United States

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.

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.

Border Crossings

Imagine 

a climate

scientist

as president

who is

a woman

and is

Jewish.

Mexico,

you know….

the place

that sends

its worst

first

across

our border

in order

to rape

and murder

before 

taking

all 

the beautiful

jobs here

nobody

here

wants,

has elected

a she/her

who practices

science

and governance

more than

religious 

observance.

We 

have done

none

of the above.

We are

exceptional

in our

deception

of greatness

again

and again

as we profess

with success

a succession

of limited

qualities.

No question

the exception

of America

has been

our freedom,

once 

unparalleled

and profound.

But the grave

wave

of regression

in freedom’s

name

feels 

insane,

not to mention

the election

that has 

2 very old

white men

running

again

and again.

The possibility

of American

democracy

has never 

been more

clear.

And yet

Mexico’s

new president

is a precedent

we have not

yet set. 

In fact,

we are

the exception—

the odd one—

with the highest

glass ceiling.

It’s revealing.

An anti-

science,

anti-

climate change,

anti-

woman,

anti-

Semitic

sizable

demographic

is anti-

democratic

in this country

that gave

the world

democracy.

It’s crazy.

And will

ultimately

be 

an uncomfortable

chapter

of our

history;

not merely

a record

of what 

was,

but 

of what

could be

again.

Bragging Rights

Barely 

a day

later

and I must

savor

this 

sweetness.

The privilege

to witness

the fitness

of justice

and the 

reminder 

that excellence

and truth

endure,

much less

the score

of 34

counts of

guilty,

is now

a matter

of and for

history.

DA Bragg

gets the win

for following

“the facts

and law

without

fear or

favor”

despite

the behavior

of the defendant –

now felon.

Bragg’s chutzpa

to put a

former president

on trial

was unprecedented.

And yet,

the normalcy

of the 

formality

of the

legal process

proceeded

unimpeded

except for 

the gag 

orders

and all 

the antics

of a frantic

defendant 

running

for president.

Now, 

of course,

there’s a

different take

on “Bragg’s

mistake” 

of legal

“interference” 

producing

a dangerous

consequence

as the 

candidate/

defendant’s

base 

could resort

to violence.

Like it’s

Bragg’s

fault.

Through

all Trump’s

contempt

and fury,

the jury

took seriously

its citizenry,

something

anathema

to the drama

and trauma

that is 

Trump.

And Judge

Juan

Merchan

embodied

justice

for all,

apparently

a tall

order.

Though 

many

doubted

the value

of this case,

we can’t 

erase

its significance.

We witnessed

history

regardless

of what’s

next.

Truth 

revealed

what Trump

concealed

to seal

the deal

in ’16.

The sentencing

hearing

will be

interesting.

Cohen

got 3 years,

reduced 

for cooperation

for the same

operation

that Trump

directed.

Meanwhile,

the new felon

will sell on

Truth Social

whatever

crap 

he can.

But Bragg

got the win

for reality

and for 

history:

Guilty

of 34

in 2024,

restoring

hope

in 

and for

American

democracy.

Speaker of the House?

How 

shall

we address

signs 

of distress

right in

our own

front

yards?

Everyone’s

stressed

and pressed

to express

themselves.

Being a part

of the conversation

yet apart

from the realization

that we

are self

destructing,

is instructing.

As a spouse,

one shares

a house,

and the 

responsibilities.

I can’t

imagine

being

sanguine

about 

my spouse’s

tantrums

and visible

displays

that might

convey

some overt

conflict.

Justice Alito

purports

to support

his wife’s 

autonomy 

but no other

woman’s.

His refusing

to recusing 

himself

from 

cases 

related to

the ones

created

by 

the Former

Guy

imply 

that he 

is not

only

a louse

of a spouse

but supremely

unfit

to sit

on the bench.

Last Memorial Day

Remember

last 

Memorial

Day?

Unless

a death

was new

to you,

the beginning

of summer

on the

calendar

probably

felt

like any

other

last 

Monday

in May.

The peculiar,

yet familiar,

combination

of dignified

commemoration

alongside

barbecues,

movies,

and retail

sales,

the way

Americans

mark

occasions,

have a long

tradition.

But our

current 

condition

calls into 

question

this celebration

of summer

and sacrifice.

To honor

those

whose

service

was 

for us,

whether

we asked

for it

or not,

deserve

for us

to preserve

our democracy’s

promise.

Arlington

Cemetery,

where rows

of those

who perished

for this country,

is sacred.

It is

holy

ground,

where

history

is found

among

the graves

of the ones

who saved

us.

All those

wars-

what 

were they

for?

This can’t

be 

the last

Memorial

Day.