Current Events

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.

The Daily Show

…OMG!

…WTF?

…I know, right?

…What morons!

…Totally!

…It’s not just

the President

who is

profoundly

incompetent.

…It’s like

it’s a 

requirement!

…They’ll fall

in line

and none 

will resign.

…It’s all

fine

and good

in MAGAhood.

…It’s a BFD

to reveal

war plans

against

a foe

and not

know

the group

chat

included

that

editor

in chief

of 

The Atlantic.

…FWIW,

the best

thing on 

earth 

that could

have happened

was Goldberg’s

inclusion

despite 

his confusion

over the

veracity

of the audacity

and stupidly

of the indefensibly

horrific

officials

who threaten

our national

security

daily.

…I  guess

a group

text

is the next

best thing

to nuclear

secrets

on that

gold toilet

thing.

…Truth.

…Everyday

is a shitshow.

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.

Remains to be Seen

The release

of remains

was made

by Hamas

of Shiri Bibas

33,

and her sons,

Ariel 

who was 4

and Kfir 

who was

nine months old,

we are told,

at the time of their

capture.

Also released

among the dead,

was Oded 

Lifshitz, 84.

All were

taken hostage

on 

that day 

of carnage,

October 7th

2023.

Hamas maintains

that the remains

were from

them being 

killed

in Israeli

air strikes

during 

the Gaza War.

Shiri’s husband,

Yarden,

was let go

a few weeks

ago,

alive,

but the rest

of his family

did not

survive. 

Oded Lifshitz,

a retired

journalist

who volunteered

with 

Road to Recovery,

drove 

Palestinians

who were

not citizens

to hospital 

appointments

in Israel

and the West 

Bank.

The wife

of Oded,

Yocheved,

was also 

in captivity,

and freed

after

about two

weeks.

Throughout

the war,

the symbol

of the hostage

struggle

in Israel

was found

in the photo

posted

all around

the country.

The young

family

with the

red head

tots

generated 

lots

of anguish 

and anger,

but also

hope

for a return

home.

The remains

of the day

today

will be seen

by forensic

pathologists

to identify

them.

But the pathology

remains.

Gaza 

won’t be

a Trump 

Plaza.

It’s the hate

that lives

after

the remains

are returned

home.

It remains

to be seen

how much

will get

buried. 

Center for Performing Arts

The current

administration

warrants

defenestration

not just for

politics,

but for culture

appropriation.

Aside

from turning

words

inside

out,

their clout

is about

hostage

taking,

faking

concern

with slash

and burn

to turn

our

government

into a lean

machine

while they

reap

the green.

It’s obscene.

At the center

is the artist

formerly

known

as mogul,

notable

for 

obnoxious

behavior

and practices

questionable

at best.

Now,

at his behest,

names 

have been

changed

to protect

the indecent,

while 

the innocent

and efficient

are bought

out

or let go.

His compulsion

for attention

has led to

the extension

of presidential

execution

into 

realms

not typical

of such

purview.

Recently,

he 

replaced

the name

of the Kennedy

Center

for the Performing

Arts.

Oh the smarts

on that guy,

to try

to buy 

enough

power

to be influential

in a universal

way.

He is the center

of performing

arts

if there’s 

an art 

to his performance,

or a brilliance

to his overhaul,

including

the hall

where the gifted

beyond the grifted

have exhibited

exceptional

grace and skill.

His will

will instill

worse than political

turmoil,

and foil

our best

prospects.

His “art”

of performance-

enhancement

of his enormous

lack-

is his ability

to hack,

backed

by big bucks

to buck

anything

and take

everything.

Entertaining

is his thing

as much

as purchasing.

If that’s an art,

he is at

the center;

performing

on stage

right,

while

the conforming

chorus

is ignoring

us.

If he’s

the center,

it will not

hold

forever.

He’s clever

and has

his 

minions

with 

bizarre

and hateful

opinions,

and a brash

way

that has

cultural

sway,

but his

curtain

will close

some day

anyway.

That day 

won’t come

soon 

enough.