Democracy

Kirk’s Enterprise

Charlie Kirk’s 

horrific demise

as he pursued

his enterprise

as a conservative force

through

political discourse,

should be

our turning point,

USA.

This school shooting,

unlike the other,

was political;

an intentional

act of violence

to silence

debate-

the latest

in a spate

of hate

crimes

against

political

figures.

The triggers

may be

multiple

but when

the political

is emotional

and what 

seemed

impossible 

is no longer

notional,

anything

becomes

motivational

against

a perceived

enemy.

Because

the hate

is visceral

when our

discourse

is so 

uncivil,

we can’t be

casual

about this

hit,

especially when

it

took place

on a college

campus.

Now

most of us

can feel 

the real

pain and sorrow

for his widow

and his children.

But can we

mourn for 

a person

who sparked

attention

for opposition

that may 

have intended

to provoke

and offend

if not

upend,

the woke

when he spoke?

I am chilled

by the blood

that’s been

spilled,

and I feel

my own

turning point.

Our enterprise

can’t be

the demise

of opposing

another’s belief.

Let this 

monstrous

event

help us 

to reinvent

good grief.

I just realized

that today

is 9/11.

What

have we

become?

To boldly go

where no 

one

has gone

before

was the American

enterprise

(cleverly

stated in

the Star Trek

franchise),

at the birth

of our 

democratic

republic.

But we have

succumbed

to hate

and fear

that we’re

in our

final frontier.

Our reaction

to terror

is often

contraction,

while

heightening

security.

But political

(and social)

purity

is immaturity,

not worthy

of who we

need to be.

Taking Dictation

I have no

capacity

for taking

dictation

or anything

else

like it.

I’ll never be

a secretary

or assistant

to 

an administrator

who listens to

a dictator.

Those compliant

with a tyrant

like those

who chose

to remain

silent,

may survive

and even 

thrive,

for 

at least

a while

or more.

But,

in time,

history’s 

rhyme

will seek

poetic

justice.

It’s not

just us

as never 

before

or ever

again.

When power

corrupts

and monopolizes,

taking dictation

finalizes

consolidation

of power.

Whether 

government

or corporation,

the excessive 

power

manifestation

somehow

gets justification

(and monetization )

while deterioration

ensues.

But…

You have agency

to disrupt

complacency 

and the responsibility

to do so.

Those who

take notes

in history

class

know the past

is more

than prologue.

It’s a dialogue

with the present

and future

that we must

nurture

without

taking

dictation.

The Point of No Return

The point of

no return

is to learn-

not just

yearn-

for something

else.

We don’t 

grow younger

or

have more

innocence

when life

provides us

ongoing

experience.

We tend to 

digress

and at times

regress

making progress

seemingly

less 

likely.

Home isn’t

there

where it 

is no more,

before

we moved

away.

We can’t

really stay

the way

we were,

but we sure

can mature

and play

wiser.

Ironically,

it looks

quite silly,

but seems 

to be 

impactful.

Forget 

being tactful.

We live

in the gutter

now.

It’s how

you utter

the message

that matters

so it splatters

across all

media.

No encyclopedia

needed,

just deep 

seeded

anger,

and a commitment

to mirror

this horror

show.

The point 

of no

return

is to know

(and to show)

that we are

better than

this.

To boldly 

go 

where no

one

has gone

before

has moved 

from Star Trek

to South Park;

our stark

cartoonish

reality.

Finally,

heroically,

momentum

is increasing

as Newsom

is teasing

Trump,

with a 

shocking,

and mocking

style.

Sadly,

this is 

progress,

(and also

hilarious)

if we are 

serious

about 

the point

of no

return.

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.

ICEcapades

Before

the lure

of a military 

parade,

Trump unleashed

an escapade

of Immigration

and Customs

Enforcement.

Without endorsement

from 

Governor Newsom,

the ICE raids

then 

had shades

of authoritarianism 

when,

without state’s request,

at the behest

of the Trump administration,

The National Guard

was deployed

so ICE could raid

where immigrants

have been 

long employed.

The showdown

in downtown

LA 

with marines

on their way,

had it’s day

in court

yesterday.

Gavin won

round one.

But we know

how Trump

likes to play.

He’ll ask

for a stay

and go

all the way

to the Supreme 

Court.

While that

was unfolding

Kristi Noem

was holding

a  presser

on Homeland

Security.

Feigning purity

of purpose

against 

the “Socialist”

governor

and mayor,

the California

senior Senator

posed a question-

or tried to.

Abruptly

and aggressively,

he was whisked

away,

manhandled

and cuffed,

as Noem

bluffed

her way

around

and through

this new

way

of silencing

opposition.

Such escapades:

ICE raids,

and parades

of military,

while roughing

up a dignitary,

and anybody

deemed

a foe

can quickly

grow

worse.

Five months

in

to this administration,

look where 

we are.

Is this the tip

of the ICEberg?

Right Guard

In that arid,

extra dry

city

of angels,

a legal

and  peaceful

demonstration

met recrimination

by  the criminal

White House.

Sure,

it’s no secret

that any rally

in blue Cali

makes Trump

go bat-bleep crazy.

He picks ICE
to make 

all immigrants

pay a price

which won’t

suffice.

Fake video

seems

to show

the protests

becoming

violent.

It’s the pretext

for

the pretend

savior

to call

the National

Guard.

The guy

who ignored

the pleas

for order

restored

at The Capitol

at the 1/6

insurrection,

has decided

that at 

his direction,

LA

needs

the National Guard

to prove

how right

he is.

But the right

guard

is not hard

to see

particularly

as the citizenry

is mobilized

to demonstrate

for democracy.

The whole 

immigration

situation

needs 

an overhaul.

But not at all

what we’ve 

seen thus far

by this 

White House

reality star.

What’s next?

Will the new

LA Law

be 

martial law

or some straw

man

argument

against

any immigrant

regardless

of how innocent?

There’s more

in store,

you can 

be sure.

It’s enough

to make

you sweat.

Our perspiration

is his

satiation,

and he’ll go

to the nth

degree

as he

disregards

constitutional 

rights,

much less, 

humanity.

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:

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