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The Stunt Man

100 days 

down;

1300 to go,

(as far

as we

know).

At least,

I hope

so.

“It could

always

be worse”

does not

reverse

the curse

of the perverse

POTUS.

Once famous,

now infamous

for inflicting 

upon us

his lust 

for just

about 

anything

you shouldn’t

trust,

made

the first

100 Days

craze

crazy.

The invention

of the first

100 Days

convention

came with

a New

Deal.

But making

laws,

not breaking

them

was truly

the art

of the 

deal.

The now 

old

New Deal

was the 

real deal;

not this

brand

new deal

with a grand

Trump brand

seal

that is no

deal

at all.

No legislating;

just defenestrating—

throwing

it all

out the

window.

The reality

showman

knows

how to make

a fake

reality,

while

in actuality,

real

victims

of false

assertions

and distortions

have lost

their lives

as they’ve 

known them.

Leveraging

chaos

and threats,

his bets

have paid 

off,

as nary

a scoff

can be heard

from the absurd

right.

Each

independent

institution,

not to mention

the Constitution,

has seen

its standing

diminished.

But he’s

not finished.

He’ll never be

as long as 

he’s 

the guy

on tv

even

remotely

controlling

the autocracy.

He’ll

pull

any stunt

to front

this show

for as long

as possible

as it can go.

He’ll leap

and dive

and remain

alive

and it’s

still

only 2025.

But the stunt

double

can get into

trouble

without

proper

precautions.

Exhaustions

aside,

do not

abide

by the stunts

this guy

can only

provide.

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.

Bearing the Bull

It’s no surprise

that the handsy

guys,

now the most

powerful

in the world,

assume that

ties and lies

are part of 

enterprise,

and the skies

are not even

the limit. 

They scoff

at “Hands Off”

protests

in each state,

recklessly

wrecking

the economy

globally,

and honestly,

I have no

idea why,

other than

retribution.

I don’t get

the vision

for this nutty

tariff decision

other than

incomprehension

of the value

of trade.

Afraid 

of not being

the ultimate,

or being

in proximate

company

to the 

most wealthy,

he writes

his history,

now ours.

His bull

unending,

pretending

to know

everything

or nothing,

depending

on the situation;

his solution-

“an economic

revolution”-

will leave

people

barely

able to 

bear

the bear market.

His target

is anything

and anyone

he perceives

as having been

or could be

a threat.

Most remarkable 

yet,

are those

still willing

to abide

the chilling

destructiveness

and bear

the bull 

of “success”.

Tariffied

The duty-free

presidency,

except

to his own

constituency

of sycophancy,

who stigmatize

and compartmentalize,

can’t help

but

antagonize

for the

ego prize

and power.

Self aggrandizing,

without compromising,

he’s tariffizing

because 

he can.

It’s hard

to know

how this

will go

and lead

to a reasonable

end.

And while

we’re on

the subject

of ending,

he’s sending

every hint

that his stint

as POTUS
will be continuous-

his happily

ever 

after.

At least

Corey

Booker

and his 

filibuster

took some

attention

away from

the Trump

bluster

to muster

energy-

the longest

in history-

to stand 

up and

be heard.

The absurd

tariff policy

will directly

affect

everybody,

although

obviously,

some

much more 

harshly

than others.

In his own

duty-free

universe,

only

the perverse

can reverse

what’s

been built

without guilt

as long

as his support

remains

strong.

But the insistence

of the resistance

requires

persistance.

That’s how

they brought

us here,

now tariffed.

Getting Credit Where Credit is Do

I kind of 

love

that

Trump

is hocking

Teslas

to his 

base.

Hardly 

shocking

as the 

mocking

of libs

now taking

dibs

on the  EV

car

that has

so far

transformed

the American 

auto

industry,

forcing

the history

of fossil

fuel

combustible

engines

to reinvent

if not

the wheel,

then the 

real

possibility

of environmentally

cleaner

driving.

Once

the province

of mostly

progressives,

now the

MAGA

obsessives

are trying

to help

the  other 

aggressive

billionaire —

the richest

man on 

the planet,

the unelected

co-president,

who still

wants to

be a 

bazillionaire.

It’s fair

and sensible

to protest

the indefensible,

much less

the incomprehensible,

but I’m kind

of glad

that the ones

who once

saw the 

Tesla

as a liberal

symbol

are nimble

enough

to huff 

and puff

about 

now choosing

an electric

(well,

a specific)

vehicle.

Let’s not

forget

the climate

crisis

is environmental;

our natural

world

needs all

the help

it can get. 

Tell your

reps

to vote 

for EV

and clean

energy
tax credits.

Never Mind

If Bush’s

Brain

was nicknamed

Turd Blossom,

then what should

The Boss Man

name

the insane

DOGE guy,

Trump’s

AI?

Musk Rat?

That lacks 

the punch

that

“Turd Blossom”

packs.

But the

so-called

genius serial

entrepreneur

will demur

to the hefty

jefe

the way

they all do,

regardless

of epithet

or slur

that did

ever

occur,

because

each one

consolidates

power.

Forget

their heartless-

ness;

their mindless-

ness

is worse.

The curse

of these 

billionaires

now running

the show

and showing

US

how to ruin

everything,

is their

lack 

of understanding,

never mind

caring.

The genius

of The US

has been

the power

of grace

and plurality

in our polity

and collective 

identity;

in reality,

literally

work

in progress.

Not to digress,

but I suggest

that these

unstable

geniuses’

malfeasances

will be

not exactly

what they

have

in mind.

They never

consider

what isn’t 

for them.

They are not

US.

Trump’s

artificial

intelligence

shows his

allegiance

with 

a chain saw.

How macho

the show,

that will

grow

like a weed,

until

they succeed

in nothing

but bloodletting.

Aiding

and abetting

seems like

getting

and keeping

more power,

never mind,

financial

gain.

But the 

economic

drain

won’t retrain

the mind

of this

wrecking

crew.

It’s what

they do,

never mind

what

they can

afford.

They hoard

and demand

for some

grand

faux theory

of efficiency,

by the 

least

efficient

faux

omniscient 

president

and co-

to co-

opt

it all

until

the fall,

which,

I wonder

if they

will ever

mind.

The Enemy of The Good

Forget

perfect.

The enemy

of the good

stood

in front

of the world

and hurled

lies

whopper

size.

The prize

denies

safety and

security

and the maturity

of institutions

for the immaturity

of the delusions

of grandeur.

To be sure,

the loyal

opposition

is in no

position

to continue

the sad

display

of cosplay-

so yesterday.

The enemy

of the good

has withstood

nearly

everything,

and the best

we can bring

are pink

and mini signs

and yelling?

We could

learn 

a thing

or two

from those

who

craft

creatively.

The artistry

is in the policy,

not the display

of crazy

on the floor.

We may be

our own 

worst enemy

unless

you forget

the enemy

of the good.

When people

forget

to bet on

the good,

for the sake

of the image

of strength,

the length

he’ll go

could forgo

what we know

and depend

upon.

For one

whose

encouragement

rests upon

punishment,

we can imagine

the torment.

But mere

lament

is losing

our way.

Who’s to

say what

will work?

But I know

what doesn’t.

It’s not a good

look

to use

the old

playbook,

when the guy

who reads

the room

better than

you assume,

suggests

the good guys

are the enemies.

Much 

has been said

about what

has lead

to now. 

How 

could

we maintain

the good

when the enemy

of the good

is the status quo?

The Hackman

Already dead

before we read

any account,

The Hackman-

the ugliest

American-

an old yeller,

determined

come hell

or high water

to impose

a new world

bipolar disorder,

ambushed

his guest

as Vance 

did his best

to 

more than suggest

we side 

now

with tyranny,

not Zelensky.

From 

the perfect

call,

The Hackman

continued

to fall

in line

with 

the grand 

design

of the maligned

(deservedly)

and then

realigned,

unreservedly,

the entirety

of our story.

It’s in 

his genes,

it seems,

to be

the bad 

guy.

Out 

of character

for us,

we’ve lost

the trust

of the rest

of the world’s

actors.

A tragic

end

with foul

play

displayed to all

yesterday,

he continues

to hack

away

with faux

justification

at the very

foundation

of US.

As we mourn,

a great 

actor

gone,

seemingly

senselessly

despite

his advanced

age,

The Hackman’s

rage

commands

center stage,

displaying

his lack

of character.

The mystery,

perhaps,

is how 

such a lapse

in protection

has turned

the attention

exclusively on 

The Hackman.

Pulse Check

5 years

since

the COVID 

shut down,

again

waiting

for 

a miracle-

an intervention,

a vaccination,

some medication;

a cure

for the virus

that has

overtaken

us—

MAGA,

not corona.

Shutting

down

the government

has been

a dramatic

tactic

by the GOP

since the

1990s.

Ironically,

recently

the DOGE

head,

Musk,

said

he was

taking

a pulse 

check

after the backlash

to his 

brash

demand

that employees

hand in

an accounting

amounting

to 

a reverse

to do 

list:

What was

accomplished

last week.

Well, 

we officially

switched

our ally

to Putin

and

Besos’

WAPO’s

op-ed page

can 

no longer

enrage

the libertarian

contrarian,

open- market

partisan,

just as 

the White House

press corps

is now

for the

selected.

The rapid

pulse

has been

detected,

but I’m sure 

there’s not

any heart.

AP Test

Denying access

to the press

is expressly

unconstitutional.

But in 

the delusional

MAGA world

where 

executive orders,

closed 

borders,

billionaire

hoarders,

and a propensity

to support 

Putin

rather than

Zelensky,

they want

to undo

what took

80 years

to build.

Filled with

lust

for power,

they must

also feed

their incessant

greed,

apparently

at ludicrous

speed.

And who will

read

the news

anyway?

Product 

placement

is Trump’s

encasement,

and in case

you missed

the chainsaw

massacre

at CPAC,

well…

that says

it all,

in fact.

Lack

of tact

is nothing

new

for this

wrecking 

crew,

whose

head

prefers

instead

to suggest

“king”

has a nice

ring

to it. 

And the left

goes wild

when the

man-child’s

posts

are the most

inflammatory,

which he

regards

as congratulatory.

At least

don’t feed

the beast!

Anyway,

he’s more

like an

emperor

than like

a king,

seeking

to acquire

an empire

with Greenland

and Canada,

and possibly

Panama.

It’s the same

idea

I call

Putinesca

sauce.

(The actual

sauce 

of Italian

name

came 

from “puttana”,

roughly meaning 

a

whore. 

What’s more,

it’s used 

as an all-purpose

profanity;

kind of like

shit

or shitty.)

Currently

the AP

is fighting

back

against

this Putinesca-

Emperor- Wanna 

Be,

suing 

the administration

over the

Gulf of Mexico

name-change

fiasco,

after being

blocked

from any 

presidential

event.

If MAGA

meant

freedom

of speech,

they wouldn’t

test

the AP 

or breech

the constitution,

but their

solution

is deranged

evolution:

survival

of the 

unfit.

Please 

do not quit

paying

attention.

This

is 

not just

a test.

The Associated

Press’s

successes

rest in 

reporting,

while MAGA’s

puttana

rests in distorting.

Like policy,

the AP
matters

to a functional

democracy.