Current Events

Energy Crisis

I couldn’t watch.

I wouldn’t watch.

Governance

is not 

a debate.

Yet our 

tradition 

of performance

of endurance

to provide 

assurance

is the substance

we use

to  choose

the POTUS.

By all 

mounting

accounting

in real

time

and thereafter,

I glimpsed

the sad

theater

of our absurd

election.

A weak-

voiced

Joe

seeming

slow

against

each

blow

no matter

how false

the statement,

was a statement

of fitness

to those

who witnessed

what should

never

have taken

place.

Sad 

to say

that the

job

at bay

is partially

appearance.

The grievance

guy

with

each lie

conveys

energy.

He may 

be cruel

but his

fuel

is addictive

despite

being

convicted

so far,

34 times.

We are

addicted

to energy

at all

costs.

But

thoughts

of being

slow,

embodied

by Joe,

are dreadful.

Last century’s

model

seems

on the way

out,

as autocrats

plow through.

But 

dictators

playing

orators

is also 

old

while selling

retold

as something

new—

or at least,

something

strong.

A power

fueled

by desperation

supported

by

exasperation,

cannot

trump

our democracy.

This is crazy.

Alternative

energy

seems necessary

now

more than

ever,

while

voters

still

have power.

The Challenger

All those 

missions

to the moon

soon

felt so 

ordinary.

Everything

else

was a moon

shot

as we forgot

rocket science

challenges

until

The Challenger

explosion.

No longer

cavalier,

the fear

drove

decisions

more than

ambitions,

and understandably

so.

The aptly

named 

Challenger,

famed

for spectacular

disaster

is plastered

in our psyche.

Since then 

it seems,

that doing

big things

like moon shots

have become

too hard.

But that’s 

a story 

(with all

it’s gory

glory)

that fuels

(sorry)

that narrative

of the incentive

of the genius

billionaire

who will 

save us.

They profess

government

fails us;

and billionares

are us

because

the tell us

they are.

Huh?

When  the vaccine

saved us

from COVID-19,

that was a

moon shot

that landed.

The increasing

access

to health,

wealth,

education,

and participation

of all sorts

is distorted

as some sort

of assault

on individual

freedom.

Meanwhile

actual 

assault

weapons

are holier

than thou.

Now,

fear 

is the sphere

in which

we all orbit,

and 

restoring

democracy

as it used

to be

feels like

a moon 

shot.

The Challenger

this election

is Biden,

despite

his current

position.

His world

was blown up

before 

our eyes

and the

surprise

is the

seeming

inability

to completely

clean it

up.

But we 

can still

do hard

things

beyond

challenging.

It feels

like a moon

shot

if you forgot

that we

got

to the moon

many times.

And The Challenger,

which

brought 

with it 

fear,

also made

clear

that rigor

and resumed

vigor

and a program

reconfigured,

meant 

it didn’t

have

to end 

in disaster.

Heat Wave

Desantis

cut

all grants

for arts

in Florida.

This is not

merely

the display

of Tom Delay

opposing

a nude

sculpture.

This is culture

war 

gone

nuclear.

Aside

from 

refuge

from the deluge

of the monstrosity

of absurd 

political

verbosity,

the arts

engage 

with less savage

rage

and elevate

hearts

and minds.

Thinking

critically

is critically

necessary,

and increasingly

lacking

in society.

Not merely

criticizing

the opposing

position,

but juxtaposing

division

for consideration

is the job

of the thoughtful

democratic

citizen.

Of course

arts 

are 

not exclusive

to democratic,

inclusive

societies.

All cultures

create

culturally 

great

works,

that work

to showcase

impressions,

expressions,

confessions,

obsessions

beyond

politics

or religion,

or economics

or any statistics.

Art 

is part

of being

human,

if only

to be

appreciated.

No reason

was given

as to what

had driven

Desantis

to defund

grants

for arts

across

the great

state

of Florida.

How about 

opera

in Tampa?

Or the Miami

City

Ballet?

Or the New

Word Symphony

or every gallery

from Tallahassee 

to The Keys?

More importantly,

these sacred

places 

not

for profit

benefit

the public—

educating,

celebrating,

debating,

and creating

connections

anew.

He won’t

undo

what he 

threatens

to,

despite

his defunding

veto.

It’s abundantly

clear

he’s sincere

about 

being a

rage 

machine.

He won’t

be outdone

by anyone

except

by himself.

Should

we be 

outraged

or disengaged?

Which

would be

most effective

against

the invective

and incentive

to be incensed

by the lack

of sense

and every 

pretense

and policy

to lash

back

against

culture

and history

since 1960?

Adding fuel

and heat

to compete

for VEEP

may be

a steep

conquest,

but my best

guess

is that

this wave

won’t 

save

him.

Heat

waves

have begun

not just

in the Sunshine

State. 

The first 

debate

will ignite

the fight

that will

get overheated

as MAGA

acolytes

on the right

like to 

make waves

and heat

things up.

The boiling

point

is the point;

to foil

any opposition

even if

the position

is to defund

all arts.

Don’t let

the heated

rhetoric

and waves

of crazy

keep you

lazy.

Support

the arts.

Buy and read

banned books.

Help women

access care

as needed.

Ignore the 

debate.

Help create

access

and accountability.

It’s your responsibility

in this 

heat wave.

Faux Bro Foes

The two guys

disguised

as allies

are desperate;

each 

an inveterate

psychopath

full of

wrath.

Poor guys….

They need

to be 

assured

there

will be

weaponry,

and who better

than the other

outlier

liar.

If Anton Chigurh

and Darth

Vader

met for dinner

in no country

for old men

looking

for an empire

to strike

back

in case 

of attack,

one could

fear

what would

appear

as the two

worst

of the worst

could together

strike

first.

The Evil

Empire

just got eviler

or cozier

with the devil

only Trump

claims

to love.

But above

it all,

the small

men 

meeting

looks

defeating;

like 

there’s 

no one

left

to pick

for the

team.

Putin’s war

is bleeding

him,

so why not

Kim

to help 

him win?

Look how 

tough

guys

can surprise

and scare

us.

Double

trouble?

A happy

couple?

Will Trump

make a

thruple?

Our foes

have

weapons

and no

congress

to discuss

and digress

causing

extraneous

distress

which we

confess

is our own

worst

enemy.

Ourselves.

We are 

squandering

our riches

while

fearing

the bitches,

Kim and Vlad.

They had

to pretend

to extend

a treaty,

extending

fealty

to fear.

What

democracy

holds

dear,

is clear:

transparency.

And though

we are fighting

against

corruption

and autocracy

in the making

here,

we can

spot 

the veneer

of faux-reality.

Only the weak

speak

of conspiracy

fueled by

lunacy.

We know 

the show

and the faux

news

that does 

not amuse

but freaks

us out.

Without

clout,

the villains

shout,

either

literally

or with

weaponry,

which

is definitely

scary.

But our

foes

are also

frozen

with fear,

having

chosen

to subjugate

their own

and sown

their fates

inside their

own gates

of hell. 

Umpteenth

Juneteenth 

is a reminder

not just 

of the commemoration

of the Emancipation

Proclamation,

ending slavery

at the end

of The Confederacy,

but

of African

American

History

itself.

The first

Juneteenth

ended the horror

and sought

to honor

the new freedom

from enslavement.

But derangement

followed

as Jim Crow

swallowed

The South.

The Great Migration

still meant

segregation

for decades

until Civil Rights

advocates

political, 

social,

educational,

and economic

freedoms

as whites

had always 

had.

The attention

to celebration

of the Emancipation

Proclamation

was not

yet seen

on the American

scene

as an American

holiday

for the country.

Willfull

ignorance

maintains

intolerance,

though

we like

to maintain

the pretense

of innocence.

Black history

is not 

just February

or Kwanzaa

or MLK

Day.

The 1619

Project

is not

about 

white

feelings.

Diversity.

Equity.

Inclusion.

These are

now regarded

by some

as the exclusion

of fairness

in the world

of white

expectation.

The critics

of Critical

Race Theory

have a different

theory

than the actuality

of CRT.

Who stole

history

from whom?

The American

womb

gave birth 

twice;

birthdays

we now

celebrate:

July 4th

and Juneteenth,

both days

of observance

of independence.

We still

struggle

with freedom,

racism,

and even

imperialism.

Juneteenth’s

immediacy

connects

the history

to today

in a way

that few 

other 

observances

do.

So observe

and celebrate

this date

with no

number,

and stay

awake

to the umpteenth

number

of ways

in which

distortions

and lies

compromise

all of us.

Locked and Loaded

On the right,

the rights

of states,

corporations,

and each fetus

treats 

the rest 

of us

as peripheral

or collateral

damage.

The carnage

from gun

violence

in America

is grotesque.

And the focus

on the second

amendment

(not commandment)

as a right

to protect

even if death

occurs

is somehow

more important

than a woman’s

life.

The lock

on the court

and the loaded

rhetoric

of states’

rights

as an excuse

for the inexcusable,

undoubtedly 

championed

by the ones

who refuse

to recuse

themselves

for the case

of abuse

by a president

who rallied

an insurrection

despite 

objection

by the citizenry,

is dizzyingly

maddening.

How could

this be

happening?

In lock

step,

the right

falls 

in line

and the left

is left

not even

falling

in love.

Legality

should

contain

morality

of the most

basic,

unspecific

to theology,

sort.

Children

post birth

should

be worth

more

than unfortunate

circumstance.

The court’s

stance

on bump

stocks

mocks

the concept

of a supreme

justice.

Each day

more 

revelatory,

the story

that emerges

is loaded

with history

and those

who want

to be locked

in position

regulating

the regulators.

It all 

feels so

irregular

and anti

secular

while

profaning

a once

sacred

democratic

system

that seemed

poised

to better

all of us.

Triage

No more

space

in the emergency

room

filled

with demanding

needs

commanding

immediate

attention.

Rarely a mention

of the ailing

failing,

yet still

magnificent

grande

dame,

mother

to all,

left

aside

hiding 

in plain 

sight,

frighteningly

sick

but still

looks good

until

she storms

away

flooding

us 

with concern.

Whose

turn

is first

when systems

that nurture

require

sutures,

and fractures

compound

all around

us?

Stabbed

in the heart,

we realize

we must

prioritize

this immediate

wound

stat.

Inside 

this ER

that we 

now are,

we mostly

just take

in 

information.

I see you

already

know

the urgency

each

emergency

requires.

But mired

in crisis

since 

the time

of Isis

is narrowing

our arteries

and capacities

for healing.

We can’t

simply

be 

angry,

fearful,

and depressed.

Nor 

can we

ignore

what’s in store

with more

of the same.

Crises

of democracies

and the climate

across

the earth

are worth

your efforts

beyond

news intake.

What’s 

at stake

demands

urgent

care-

a bit

here 

and there

in addition

to the 

momentous.

What

are you

doing—

not just

reviewing—

in order

to make us

better?

Separation Anxiety

Wait…

Are we

breaking

up?

or down?

I thought

you taught

me 

everything

I knew

without

knowing.

I threw

myself

into 

you,

believing

the conceiving

was a

how-to

create

fulfilling

life.

Strife 

is inevitable,

but this

is incredible

in the worst

way.

Our 

ancestors

split

into the pit

of war

and tore

themselves

apart.

The scars

inflamed

but were

tamed

until

recently.

The cult 

of personality

of indecency

is claiming

it’s all 

about

policy.

You want

to be

free 

from 

Me?

You,

who insist

on Christ

first

as a

gun toting

misogynist

and homophobe

in a judge’s

robe,

without

limit

to prohibit

that which

you deem

oppressive.

You

are

overtaxed?

It’s impressive

how simple

minded

people

like

to be

told

day and night

that they

are right

to be

aggrieved

and wanting

to be

free.

A civil 

war?

A cold

war?

A revolution?

It feels

like dissolution

of the evolution

of what could

be 

a better

future;

a more

perfect

union.

I see

the enemy

of the good.

We should

be able

to reconcile,

but the infantile

bile

has been

weaponized

to legitimize

some fantasized

perversion,

while an infantilized

conversion

has materialized

before

my eyes. 

I’m still surprised

by this uprising,

making

it seem

like our thing

was a long

fling.

But truth

is enduring

despite

luring

attempts

to 

undo

US.

We have

much

work

to do;

not just

to protect

and defend,

but mend.

I can’t 

pretend

it’s just

one

election

to be

won.

But it 

could be

the last

of the past

248 years.

The Escalator

Moving down

the moving

staircase,

(in case

you have

forgotten),

The Escalator

descended

and upended

American

politics

nearly

9 years

ago.

Almost

a decade

of the charades

and parades

of The Escalator

whose descent

has meant

foment

and

torment

with consent

of a once

grand

old party,

now a party

to a criminal.

No longer

liminal

or minimal,

it’s all

so predictable,

as The Escalator,

a dictator

from 

day one,

intensifies

what he denies

and defies

with whatever

flies

in the face

of truth,

decency,

or honor.

Ascending

to power

while descending

to shower

the pathetic

with anesthetic;

the feel good

prescription

of the description

of support

that purports

to suggest

that he 

is an idea

whose time

has come:

A savior

with bad

behavior.

But he needs

complicity

for his

duplicity,

and pretending

that policy

is really

at issue

is the 

connective

tissue

of The Escalator.

The cost

is too great

to amplify

hate

and the haters

he loves

above 

almost

anything

except

escalating

lies,

fear,

and threats

as he bets

on getting

out of 

jail free,

feiging

a victim

of conspiracy.

Out of order

nearly

a decade 

in,

don’t let

The Escalator

win!

Hunter Gatherers

The Biden

hunters

now get

their turn

as they 

yearn

for retribution

for the prosecution

they claim

for their famed

MAGA leader

was in search

of a crime.

But crimes

were found,

(34!!),

around

falsifying

documents

in order

to thwart

the election.

As jury selection

for Hunter

Biden

commenced,

I sensed

a sobering.

What we

are really

confronting,

is the affronting

behavior

not of hunting

and gathering

evidence

unfounded,

but of unbounded

people

of wealth

and power

and those

who cower

to prevent

being

devoured

by 

the Former

Guy.

Most

important,

though,

is not

the hunting

game

(particularly

of fame)

but the gathering

of evidence

and its relevance

to greater issues. 

The Biden

pain

is unimaginable

yet felt

every day

by parents

who aren’t

presidents.

And the drug-

crime

intersection

deserves

reflection

as does

the application

process

to possess 

guns

in this

country.

The Biden

hunters

who investigated

Joe

know

there was no

there there.

But sadly,

his son

admittedly

had done

what those

who didn’t

get caught

often do:

he lied

when he

applied

for a gun.

Bad behavior

was always

assumed,

and now

we’re

consumed

by those

who presume

it doesn’t

matter

and 

that laws

only apply

to some.

Hunter’s

father—

President

Biden—

did not

cry,

“Sham!”

or try

to shut

down 

the trial.

The Whataboutism

prism

seeks to

deepen

the schism

and screams

of victimization.

But the reality

shows

that to merely

oppose 

and compose

fake theories,

electors,

and more

to score

points,

disjoints

and points

to a party

lacking

veracity,

morality.

or substance.

The abuse

is profuse

on  one side

as they deride

endlessly.

But watch 

which 

Hunter 

gatherers

contribute

to retribution

and which

seek a just

solution

to the real

scams

and shams

that are

damning

us.