United States

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.

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.

Call it, “What you will”

I Call it,

“what you will”:

Don’t say

“Department of

Government

Efficiency”.

That would 

rerquire

dishonesty.

Instead,

go rogue

and call it

“DOGE”,

and cut

aid

to the most

needy.

And pretend

that 

“DEI”

means

something

that will

intensify

rejection

of quality

and equity

for the 

hypersensitivity

of the white guy

who somehow

now

needs inclusion.

Never say

all the words

in the acronym

because

the antonym

is the strategy.

It is beyond

tragedy.

Say 

what you will…

When DEI 

is removed

to comply,

civil rights

still apply.

They say

what they

will

to instill

their project

to reject

what they 

can.

Say what

you will

and fill

your legislator’s

voicemail

and email.

Pique Performance

In winter, 

the state

of our union

is televised

and glamorized 

by

spectacle,

political

and sartorial,

along with

a few

surprise

guests.

The congress

of Americans-

not bipartisans,

but football fans-

entertained

but not sustained

by each

30 second ad,

had their wings

and things—

what the neighbor

brings—

to the Super Bowl

party.

The game

is the same

as America;

unrivaled

in extravaganza.

Brutal

and balletic,

overtly athletic,

aggressive,

possessive,

even regressive,

while somehow

always

most impressive.

The big game

adds a name

to it’s half-time

show.

Is it possible 

that spectacle

could get

boring?

Ignoring

real lives

to ensure

the game

survives

as the 

brass

contrives

some

current

theme

for a 

social

media

meme,

has become

a fever dream.

Peak

performance

is measured

by pique

performance;

a curiosity

turned

monstrosity

destroying

our democracy.

This is not

a sporting

event. 

Do not relent.

They are hell

bent;

committed 

to their pique

performance

of  slashing

and retribution.

Your calls

and emails,

posts and shares

are expressions

of constituent

cares. 

I learned yesterday

that an excellent

defense

was the winning

way. 

Change of Life

Get rid of our Tesla.

Get rid of our Kindle.

Drive much

much further

than Whole Foods,

which is closer

than the other

grocer.

Get rid

of delivery

from Amazon

Prime,

though

I can’t find

basic stuff

as there 

isn’t enough

stock;

and what is 

present,

is

locked

away

in every 

brick

and mortar

store.

Get off 

Facebook,

so the Zuch

can’t monetize

what I publicize

only to

my friends.

The ends

may justify

the means

against

the mean

guys,

but I realize

the compromise

has already

given them

the prize. 

Blue Sky’s

attraction

as the alternative

faction

needs

to be

fun,

which,

in the long

run,

is why

we comply

in the

viral

virtual

spaces.

Meanwhile,

with traces

of plastic

everywhere

in everything

we are consuming

and doing,

abandoning

plastic

may seem

drastic,

but it’s fantastic

to think

we’ll not sink

further,

as we murder

our only

home.

Our way

of life

that you

see dismantling

quickly

by Elon’s

Department

of Government

Efficiency

is theatrical

cruelty

and insufficiency,

when 

the way we

live

is also 

driven 

corporately.

The real

collusion

is the intrusion

of his

and his

and his

and his………

businesses

in our government

when they

have no 

business

doing so.

These seemingly

adolescent

guys

with whom

we’re forced

to compromise,

have their

eyes

on the prize

of unending

wealth 

and power.

But they

won’t stay

fertile

forever.

Their periods

will stop.

They’ll get

the sweats,

as is characteristic

of the climacteric

time.

Past

their prime,

they’ll decline,

but we must

begin

to refine

and change

the way we 

engage

while

they’re on

and in

the current

stage.

Strip Tease

In addition 

to deportation

threats 

and ridiculous 

tariffs,

then paying off

and laying off

professional

civil servants;

cutting off

contagion 

deterrents,

the Gaza plan

to rid

each Palestinian

from the strip

is bound to please

no one.

So why the tease?

To create unease

from the diseased

mind

of this president.

As Elon 

steals 

private data,

and the country

reels

from threats on

Gaza,

there’s buy in

on the buy outs

by the louts

who think 

they’re dude-licious.

They are malicious

and they revel

in their level

of audaciousness.

Stripping

government 

agencies

of employees, 

money,

and people’s

tax ids,

seem to be

terrible

policies,

much less

an incredible

display

of heinousness.

He knows

how slowly

our system

moves

as he proves

he can force

the course

of events.

The remnants

of the GOP

in congress

abide

willingly.

It worked

with Dobbs,

as he robs

the country

of morality

and integrity,

in the name

of liberty,

stripping

down

to barely

function,

claiming

victory.

It’s only

early

February.

The master

of mutual

approval

loves

removal

to show

he’s 

the  boss.

The loss

is ours

if we

just watch

him peel

each article

away.