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.

Next Day Err

I noticed 

the reporting

was, in fact,

distorting.

Is journalism

comporting

to 

you know

who?

A day 

of demonstration

across 

the nation

in every location

with a 

fire station,

or at least

one 

not far away,

should demand

we pay

close attention.

With barely

a mention,

and an odd

contention

that participation

was in

the tens

of thousands,

not millions

as the math

bares out;

the clout

of the once

touted

journalistic

outlet

is about

to get

caught

in what 

ought

to be

simply

unthinkable.

Did pressure

mount

to distort

the count

or report

more generically?

Since when

have there been

approximately

2700 mass

demonstrations

across the nation

in a single day?

Meh?

And several 

tens of thousands

in several

cities and towns

means millions

(at least seven)

gathered

and together 

stood 

for democracy

which should

be covered

accurately

and emphatically.

It’s a serious 

story.

The NYT

and NPR

know when

numbers

are telling.

It’s smelling

fishy-

this wishy

washy

story of no

big deal.

The real

takeaway

from 

an incredibly

peaceful

and supportive

pro-democracy

day

that was,

in fact,

of history

is no mystery.

Crowd size 

matters.

And  the way

we tell it

will sell it

or not.

They may

downplay

this No Kings

day 

as a way

to keep 

the peace.

But we choose

the news

to peruse

assuming

abuse

is not

informing it.

Performing

it ,

with

a softer

version,

lacking immersion

in details,

further derails,

perhaps 

incrementally,

what is essentially

necessary

for democracy

to be

more than 

in name only.

Re: Pete

A military

career

in the rear

view,

before we 

knew 

his name,

now known

as secretary

and very

outspoken,

he faces

a daunting

situation.

And speaking

of faces,

he’s a good

looking guy,

which helps

him to buy

good will.

He also

embodies

and represents

the epitome

of that

which his 

party 

presents

(or he thinks

it should).

If only 

he could

get 

the attention

of 

the party

heads

for the next

convention.

He’s often

on Fox

and does 

TikToks,

for those 

who can’t

get enough.

Political

relevance

need not

mean eloquence;

just ask

the Secretary

of Defense

or

of War.

To compete

with Pete

is replete

with the feat

of winning

hearts and minds.

The kinds

of sound bytes

that fight

for the right 

to and for

democratic

infrastructure

is keeping

the former

mayor

secretary

very 

engaged

and prominent.

Will he 

be

dominent?

It remains

to be seen,

but to unseat

one Pete

will be a treat

for the 

other one

and confirmation

of our country’s

direction.

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.

Eyes On the Prize

Well,

even if 

the Nobel’s

the sell,

let’s make

a deal

that’s finally

real.

No one denies

his eyes

on that prize

as a motivator

to broker

a peace

deal.

I feel 

potential relief

and cautious

belief

that the bad

guys

who strong

arm 

and justify

real harm

may begin

to end

this two-year

war.

The exchange

of each prisoner

for each hostage

remain

is the main-

stay of the 

first part 

of the deal.

The real

test for peace

in the mideast

will be in

the rest

of the 20-

point plan.

For each

Palestinian

and Israeli,

this war

has been

torture

for 2 years

daily,

while the

world

has watched

in horror,

appalled,

until the bad

guys called

for a peace plan.

I think 

of Ireland.

It seemed

unbelievable.

So too,

Palestine

and Israel.

It’s certainly

possible,

when the bad

guys

prioritize

peace,

with their

eyes 

on the prize.

At One

We are called

to listen;

to reflect;

to acknowledge;

to observe;

to cleanse;

to imagine;

to redirect 

our attention

away from 

the physical

world

toward intention

and action

individually,

yet 

of a community

of humanity.

Abstention

from meals

heals

nothing

unless

as we 

confess

that we have

fallen short

or missed

the mark

or ignored

the call

to help

others,

and then pivot.

We are called

to feel

the need

to heal

relationships

and come

to grips

with 

our character.

We write

the next 

chapter

of our life’s

story

when we

close

the last one.

It is not

a matter 

of plot,

but character

driven—

who will we

be

given

what we’ve

got?

We are called

forth

to repair

and dare

to share

the mercy

and blessings

we’ve 

received.

This idea

is personal

and also

universal.

We have 

an opportunity

to change course.

We’d better

do better.

And we need

to remember

that

each one

of us

is part of 

the one

that is all

of us.


(11 October, 2024)