El Niño

A marine

heat-wave

seen

forming 

in

the Pacific

Ocean

confuses

global 

weather systems

and produces

more intense

drought,

rain,

and flooding,

disrupting hurricane

and monsoon 

seasons-

reasons

for extreme

heat

and agricultural

retreat

and failure.

With the coming

Super

El Niño-

the fear

this year

is that a 

warming

climate

will exacerbate

an already

monstrous

El Niño fate,

already difficult

to navigate.

With higher

temperatures

expected

this summer,

and weather

systems

becoming

chaotic,

our sclerotic

governmental

attempt

to preempt

disaster

will be tested

faster

than expected.

What to expect

when you’re

expecting

El Niño

in an already

overheated,

defeated,

depleted,

political

climate?

When 

an 

over reliance

on business

to lead us

without

government

to co-invent

a clean

energy

environment,

we are left

with 

insufficient

preparation.

Meanwhile,

AI Data Centers

are being built

without

regulation

as their demand

for water

and electricity

hurts

each nearby

community,

as tech companies

seem to have

immunity

from everything.

Nurturing

is not just

for mothers.

For Mothers’

Day,

I say,

start to be

a citizen

who takes

action

beyond

a ballot.

The climate

is in crisis.

Think of it

like Isis:

we can’t

just

be victims

in waiting.

I know

the threats

to democracy

are 

an emergency

we see

playing out

each day.

But this 

El Niño

on the way,

is a brutal

warning

of what

global

warming

plus natural

disaster

at a rate

much

faster

than expected

means

when unprotected.

The El Niño 

prediction

of infliction

of serious

threat

should get

you to do

what you can

for collective

action.

Building

political will

will require

your energy

and money

for green energy

policies,

and government

assurance

that insurance

will be there

when

and where

it’s needed.

This Mothers’ Day,

I say,

write a letter

to the editor

and/or

your 

legislator.

Connect with

another 

activator.

Here’s a toolkit

that could fit

most any

climate

issue:

https://www.beyondplastics.org/tools

And here’s a way

(for Mother’s Day)

to contribute

to candidates

to flip the house

towards

climate stewards

(and other helpful

policies):

https://app.oath.vote/

And working

to pass 

reasonable legislation

is the 

Citizens Climate

Lobby 

organization:

These are just 

a few

I hope 

you

will explore,

but I implore 

you to 

do something

for Mothers’ Day,

as 

El Niño

is on the way

and the climate

crisis

is already

here.

The antidote

to fear

is action.

Please,

in honor of 

your mother

and earth,

your actions

are worth

it.

We can

make progress-

even now,

despite

that monster

threat.

Resiliency

and sustainability

are a possibility

but require

communal responsibility.

Now go 

to your room

and do

your homework.

Happy Mothers’

Day!

The King’s Speech and Map Quest

Unlike our president,

the king 

was elegant

and eloquent,

addressing Congress

in nothing less

than a 

masterclass.

Our special

relationship

he suggested,

was born

from dispute

brutally

contested,

yet met

to create

a partnership

based on

shared

values.

Charles

charmed

and disarmed

with praise,

while reminding

listeners

of guiding 

principals

beyond each

phase 

of history.

“Not by the will

of one,

but by

the deliberation 

of many,

representing

the living

mosaic

of The United States.

In both

of our

countries,

it is the very

fact

of our vibrant,

diverse,

and free

societies

that give us

our collective

strength,

including 

to support

victims

of some of

the ills

that,

so tragically,

exist

in both

our societies

today.”

He,

so beautifully,

recounted

our shared 

history

and those

specifically

American.

Noting

our geography

that plays

significantly

in our story,

he recalled

the moments

of solemnity

and glory

that have

come

to define us

(at least

until

this Congress).

He spoke of 

his Christianity,

the opposite

of vanity,

clearly

directed

at those elected

and seated

in the chamber.

“…the essence 

of our two

nations

is a generosity

of spirit

and duty

to foster compassion,

to promote peace,

to deepen

mutual understanding

and to value

all people, 

of all faiths,

and of none.”

Take that,

Mike Johnson!

He even included

an environmental

pitch

which he connected

to our 

“glorious heritage”.

“…our generation

must decide

how to address

the collapse

of critical

natural

systems

which

threatens

far more

that the harmony

and essential

diversity

of nature.”

He mentioned

diversity

and unity

and the spirit 

of generosity

throughout

his speech.

Charles gave

his masterclass

to teach

us

not only 

of the greatness

of US,

but to bring

us back

to

E PLURIBUS

UNUM. 

Meanwhile,

The Voting

Rights Act

became

historical

fact

that the Supreme

Court

wants to remain

in the past.

At last

the Republican

map quest

passed

the test

to reconfigure

congressional

districting

restricting

minority

voting

power.

If being

color blind

was what

the Court

had in mind,

we’ll likely

find

that what

is meant

by “intent”

in their

majority

argument

is disingenuous

as the dissent

points out

to us.

The Republican

request

to suggest

new 

electoral

maps

will perhaps

change

the midterm

elections.

One

wonders

about 

the real

intent

that was 

meant,

in fact,

in chipping

away

at 

The Voting

Rights

Act.

Similar

to 

Roe V Wade,

they chipped

away 

each decade

while

the most

vulnerable

are left

weakened

still.

This week

saw a King

speak

the right 

thing

while the 

Right Wing

Court

chose

to distort

the meaning

of everything

we understood

was for

a greater

good.

He Has A Dream

With the Iran

war

going on,

it would seem

unseemly,

but upon

reflection,

the GC

of DC

and the country,

has gone 

to the Mall

and what

he saw

in 

The Reflecting Pool

was filth.

“…the water’s

disgusting

looking….

It’s not

representative

of our country.”

Between 

the Lincoln

Memorial

and the 

Washington

Monument,

the Narcissus

President

saw in the 

water mirror

an image 

of him

that couldn’t

be nearer

to the truth.

A broken

foundation

filled with 

scum,

ummmmm….

yeah,

that’s the bum

he sees.

Our country’s

riddled

with problems

thanks

to him,

so he called

a contractor

for people

who swim

to renovate

at a great

rate,

and paint

it

“American

Flag

Blue”.

Through

mass demonstrations

and inspirations

the National

Mall

has been a space

for all 

our pride

and catharsis.

It’s a marker

for the best

of us,

which the rest

of us

share reflectively.

MLK’s

“I Have A Dream”

speech

continues

to teach

all humanity.

And the epic

54-ton

tapestry,

with more than

100,000

individual names,

a reminder

of human

dignity,

the largest

community

arts project

in history,

The AIDS

Memorial

Quilt,

helped tilt

the country

more toward

compassion

and action

in fighting

AIDS.

Maintaining

the Reflecting

Pool

is Old School;

it wasn’t

the subject

of a personal

reno project.

The dirt

Trump sees

does not

reflect US.

He’s right

about that

much.

But with such

a story

of restored

glory

and his

construction 

projects,

he deflects

from

the real scum

he sees,

his dream

that frees

him 

to govern

by whim

and greed

believing

that no one

can succeed

his

Triumphal

Arch.

Fat Jesus

The ever hilarious,

gregarious,

never nefarious,

POTUS,

posed as

Jesus,

the healer,

using AI,

to defy

the pope.

In his social

media

rope-a-dope,

the actual

dope

lashed out

at the pope,

saying that

he is “WEAK

on crime,

and terrible

on Foreign

Policy.” 

The blasphemy,

you see,

was really

just

a joke;

he was

actually

a doctor

in a 

lab coat

(channeling

remote

energy

through

a golden

orb

so the sick

could

absorb

HIS light).

This oh so

humorous

reaction

and its 

swift

retraction

followed

Pope Leo’s

Palm Sunday

statement

that God

“does not 

listen

to the prayers

of those

who wage

war.”

I believe that 

was for 

Pete Hegseth

who constantly

invoketh

not only

death

by glory

but

holy

war

(for US,

not them).

Pope Leo

has criticized

harsh treatments

of immigrants

as well 

as Trump’s

war in Iran.

Such a fan

of Christianity,

Trump’s hilarity

as you know,

always

falls flat.

Jesus

is fat

in the Trump

bible,

in the gospel

according

to social

media.

John Lennon

said

way back when,

that 

The Beatles

were 

bigger

than Jesus.

Trump’s

Jesus

is even

bigger

of course,

because

he has no

remorse.

He’s fat

and fatuous,

and certainly

no Jesus,

despite claims

that he “alone

can fix it”.

A.I. War

American-Israeli?

America-Iran?

The Iran War

is for…..?

Nuclear

disarmament

and an intent

to change

the regime?

It may seem

a semantic

matter

what to call

all

this,

or is this

history

soon 

to be re-

defined?

Never mind

the stupidity

of no exit

strategy

from the 

unforeseen

tragedy

that always

unfolds

when

a no holds

barred 

approach

with constant 

reproach

is  the

brand of

diplomacy.

Over a

century,

there was

The Great

War,

then renamed

more

appropriately,

World War

One,

which the allies

against

Germany

eventually

won.

Or did we?

The second

World War

brought

the nuclear

age

after we

decimated

Hiroshima

and Nagaski.

Emboldened

and beholden

to the cause

of democracy

we deployed

troops

south

of the DMZ.

Then we chose

to bomb

Viet Nam

so that we

could be

free,

in case

you could 

see red

from

your bed

at home

instead

of in

the jungles.

All the bungles

of that war

and explanations

at the time

undermined

what Americans

saw.

International

law 

prohibited

the bombing

of Cambodia,

but for 

a paranoid

crook

who took

the oath,

Nixon

put the fix in,

but then

the truly

great Americans

forced 

his resignation

over the Watergate

investigation.

At home

and abroad

fraud

counts,

and when it

mounts,

citizens rebel.

The story

we tell

ourselves

about war

is for 

being

a good guy.

The 9/11

attacks on us

gave us 

a reasonable

mission:

defeat 

the seat

of the terrorist

threat

in Afganistan.

But soon

we 

got sidetracked

to Iraq

using artificial

intelligence.

A mushroom cloud

image

was the official

message

to rally

support

for invasion.

Iraqis would

welcome us,

we were told;

a slam dunk!

We were drunk

with fear

and Sadam

was an easier

target

than Osama.

And then

the Ayatollah,

because,

you know,

he’s evil.

It’s hard

to argue

with what

you know

is true,

but who

knows the 

rest?

We don’t.

And I’m

not sure

our Department

of War

or

Commander

in Chief,

who still

refuses

to brief

Americans

beyond

social media

posts,

knows

what to do

really.

Ideally,

a coalition 

of allies

tries

diplomacy,

but see,

he

alone,

can fix

it.

No congressional

approval,

ladies and gents,

just artificial

intelligence

at war

with who

we need

to be.

Gross Out

Blondie Bondi,

no longer

AG,

the chief attorney

of the country

(should be

for the country),

having been 

fired

just after

Kristi,

(now former

director 

of Homeland

Security),

joins the lists

of Trump

loyalists

who get

dumped

like finalists

in a contest

for the grossest.

Her handling

of the Epstein

stuff

was not enough

to satisfy

the guy

who knew

his crew

would be

screwed

if the files

were reviewed

and his lewd

persona

was displayed

alongside

his buddy-

a study

in how power

played

in a gross 

world-

became 

unfurled.

More men

were brought

down,

but the clown

at the top

will

never stop

taking,

making

the world

unsafe 

for democracy.

Who knew

there were

so many

gross

people?

Apparently,

Trump.

Takes one

to know

them all.

If the pattern

continues,

then Trump

will choose

someone 

grosser

in some way.

Jeff Sessions.

Bill Barr.

Pam Bondi.

Out 

with the gross,

in with the

grosser.

Unlike the Pharaoh

in the story

of Passover,

Trump

always lets

his people

go.

Creating crises

east

and west

Trump does

what he does

best:

conquest.

He is our

gross

national

product;

a man

whose

conduct

(or misconduct)

is gross

in every

way.

As Easter

Sunday

symbolizes 

victory

over sin

and even

death,

with the hope

of new life

and spiritual

renewal,

Trump

is a gross

reminder

of the need

to heed

the lessons

of power

and greed

and to become

more vigilant

and intelligent

about 

how to get

the gross

out of 

office 

for good.

Size Matters

Trump finally got

the biggest

crowds

ever

in US

history,

but will

it be 

enough?

The No Kings 3

demonstrations,

3000 

confirmations

of approximately

8 million

frustrations

with this administration

and demand

for democracy

to be

the rule,

not a cruel

fool,

infantile

and vile,

gauche,

louche,

driven

by money

and epic

fury,

proved 

that we

can unite

peacefully

for decency

and democracy.

A protest

alone

can’t dethrone

a would-be

king

or authoritarian

ring.

(See Tiananmen

Square, 1989).

But 

it’s a sign

nonetheless,

that 

in

nearly

every

municipality,

fearlessness

against

venality,

brutality,

criminality,

and more,

is growing.

Knowing

the size 

of the resistance

to the persistence

of this 

menace

should help 

us

flip the House

and Senate.

Let him

take credit

for ending

the war

soon.

It doesn’t

change

that he’s

still

a buffoon,

who will

soon

realize

that congress

must authorize

this “exercise”.

It’s the size 

that matters

most

to him,

whether

bright

or dim,

news

of multitudes

gets 

his attention.

Any mention 

of size

is a prize

to be had

or denied.

Regardless,

he’ll go on

attacking.

Your presence

is paramount

in order 

to dismount

this weak

yet pugnacious

anomaly.

Or is he?

Is he US?

Are we

just a  huge

country

that is obnoxious,

old,

fat,

ignorant,

and gluttonous?

Yesterday’s

No Kings Day

would suggest

otherwise,

based on

the size 

of the crowds

of those

who chose

to exercise

their

right to protest.

I hope

it’s a test

to show

that size 

matters.

The Shows Tell

“One Battle

After

Another”

and

“Sinners”,

both

Oscar

winners,

neither

of which

excited me,

still 

invited me

to cheer

the resistance

to the various

nefarious

forces

that resurface

to undermine

from time 

to time.

That Hollywood

would

create

a spate

of movies,

and include

a Brazilian ,

after a million

and one

heinous

acts had

been done

by the current

administration,

is validation

that all

is not lost,

though the cost

increases

daily.

Movies

reflect

and inspire,

which

is why

the vampire

genre

won’t die.

White nationalism

and supremacism,

dystopian

and historic,

with the allegoric

vampire

never dying,

always

vying

to take 

over,

lives

among us

forever.

One battle

after

another

describes

reality,

not just

the movie.

It feels 

like only

recently

the tragedy

of the strategy

of evil

and chaos

would be

possible.

We thought

we won

after WW2.

Humanity

was saved

and would

inevitably

evolve.

But humiliation

and fear

always

reappear

in the form

of aggression

and oppression.

We relaxed

and became

too confident,

never imagining

a modern president

like this one.

Hollywood

has finally

begun

to confront

white nationalism

and supremacy

as democracy

and the world

are now

in peril.

Interestingly,

the supremely

talented

Timothée 

Chalamet,

(who knows

a thing or two

about ballet),

was denied

his Marty

Supreme

Oscar

dream,

perhaps 

because

the theme

was 

him

being

a jerk.

It would

appear

the good 

guys

won

in Hollywood

this year.

In the face

of fear,

it’s clear

that the

real sinners

will reappear

to fight

one battle 

after another.

Everybody

A year ago

my second toe,

and first,

and third,

required

corrective

surgery.

Recovery

would be

slow

to show,

but now

the issue

is scar

tissue.

Meanwhile,

a terribly

difficult

infection

causing

inflammation

in a finger

to throb

and linger

has meant

that treatment

for another

ailment

is contingent

upon

what’s going

on

elsewhere.

And now

my problematic

hips and hamstrings,

additional

chronic

disablings,

can no longer

be ignored.

For all my

recovery talk,

one year later,

I can barely

walk;

an issue,

like my first toe,

started aching

decades ago.

I confess

my anatomical

mess,

less 

to complain

than to sustain

attention

on our duties

civic

to impact

our pathetic

body politic.

See what

I did there?

Compare

my shoddy

body

(and the ailments

I mention,

like 

you may

have,

are only some)

with the problem

of our politics.

As you 

well know,

pain sticks

when what

needs to be

fixed

isn’t.

Like 

an autoimmune

condition,

fighting

itself

into 

submission,

we’re in

a prolonged

flare.

There are

remedies

for various

maladies,

but much

effort

is required.

Mired

in pain

and war

is sure

to make

recovery

slow going.

But knowing

we still

have capacity

and muscle

memory

for democracy,

means

exercising

appropriately,

regularly.

Offerings

like 

No Kings

rallies

may seem

useless

against

our maladies,

but I believe

participation

is the medication

needed.

Support

candidates

beyond

your community

in order to 

strengthen

congressional

immunity

against

the MAGA

virus

inundating

us.

Donate,

show up,

email,

call….

do it all!

The process

of healing

requires

dealing

with building

strength;

a process

of length

and endeavor.

Nothing’s

forever,

but our injuries

may need

surgeries,

and certainly

therapies,

in order 

to facilitate

recovery.

Ultimately,

it’s up

to us

to do 

more 

than discuss

our disgust.

Democracy

is of,

by,

and for,

and therefore

requires

everybody.

Miracle on ICE?

To address

the state

of the union

is to confess

….

wait…

nevermind….

is to profess

success

and redress

how to oppress

and exacerbate

a mess

unnecessarily

created.

Ever the ham

in front of

a cam

who will

hock

anything

he can,

and lie,

deny,

defy,

well,

you know

the guy.

He always

skates by,

and continues

to fly 

by the seat

of his

ginormous pants.

As we’re

whacked

around

with such

incredible speed,

indeed

the analogy

for this

current

pathology

is,

appropriately,

Ice Hockey.

The irony

(or maybe

not)

is the import

of the sport

in The Olympics.

It once 

defined

our win

against

The Soviet

Union

and Communism,

and this year,

both men

and women

brought home

the gold

for US.

Dominating

the ice

(wouldn’t

that

be nice!),

with speed

and tenacity

to upend

the capacity

of the opposition,

is always

the goal.

And whose

soul

has been sold

when Kash

Patel

will tell

the media

that his trip

to the Olympics

was indeed a

part of his

job description?

The Women’s

US Hockey

Team

politely

declined

the invitation

for the State

of the Union

speechification,

while the Men’s

Team 

was awarded

the Medal

of Freedom.

Are athletics

the metrics

of freedom?

(Not for women!)

And FYI,

Trump didn’t 

deny

as he joked,

that if he didn’t

invite the women’s

team,

which also beat

Team Canada

in overtime

for gold,

“I do believe

I probably

would be 

impeached.”

Oh,

the heights

we’ve reached

in our current

state

of the union.