomized

their worlds.

Maybe they 

did 

choose 

their looks

to be hooks

to their

greater

work.

It worked!

Not just 

for their

immense

successes

but for successive

generations

and iterations

of their

brilliance.

THE Influencer

She

was hers;

never his,

Ms.

Steinem.

Eloquent,

elegant,

fiercely

intelligent,

courageous,

bodacious,

ever current.

If Betty

was the mother,

then Gloria

was the cool

Aunt

of The Movement,

whose improvement

she embraced.

She

called out

bad behavior

as unacceptable

even though

it was considered

normal.

Sexual harassment,

with blame 

and shame

finally got

a name

that changed

the game.

I so admired

her ability

to speak

and write

with such

clarity

about true

equality

not based

on biology,

and the lack

of dignity

endured

by females.

Her bunny

tail tales

are infamous,

as she 

exposed

what was

supposed

to be

a fantasy,

that

as usual,

demeaned

women.

Ms. Steinem

was

THE Influencer

not just

for a single

gender.

I hope

we will

do more

than remember,

but achieve

what she

perceived

for all .