United States

Concession Stand

Did they cave

in order 

to save

the neediest

or 

the greediest?

Was it brave

to behave 

as though

moral clarity,

a Washington

rarity,

would be effective

from the perspective

of the “burn 

it all down”

running

DC town?

If the concept

of the plan

was to intercept

the ban

on government

programs

that feed fams 

that need

scaffolding,

their spoiler

alert

for the inert

seems 

rather baffling.

The longest

government

shut down,

biblical

in sound,

40 days

and nights

of fights

with little

to show

for it all,

as health

care costs

will soon

balloon

without

the ACA

subsidy 

extension.

The incomprehension

of many

a Democrat

is that

the 8 who

conceded

got nothing

they needed.

All they got

was a vote,

which will

likely be rote,

denying

affordable

health care.

Where the 8 

stood

was understood

as caring 

about those

most affected,

while they

are protected

from being

re-elected.

If the shut down

is ended

but ACA

breaks

not extended,

then will

the concession

stand?

Right now 

it looks

feckless,

but against

the most

reckless

governing

party 

in American

history,

ultimately,

the Republican

majority

in congress

will temporarily

halt progress

until 

congress

will

flip for

the midterm.

Meanwhile

we squirm

while they

confirm

that air 

travel

will not

unravel

for Thanksgiving.

This game

is shameless,

but certainly

not blameless,

and the blame

belongs

to the ones

who

use real

people

as pawns

for 40 dawns

or for

ever,

if they could.

Daylight Savings Time

Who could predict

that the attempt

to redistrict

would be met

with contempt

and interest

in conflict?

Not Trump.

And whodda

thunk

that the shut down

funk

would flunk

the GOP 

in key

races?

Not Trump.

Would Trump’s

once foe,

Andrew Cuomo,

get a bump

from a 

complimentary

Trump?

A resounding NO!

And Zohran Mamdani

may just be

the guy 

in New York City

to respond

to Trump

most creatively

and effectively,

making

Not Trump

a possibility.

Big wins

in Virgin-

ia, and 

California

(for Prop 50),

NYC,

and New Jersey

gave a big

bump

to the 

Not Trump

sentiment

across the continent

and beyond

the pond.

From mourning in

America

to saving 

daylight

on Tuesday 

night,

the right

proved

to be

wrong

(which we’ve

known

all along),

as democracy

won 

too-

this time.

Dick

Hiding behind

Bush father

and son,

he sought

the way

to get 

the job

done.

The dark

invader,

known as

Darth Vader,

he was 

the Iraq

invader,

Dick.

“Enhanced

interrogation”,

was his own 

abrogation 

for investigation;

a negation

of the application

of the Geneva

Convention

with the contention

that terrorists

are stateless.

With torturous

explanation,

the Dick 

Cheney way,

captives

were waterboarded

at Guantanamo

Bay

to get them to 

say

anything.

Preying 

on fear,

his thinking

quite clear,

that we have

the right

and imperative

to proceed

with his 

narrative

of making

the world

safe

for democracy.

The legacy

of Dick,

sadly, 

won’t be

his brave move

in 2024.

Breaking

rank

with the GOP

plank

that stank 

of TrumpMAGA,

Dick voted

for Kamala,

putting

partisanship

aside

for

America.

I’m not sure 

he was really

Machiavelli,

and I believe

he served 

his country

in the way 

that he

believed

sincerely.

Unfortunately,

his neo

con job

prob-

ably

made matters

worse.

The Cheney

family,

of political

fame,

has lost

the guy

who owns

the blame

for what 

went wrong

before Trump

came along,

and he bore

the name,

Dick.

OH SNAP!

Shutting down

the government

has meant

that each 

and every

constituent

receiving an

entitlement

of nutrition

assistance 

supplement

may soon find

these subsidies

absent 

to pay

for groceries.

The Hunger Games

frames 

our situation

of food 

and health care

politicization.

Multiplication

of division

within

our own

communities

disables 

opportunities

for progress.

The mess

that Trump

and Congress

tend to inflict

to maintain

conflict

keeps us

tricked

into believing

it’s the price

we pay

to have 

representational

say, 

with the hope 

that this 

will conclude

any day

now.

But how

will those

who need

to feed

their own

manage

without

the advantage

the wealthy

maintain?

Once 

the pain

ensues,

then Trump

will choose

to pull 

back.

This attack

and retreat

before full

defeat

is the Trump-

MAGA trap

we’re in.

But who

will snap

from all

this crap?

And when

will Congress

snap out 

of it?

The Reckless will Reckon with the Wrecking Ball(room)

Why have elections,

if gerrymandered

sections

ensure protections 

from voting

rejections?

Abolishing everything

like demolishing

The East Wing

while insisting

upon citizens

paying,

is not really

playing well

with others.

He’s no king,

but a tyrant

who regards

our government

as his

own business,

and everyone

knows just

how that goes-

just look at his

casinos.

The East Wing’s  

now lost

and we’ll bear

the cost-

and not just

the bill

for 300 mill-

but for the 

recklessness

atop Capitol Hill.

We’re all

nervous wrecks

as he goes on

and wrecks

each aspect

of American life.

I think 

he’s having

a ball

with all

his destruction

pretending construction

of some home

improvement.

Our movement

away 

from democracy

each day

will bring

a reckoning,

I’m sure.

If not for 

him,

then for

each supporter

who 

knew better

than to gamble

with what followed

the preamble

and ambled

toward creating

the end.

But it’s not

over yet

so don’t forget

that there’s

more that we 

can all do.

You can help 

flip congress

from this

mess:

https://app.oath.vote/.

And Election Day

is not far away,

with propositions

and positions

of import.

Please support

our democracy

from the crazy

recklessness.

Happiness

and the pursuit

of justice

is not about

retribution.

Each individual

contribution

to building

a more perfect

union

may seem 

inadequate now.

But doing 

democracy 

is the way

that we

will ensure 

its longevity

and the brevity

of the recklessness.

Wearing Fatigues

At home,

a hodgepodge, 

protected

by camouflage,

in cities

well in plain

sight.

Abroad,

there might 

be a

possibility

of peace,

finally,

initially

guarded

internationally,

with peace-keeping

forces,

which forces

the question:

why all the tension

created at home,

while seeking

peace

in the Middle

East?

Of course,

if the Nobel

were given

for being

American

as well,

well,

you can

imagine

how different

we’d be.

Exhausting

everything

is the thing

if what 

you have 

to bring

to the table

is nothing

but grievance

and grift.

The  gift

of the office

of the presidency,

aside from

White House

residency,

is precisely

the ability

to boss.

It should

be to

lead,

but this guy’s

greed

has lead him 

to merely

avoid loss.

His secret sauce

is to exhaust

or wait 

for fatigue

to set in.

He takes

the win

with considerable

spin

while tearing

down norms

with that

shit-eating

grin.

The arsonist-

fire fighter-

chaos-igniter,

waits 

for the weary

to have clearly

no energy

left.

He alone

can fix it

after

he alone 

did nix

it

or created

a problem

for a solution.

Wearing down

his enemies

is how 

he sees

success.

All that power

to make people

cower

or praise

his days

as POTUS.

He makes

everyone

tired

and mired

in dread

as he stays

ahead

of the game.

The phenomenon

intrigues us

and really

fatigues us,

which keeps 

this POTUS

doing thus.

The camouflage

wearing

is so

obvious;

he’s making

us

a jungle.

See Sickness

I’m feeling

nausea

from

all the

cynical,

political,

vindictive,

biblical-

like

minds

who don’t

mind

falling behind

the ass.

Perhaps

the most

asinine

speech

ever 

delivered

will

be considered

an anomaly.

(I doubt it.)

Predominantly

bluster,

(it’s all

he can muster)

about nonsense

with a pretense

of muscle.

The commander

in chief

is the reprimander

in chief,

seconded

by his secretary

of war.

Settling

some score

more

than directing

or protecting

the USA,

they have

little to say

that makes 

sense 

anyway,

but they make 

sure that

they 

are heard.

The absurd

meeting

of the top

brass

all as 

a show

for the 

top ass,

would be

amusing

if it weren’t

real.

As the government

shuts down

without

negotiation,

under the guise of

healthcare

for illegal

immigration,

(which is 

the fantasy

of MAGA nation),

and a 

peace plan

in Gaza

is proposed

with occupation,

because…

what could

possibly

go wrong?

I hope

the dope

wins

the Nobel 

Peace Prize

for a surprise

success

of peace

in the Middle

East. 

But he’ll

never

be satisfied.

Not even

if Comey

were tried

and convicted.

Not even

tax breaks

for health

insurance

is assurance

now;

just watch

how

and who

the shut 

down

hurts.

He blurts

out 

without

a blink

that “blue”

cities

should be

military

training grounds.

It’s easy

to see 

why the news

makes me

queasy.

But I don’t

think I’m

the one

who is

sick.

Pain-staking

Once again,

acetaminophen

has been

poisoned.

Tylenol

has been used

safely

for decades

despite

the charades

now playing

out.

No need

to proceed

with clinical

trials

when vials

can be 

discontinued.

Meanwhile,

the recommendation

is accommodation

to discontinue

without

peer review,

other than

what appears

as peers,

not of scientists,

but of the 

resistance

to anything

conventional

or other

wise.

Decrying

the medical

establishment’s

reliance

on science

is keeping

us from

the truth.

Our youth

and infants 

are at risk.

Not from 

Tylenol,

but from all

the efforts 

to throw

the baby

out with

the bath

water.

Pregnant

women

on a strict

regimen

have taken

Tylenol

per

protocol

for decades.

When aspirin

had been

found

to have

unsound

effects

for children

and expectant

women,

science

indicated

a safer

product-

and Tylenol

was born.

The scorn

this administration

pours on

without regard

for any 

consequence

could be

seen 

as nonsense

if not for the

expense

to the most 

vulnerable.

Of all 

the concerns

and problems

to address,

creating

a headache

over Tylenol

is just 

adding to 

the enormous

mess.

The stakes

of pain

can be quite

severe.

We need

science

guidance

to which 

we adhere;

not a

conspiracy

of a deranged

Kennedy.

Carr Alarm

The noise

around

silencing speech

may reach

a tipping

point.

The joint

astonishment

and grief

may be

brief

as the next

one to fall

will call

our attention.

While there’s

no comparison

between the firing

of a comedian,

or two,

and the firing

of a gun,

we can’t run

from this

crisis.

Opinion

has been

the dominion

of the comedian,

even mocking

the politician.

It’s free speech

in action

and a cultural

tradition.

But the addition

of retribution

to our polity-

once

the contribution

only

of the most

violently

disturbed-

comes from

the top guy,

perpetually

perturbed.

The Federal

Communications

Commision

is now

on a mission

to stifle.

Instead of

a rifle,

or other

violence,

the way

to silence

criticisms

is to fire

the guys

whose

wittisms

are bothersome

to some;

or maybe

just

to one.

Carr’s action-

Kimmel’s subtraction-

in reaction

to the comic’s

wit,

is every bit

a lack of

grit

and merely

a fit

of alarm

of the president

who sees

speech

as harm

and uses

it

to harm others.

Is this retribution

or fear?

Who can hear

over the alarm

over the act

of commission?

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.