Culture and Politics

The Late Show

Defund PBS.

Extort CBS

to obey

in advance

and pay

in advance

to dance

with 

the devil.

Making 

a show

of 

The Late Show

just 

to let you

know

that speech

won’t be 

free

even in

comedy.

The dissolution

of an institution 

of American

culture

shows how

the culture

of cancelling

is now cancelling

culture.

And:

each branch

of government,

and education,

the Kennedy Center,

public radio 

and television,

in addition

to science-

the environment,

weather,

and medicine.

Let’s not forget

women

who have lost

the right 

to legal

abortion.

Everything

is being 

scrapped

and crapped 

on,

as of late,

making a show

of how great

America was.

NOAA’s Arc

In an atmosphere

of fear

and threat

and perpetual

distortions,

we get

flooded

with antediluvian

actions

compounded by 

distractions

of epic

proportions.

The contortions 

of explanation

from the current

administration

on everything

from reigning

in immigration

to raining

inundation,

when the

lapse in 

communication

seemed to

exacerbate

a biblical

situation,

severely

compounds

the loss

and frustration

that somehow

is still

siloed.

The National

Oceanic

and Atmospheric

Administration

endured

DOGE

job 

eliminations

which

seemed to

affect

communications

between

the National

Weather Service

and state

actors.

But detractors

will insist

that deathly

flooding

would persist

no matter 

what.

Yes,

the rains

were extraordinary

and likely

to cause

adversity.

But was

the calamity

necessarily

due to

an impossibility?

The unbearable 

tragedy

from the floods

in Texas

reminds us

that nature

can be 

quite cruel.

But humans

fuel

the result

of nature’s

tumult

one way

or another. 

NOAA’s

arc 

of expansion

decades since

its creation

has provided

communication

and exploration

tools

that only fools

in this administration

would find

dispensable.

We’ve seen

this with

other agencies,

like USAID

where the lack

from the cutback

means

more die.

Defunding research

and/or communication

leaves

those most

in need

in the lurch

in the most

horrible

situation.

Responsible

oversight

might

seem ancient

when the penchant

for disruption

is au curant. 

Until recently,

NOAA’s arc

was built

conscientiously

to protect

us 

and the environment.

As 911 

and Katrina revealed,

the politics 

concealed

breakdowns

between authorities.

The disparities

were ignored

until 

the devastation

was toured

and the discoveries

appalling.

NOAA’s arc

again

reminds me

that  we

must bend

the arc

of history

creatively

toward justice

and sustainability.

Miss America

I miss America;

the beautiful

dream

of e pluribus

unum.

Out of plurality,

union/

out of many,

one

nation 

for which 

it stands

in liberty

and justice

for all.

I miss America,

the leader

of the free

world.

I miss America

who self corrected

and connected

the world.

I miss America

whose history,

at many times

ugly,

was acknowledged

and reconsidered,

now withered

if not cancelled,

like rights

once 

won,

now gone.

I miss America

imperfect

yet aspirational,

now confrontational

against

one another.

We’ve been

mired in divisions

and poor decisions

at various

times 

in our history,

but it’s no 

mystery

now

how 

the dictator 

from day one

will shun

anyone

perceived

as a threat

to the agenda

he set

for himself.

The difference

this time

is 

the party’s

over-

whelmingly

behind

him.

I miss America

before

curation,

when dedication

to shared

education,

not disinformation,

was assumed.

I miss America

the beautiful

body

politic,

now very sick,

if not a relic.

I don’t miss

America

the hideous,

whose insidious

hating

there is no

debating,

but seemed

abating

although

too slowly.

The zombies

and trolls

have exacted

their tolls

upon

us.

I won’t miss

this

America.

We must

all help

her heal.

The real

America

is all of this,

and because

of this,

we can’t just

miss 

America,

but we

must be

her promise.

Strong Ending on a Weekend

Sovereignty 

won again.

Then,

Good Night and Good Luck

had me watch CNN

and I sobbed

uncontrollably 

at the end.

I pretend

that this

National Guard 

bit

won’t hit

hard;

that Trump

expels verbal

gas,

lighting

the mass

appeal

of his zeal

to troll.

He stole

our sovereignty

and dignity.

No sense

of decency–

not just

McCarthy.

I know

there are more

of us

who stand

for progress

and for 

the good. 

The indecent

are not 

so recent;

but the exponential

potential

of social

media and 

incredible wealth

have threatened 

the health

of the republic

and the world.

It always seems

more dangerous

and ever

more outrageous,

but we’re

also able 

to see 

the most contentious

among us

as the weakest.

So,

though it

seems utterly

terrible,

if not practically

unbearable,

let’s not get

hysterical.

Sovereignty

won again.

So shall we

with integrity.

We see history

more clearly

and the need

for participatory

citizenry.

I will do

what I can

next Saturday

(and every day)

to stand

for democracy.

Will you?

Urgent Care

Crisis centers

focus 

upon disaster

faster

than the usual

perusal

of a concerning

issue.

Discerning

misuse

or abuse

from the obtuse,

while trying

not 

to confuse,

we use tools

of expedience

for the 

triage experience;

a quick

fix,

if temporary.

Contrary

to ordinary

problems

of persistence,

when resistance

to change

allows for a range

of ways 

to cope,

the end of 

the rope

of crisis

invites us

to pivot;

to  apply

a tourniquet

to stop

the flow.

The distinction

between

an emergency

and urgency

may be

unclear.

The fear,

however,

is whether

or not

we’ve got

enough

stuff

to manage

the damage.

Just how deadly

is this?

The persistent 

quality

of urgency

insistently

demands

attention

for mitigation

of a critical

situation.

An emergency

emerges

more quickly

than urgency,

yet

both insistently

demand

intervention.

But convention

sometimes

clouds

the urge

to purge

the toxic

ways

that delays

imagined

discomfort.

With no

more room

for emergencies

or crises

imposed

upon us,

we retreat

in defeat

and claim

self preservation,

without realization

that earth’s

land, sea, 

and air

can’t self

repair

without

urgent care.

Urge your legislators:

Home

Habeas Corpus Kristi

So 

Homeland Security

Director, Kristi,

didn’t know

that habeas

corpus

is for

all of us.

It is not

Trump’s 

decision

to imprison

or deport

anyone 

he chooses.

But Kristi

refuses

to acknowledge

(did she learn

this in college?)

that we are

a constitutional

democracy.

While some

heard 

defiance,

others heard

reliance

on

the  Constitution

as the enabler

of the singularity

of authority

of the presidency.

The controversy

isn’t really

about understanding

habeas corpus.

It’s the torturous

logic 

of torture

and detention

when the pretention 

of 

executive order

that suggests

the border

of emergency.

From enhanced

interrogation

to undoing

immigration,

by 

denying

due process,

the crisis

excuse

for justified

use

is nothing

less than

constitutional

abuse.

Fast and loose

with interpretation

or not 

understanding

the definition

of habeas 

corpus,

Krsiti Noem,

Director of Home-

land

Security,

defined

the meaning

of this

presidency:

Because

he says

so.

A Classless Society

A decade ago, 

when Trump

made a go

at politics,

the heretics

rose

to close

the deal

to reveal

the fault 

lines

beneath us.

It’s been

everyone

else’s fault

since then;

never

a mia

culpa.

A witch hunt,

political stunt,

or cries

of lies

no matter

how it defies,

now

no surprise;

Nonetheless appalling.

The most 

galling

is no longer

name 

calling.

It’s to be

expected.

Protected 

speech,

unless you 

teach

or learn

about

oppression,

is a matter

of opinion.

The dominion

over everything

that power

and money

can possibly

bring

is ushering

in

autocracy

in a now

crass

and classless

society.

I don’t

mean

the kind

that Bernie

and A.O.C.

have 

in mind,

but the 

cheap 

and tasteless,

undignified,

rapacious,

Trump

brand

that his

command

has forced

us to

withstand.

Checking

privilege 

and elitism

is unfolding

into quite

a schism

suggesting

that the

evolution

of civilization

has been

a hoax,

folks.

Proof

that money

can’t by

class,

the ass

in chief,

like a thief,

takes

whatever

he wants.

His taunts,

now dangerous,

and increasingly

outrageous,

threatening

to deport

citizens

after the precedents

of sending

legal residents

to Salvadoran

and Libyan

prisons.

The callousness

of this classlessness

as with everything

else he says 

and does

does

harm 

to all of us.

Our classless

society

with faux

piety,

now run

as an

oligarchy

with remnants

of democracy,

can’t wait

for half

to discover

decency.

This is an

emergency.

This class

is pass/

fail. 

May Day! May Day!

Signal 

of distress;

SOS!!

Help 

rectify

this mess!!

Contact

Congress!!

It’s work,

and feels

less 

than compelling

when the MAGA

contingent

has bought

what

Trump’s been

selling.

But maintaining

democracy

requires

sustaining

the doing

of democracy.

Giving up

on living

up

to imperfect

but just,

is just

unimaginable

for a habitable

US.

May Day! May Day!

This May Day

may be

an ideal opportunity

to stand in solidarity

for dignity

and democracy

with workers

internationally

and certainly,

locally.

Don’t let the perfect

be the enemy

of the good.

In fact,

that’s caused

our situation.

Infatuation

with mere rhetoric

allowed a heretic

with a flare

for the dramatic

(and toxic)

enter the real

politic.

But resistance

matters now.

And then

when 

history

looks back

and asks

what happened,

“May Day! May Day!”

it will say.

People resisted

and insisted

on democratic

process,

under duress,

as multitudes

did the work

of making

progress,

in the face

of the disgraceful

president.

The Best You Can. Do.

For those who doubt

the efficacy

of protests

weekly,

or 

at all,

I suspect

the doubt

is about

the immediacy

of actions

despite 

distractions

and detractions,

not to mention

legal infractions,

that this 

POTUS

has thrust

upon 

us.

How many

marches

and protests

and civil

unrests,

sit-ins

and be-ins

and legal

tests,

did it take

to make 

history?

To change

the trajectory

of this presidency

seems unlikely,

but 

no response

to immorality

and illegality

ensures fragility

and less ability

to ultimately

overcome.

Find your

courage

against 

this scourge

and your

commitment

to persistence.

The resistance

needs 

your assistance.

The images

of dogs

and hoses,

throngs of 

women,

The March

on Washington,

Pride,

pink pussy hats,

and Black Lives

Matter

demonstrations,

can be 

recalled

as they were

installed 

in our 

memory banks.

It’s thanks

to those

who showed

up

and stood up

to injustice

that moved us

forward,

even when 

there’s been

backlash.

The whiplash

can feel

incapacitating.

But activating

is celebrating

your ability

to meet

humanity

and build

a just 

community

whether 

or not

it’s

weekly.

Contribute

what 

you can;

however

you can;

the best 

you can.

DO. 

Uncle Sam

Needs

YOU.

Savior

The irony

is not lost

on me

that

this season

of sacrifice

and redemption

was ushered in

with preemption.

Immigration.

Justice.

Education.

And the most

severe

tariffs

upsetting

economics,

then a carve

out

for our 

electronics,

because some 

sacrifice 

is just 

too much

to bear.

Still,

so many swear

on the 

bible

that their

tribal

behavior

and support

for their

savior

will redeem

their

Project

2025 

American

wet dream.

A witch hunt

or crucifixion,

choose

your

metaphor.

He’s 

the victim’s

victim,

no matter

what

hits him

in reaction

to each 

action

and utterance.

Each  word

salad

sentence

has the pretense

of solution

or dissolution

of some illusion

(or delusion)

of each institution.

And yet

he’s also

met

with evangelical

zeal

and his appeal

hasn’t changed

at all.

He redeems

himself

to himself,

if redemption

is merely

an exchange.

Sacrifice

may sound

nice,

but only 

if others

pay the

price.

When everyone’s

a Judas,

and Moses

doesn’t exist,

becoming

second

to only 

Jesus

suggesting

that this 

sacrifice

will free us,

leaves us

with his avarice

leading us.

We need

an exodus,

without

wandering

in the desert

for 40 years.

We,

including those

who represent 

us,

must lead us.

Moses

and Jesus

are not

among us.

“He puts

the mess

in messiah”,

encapsulates

the United

States

desperately

looking

to be saved.