Life is Strange, No Doubt...

Yes. Well. I can "doom" with the best of them (see previous post). And, yes, I believe we are in a cycle of existential doom & gloom. But, I also think of myself as "resilient," a "fighter," a "survivor," and basically an optimistic sort. So, yeah, super-confused most of the time. I seek clarity. I swim towards the light of insight, peace & trancendence even as I note the sharks, the spiky rocks, and can recognize the smell of death in the air. All I really know is to "keep going." The best antidote to the existential dread  that I have is music; the playing, the listening (lately, almost exclusively Dylan & Springsteen), the performing. And all of this doom & gloom is actually fuel for creating. Yesterday, I worked on a new song. It's reflects my confusion, it takes the elements of doom, and moprhs it into some kind of new clarity, & r&r holiness. At least that's how I see it, and experience it. Will it ever see the light day beyond the kitchen? Not sure. If it seems like it stands up and demands to be counted, I will bring it to my song-writing partner, and then, if it passes that test, together we will bring it to the band. Sure, it's a little thing, but for me, it's also everything. I can't fix the world, but I can do this. And it is something I can and really must do. You know, to keep my head on straight. Life is strange, no doubt...

"It Already Happened Here!"

Besides cutting down an apple tree, and "never telling a lie," and having "wooden teeth," George Washington, "the father our country," was pretty much lionized because he walked away, he refused to be America's King or Dictator.

What a long strange trip it's been. 

Today, we are stuck with a soggy, foggy, blubbering, fat-fuck, felon & consummate liar. He sure seems to think he is some kind of sloppy, tasteless, classless King of Stupid, and wanna-be authoritarian; a cheesy, messy, brain-addled, dementia-swimming, Dictator, and folks wonder if they will ever be able to get his sorry ass out of the White House when the time comes to move on. 

Sinclair Lewis wrote a novel in 1935 called "It Can't Happen Here."  This morning, it's not alarmist to declare: "It Already Happened Here!" Yes. Here & now. We are in the dystopia. We are discovering who are the folks who will stand up to be counted in opposition.

We get the new experience of living under a fascist regime. Kind of like something you'd read in a Roberto Bolano, or Gabriel García Márquez novel. Or in the history books. Does anyone read anymore? Does anyone remember history? Does anyone remember what happened in the past, or are we now all just stuck in the furious hurly-burly of the always now? 

We are discovering lots of folks are just ignoring it all, or applauding, or trying their best not to see what's happening right in front of their sore eyes.  Hmmm.... I am not predicting anything, but, really, reality has a way of catching up to everyone, gravity still exists, facts & truth do matter. 

I think the inevitable crash, or implosion, or disintegration, or choking on a hamburger moment is coming sooner or later.  I hope it's sooner. You know, my mantra: "Is he dead yet?" I think of the poet Diane Wakowski and her book of poetry: "Dancing on the Grave of a Sonofabitch." Do you know how deliriously happy so many of us will be when fat-fuck croaks?

Then what?! Not sure. I am rooting for the good guys...

"Try Harder..."

This is written in the cement on a sidewalk in my hood. "Try Harder Actualize Collapse." I am trying to actualize/visualize it with every fiber of my being. I especially have one prominent individual in mind. First thought every morning: "Is He Dead Yet??!!"

We Stand with the Good Guys...

Yes. Maybe a little push-back will work? Trump (the fascist, liar in Chief), has threatened to send troops to Chicago. Our great Mayor Brandon Johnson & Governor J.B. Pritzker have made it clear that he should not send troops. They are not needed, not wanted. Maybe the wanna-be Fascist Authoritarian, is backing down?! That would be a good development in the middle of our fascist-car-crash crisis. 

Pretty funny that the fascist in chief is calling other folks, "corrupt." Ha. Talk about projection...

It is easy to see who the bad guy is, and who are the good guys. You know, super-simple? The Mayor & Governor of Illinois are standing up for Democracy, Rule of Law, the Constitution, Inclusion, Kindness, Community, a Better Day & Better Way.

The other guy? He is at war with America. Our daily mantra here in my neighborhood: "Is He Dead Yet?!"

Two Minds Clashing...

Yes. It's weird. Two Minds clashing every day.

The National Nightmare: Trump's Nazi Car-Crash.

Locally? Worried, about the cost of groceries, and pretty much everything else (Trump's tariffs),  but surrounded by beautiful, friendly folks here in the Heartland. We are all long-time, born & bred here, Americans, ready to March & Protest at the drop of a hat.

Nationally it seems Super-Duper-Fascist. A Toxic-Clown-Car of Authoritarian-Fascism on steroids of stupidity & cruelty.

Locally? It's still America over here in all it's Woke-Glory, but we can see the smoke signals of doom on the horizon. Are they really gonna send troops to our gorgeous little corner of Paradise? If they do, I am pretty sure all the beautiful folks will be taking it to the streets.

Chicago: Beautiful American City...

Folk #1: "Chicago is a big city. It is a fabulous American City. The extended boundaries of "Chicagoland," 9.4 million people strong, makes for a sprawling, lively, fantastic, cheerfully overflowing melting pot of humanity. Sure, there are some hard streets, when it comes to human beings, there is always beauty & ugliness, it's just the reality of humanity & of life. You get a little taste of everything, the beauty & glory and the darkness & shame too. That's ok. That's life. These fucking idiots in D.C. lying about our beautiful City are just out to fan the flames. Seems they are cooking up some devious plot; a lawless, authoritarian, fever dream. So un-American. We do not need troops here. Anyone pushing that idea is bad-intentioned, sick, & deluded. Come on, America, we can do so much better."

That Fat Dude Has Brain Worms...

Folk #1: "That Fat Dude has brain worms. He's disintegrating before our eyes. He is deeply brain-scrambled, and he talks like a "sausage." His words tumble from his blubbering, gaping, piehole, with scattered, broken shards of shite raining down on all of us. A toxic rain. It's all total nonsense, and deeply twisted, authoritarian gibberish. He is at war with America, the American People, reality, truth, and any decency or common sense. Fuck. No one is in charge. No one lifts a finger to move on from this always happening, 24/7, fascist, car-crash. We are stuck watching in horror as it all unfolds in technicolor, slow-mo. It's a sort of a perfect hell that we have found ourselves stuck in. We are under the thumb of someone much more corrupt, stupid, cruel, idiotic, toxic and morally bankrupt than anyone any of us could have ever imagined."

A Farce & a Tragedy...

 

Are we going to make the D.C. Sandwich guy a hero (sandwich) of the Resistance?! I think so, yes. I really, really love how someone repurposed a Banksy image to symbolize the bold, ridiculous gesture of standing up against Authoritarianism by flinging a sandwich. This image is appearing all over Washington D.C. which is now under the heavy hand of Trump's Thugs, American Authoritariasm is alive & real in the streets of the nation's Capitol.

What I also love about this image? The sandwich. It's funny, I mean hilarious. A Federal employee was shouting at one of the armed thugs, and then in a wild moment of abandon, and well, righteous, crazy-ass, stupidity, hurled a sandwich into the chest of a US Customs and Border Protection agent, and then, Sandwich guy ran like a scrambling little rabbit down the street.

They chased him down, arrested him, threw the book at him, charged him with felonious assault. He was released, and is scheduled to stand trial in September. It's a farce and a tragedy. An American administration at war with it's own citizens. A suddenly very Nazi America...

Manhandled & Radicalized...

I definitely feel man-handled and radicalized by the new reality in USA. This turn to Fascist Authoritarianism, corruption & professional idiocy is so contrary to my vision, my hopes, dreams, and long experience in this fabled land.

Funny. As a culture, as a species, we seem to becoming more & more untethered, unhinged, unmoored, unanchored from any common sense, or common purpose. Sure there are still many of us trying to see & think clearly, to touch grass, and tune into the real, but it feels like we are swimming against strong, mad, nihilistic currents. 

My radicalism? Reality. Truth. Grace. Love. Democracy. Rule of Law. Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Oh yeah, FUCKING WOKE TO THE MAX. Isn't it required of us as humans beings to be aware, alive, awake at all times?!

Maybe "darkest before the dawn?" I can't help but turn to a practical optimism. Even in the middle of the shit. Who knows, there are stirrings across the land, maybe the tide is turning? Ha. One can hope. We shall see.

The Lesson of Humility...

Probably the biggest lesson for me? Humility. Being humble in the face of this amazing, wondrous, confounding, overwhelming, confusing, deflating, mysterious, and often disappointing & heart-breaking Universe.

The disappointment & heart-break, comes from unsustainable expectations. Born into this grand, evolving experiment, and trying to find a place, a way, a method; developing a code for better living. Long-form improvisation.

Doing the best I can, often falling short. Discovering that every damn thing counts. I am reminded of that nearly every day. Sometimes I am on cruise-control, and then there's the unexpected; a pothole in the road, a dangerous cliff, the impenetrable wall.

Can't take anything for granted. Thinking you're not fucking up, but then finding out you are fucking up. A shock and a wakeup call. Embarrassing & humiliating. How to respond? Wake up. Commit to doing better.

Getting angry & shutting down, they are counter-productive ways of dealing with obstacles. Taking the hit, and keeping on keeping on with eyes wide open is much the better way. There will always be  adversity & fuckups. That's just built-in.  Just have to deal with it, with heart, grace, humor, and yes, humility.

Small Doses...

People. Best appreciated in small doses. Really. Popularity is delusion. Best to cultivate a few very close relationships. Be open-minded, but also fiercely open-eyed about the rest of the great ocean of people in your view-finder.

We are all caught between two ideas: 

"People who need people are the luckiest people in the the world." - Dean Martin

AND

"Hell is other people." Jean Paul Sartre

Trump is "Gutting America."

The glaringly obvious truth from Marcy Wheeler: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/08/18/trump-confesses-that-the-united-states-is-a-client-of-russia/

So happy to come across a truth-teller in this new Hellscape of Lies. Clarity. Reality. Truth.

Trump has sold out the USA & Ukraine to Putin/Russia. It is so fucking obvious, lots of folks don't even see it. And, I suppose many Americans just don't care. Funny how that happened. Funny how it's the lunatic right, that has happily gone along with this willful abdication of our Democracy, and are gladly marching towards a full-blown American Autocracy. Fans of Fascism and Authoritarianism? Jesus H. Christ, thats today's GOP.

BTW - Just a friendly reminder: Trump's two best buddies, Jeffery Epstein, and Vladimir Putin. Says everything, about that man, right?! Epstein is gone, but the stench and pain of his crimes linger on. Putin is a real-time war criminal and murderer. He murders journalists, & his political opponents in Russia, and he targets women & children in Ukraine. Pure, unmitigated evil. Trump is under that dude's thumb. Yikes.

I wonder, do my fellow Americans realize what we are losing? 

"All of Trump’s power depends on his continued reinforcement of the disinformation that Russia used to get him elected the first time. Without Russia’s continued indulgence, the foundational myths to Trump’s power would crumble. Particularly amid the willful destruction of US power, it would provide cause — and maybe even the will, among right wingers — to expel and prosecute him.

The hold Putin has over Trump is existential for Trump. And unless we can expose that, the US will increasingly become a mere satellite of Russia.

Trump is not making America great. He is gutting America.

This is not just about forcing Ukraine to surrender.

Trump has surrendered. And going forward, it is only going to get worse." - Marcy Wheeler

Of Two Minds...

Yes. This idea that we are living in two worlds simultaneously here in America was validated again for me yesterday. We navigated the day. Listening to music on the box all morning, Springsteen's "Nebraska," (1982), and "Darkness on the Edge of Town," (1978), Tom Petty's "Wildflowers and All the Rest," (2020), and Anders Parker's "The Black Flight." (2023). All stunningly wonderful albums. Then we had an incredibly intense rehearsal with 5 members of our band. Two hours of our music played with maximum intensity. It was thrilling & fun. Preparing for two upcoming shows. Then it was off to a local bar that was hosting a memorial show for a fallen musician. A big turnout in a small room for the show. A great community of musicians, poets, painters, writers. So inspiring.

None of us talked of the shitshow of USA at the moment. Too painful to talk about. But, it did hang over us all like a black cloud of bad juju and death. Terrible. The silence about it all reflects the deep wounds of the moment. This morning on Blue Sky I stumble across Will Stancil's thoughts, and seems like a perfect encapsulation of the other side of this crazy-ass country:

Yes. Right. Fuck.

Something Happened. Figure "Weird."

The body language says it all. Trust your eyes. Ha, ha, ha. The little one has something over the big one. It's a long-running comedy/tragedy that has crippled the USA since 2016.

How the press should have covered this event yesterday. It was a badly-conceived shit-show.

Something really weird happened in Alaska yesterday (see previous post). A war criminal who intentionally targets & kills civilians, met with a convicted felon, confirmed sexual predator, and corrupt imbecile.

One guy strutted around like the ruler of the Underworld, and the other one waddled around on a red carpet like a drunk-penguin, and then clapped with joy, like a trained seal, when he spotted the littler one approaching.

They got in a car together, unaccompanied, except for the driver, and then later had a private meeting. What did they talk about?! No one really knows.

Maybe it was a progress report? Just checking in with the Russian Boss? Maybe a recap of all that the big fat one owes to the little devious one? Hmmm. I wonder if Jeffery Epstein came up in the conversation?

I mean... OMG... after the meeting at the microphone the fat one multiple times referred to the littler one as "The Boss." Really. Not fucking kidding. Wow.

The vibe was definitely "fucking weird." Something strange happened. Probably something really, really bad, stupid, and who knows, eminently dangerous...

"... the Dictator Coming to Reclaim what Russia Owns..."

Seems to me this photo taken in Helsinki in 2018, immediately after a private Trump/Putin meeting, says it all. The guy on the right looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. The guy on the left, looks like a guy who just had a very difficult and invasive proctology exam. We all have always wondered, "What does Putin know, and have over Trump?"

This post from Marcy Wheeler goes into all the details of the Trump/Putin Love Affair.

How to explain Trump and his campaign of destruction of the USA? It's all about Putin & Russia. It has always been so. Today in Alaska will be just another sad chapter.

So, yeah, read her post, it's got all the juicy details. A sellout of Ukraine, and a sellout of America. The Trump  campaign slogan should have always been: "Make America Russia."

Here's Marcy. Brilliant. Perfect. Most of the media and the American public are onto other things and refuse to see the obvious reality dancing before their noses.

"The mistake, in analyzing the Alaska meeting is not just about Ukraine.

It’s about the United States.

It’s not just that Putin can bide his time in Ukraine.

It’s that the longer he holds out, the greater his true objective — turning Trump into his puppet and the United States into a dying kleptocracy that is child’s play to manipulate — comes into grasp.

Putin may still be fighting in Ukraine. But he has achieved far more than he probably hoped for in the US. He has all but defeated every nuisance the Main Enemy once stood for: rule of law, free trade, freedom of speech, science, human rights, reason.

It’s not just that Trump is welcoming a dictator on US soil. It’s that the dictator is coming to reclaim what Russia owns." -- Marcy Wheeler

Every Day...

Every day is a challenge. Oh yeah, and they say it's an opportunity too. Sure. Why not? Every day is a step forward into the Future. Every day you try not to take a step back, and you try to avoid any set-backs. It's a dance. First rule: Do no harm. Try not to hurt yourself, or any one else either.  Also, remember: "Don't fall down." Otherwise, live completely. You wonder to yourself: "What new fuckery today?!" AND, "Can I make it thru unscathed?" Ha. Probably not. Every day counts, one way or another.

Bifurcated Existence...

Yes, we are living in bifurcated circumstances. Two distinct branches, forks or parts. 

Check in with the National conversation and it's all lunacy and grifting. The Mafia state in full force. Mind-boggling, and infuriating. 

Locally, closer to home? We "touch grass," commune with the trees, lull & hypnotize ourselves watching the waves crash into the beach. Soothing, spirit-building.

We are paying attention, which takes a bit of discipline. We are living in the contradiction, and it sort of cleaves our consciousness into two very different modes.

That is just the way of the world. Navigating thru, trying our best not to lose our shit.

It's the Lying...

A little short-hand for dealing with this Fascist Regime. Just remember, maybe tattoo it on your forehead backwards, so you can read it in the mirror.

THEY ARE LYING! 

About everything. They refuse to acknowledge the Truth, or any semblance of Reality. They have hijacked our Country, and are trying their best to destroy the American Dream, all based on malicious, ridiculous, unsustainable lies.

And lots of folks, who should, and do, know better, are just repeating the lies, nodding & going along. Not Acceptable. They are totally abdicating their reponsibility to the Country. It is disgusting, but absolutely true. We can do better. 

The Real Big City...

We went to the Big City yesterday. I am talking about Chicago. Took a train down. It was late pulling into the station. Getting around in the "analog," world is always a crap-shoot. What about the City? Amazing. Vibrant. Alive.

We hear people on the TV and socials, all the time, ranting & railing against American Cities, but, you know what?! A big American City is really the best of America. It is a roiling, boiling, crazy-ass merging of every kind of Human Being.

On the streets, in the parks, on the river & lake fronts. Lively. Colorful. The energy emanating off the streets was a bit overwhelming. We took a long walk down the Magnificent Mile, and it really was sort of magnificent. A carnival, a street-fair, bursting with life. It almost felt "international."

So, yeah, a Summer Sunday afternoon in the Big City. It was an energy-booster. Those Fucking Liars, lying about American Cities? They are so, so wrong and wrong-headed. Full of B.S. Just another con-game. Propaganda. Disinformation. Getting out & about is quite instructive, and real...

I Know Enough to Say, "I don't know enough..."

Magical thinking: "the belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effects."

Yes. It's easy to get off the boat of rationality into the magical. At the moment much of our culture, politics, and vibe right now is bat-shit, fucking crazy. Maybe it's quite appealing? Believing what you want to believe, because, you know, you just want to believe? 

I am a big "vibes" guy. Mainly from experience. This idea that there all invisible connections people between people in close quarters. Go to any good music event and you can see it and feel it in action. 

Even my own band is known for the vibes we create. It's kind folded into the power of positive thinking too. Some folks can walk into a room, and armed with their own personal energy & charisma can change a room. No doubt. The other side of it is evident too. Some folks are just black-holes of bad vibes. You can see them coming a mile away.

Maybe there are rational explanations? Maybe these vibrations travel in the air? Or you know some kind of scent or chemical reaction is taking place?  It appears to be a bit of magic, a bit irrational, but, there  probably are really good explanations for what's going on? Instead of magical, let's just say unexplainable at the moment? There are limits to what we know. Good advice, be open to saying, "I just don't know."

Yesterday, we played music with our band in a small rehearsal room. I have been nursing a very sore knee the last few days. One wrong step can change everything. Lots of pain & stiffness. It has not been easy to get around. As soon as we started playing, all of that fell away. I stood in the room, sang into a microphone, strummed my guitar, and all of that pain, stiffness, and discomfort totally, completely vanished. Two hours of no pain at all. 

When we finished playing, and started to pack up, it all came back. Funny. Sort of magical. I chalk it up to being totally lost in a flow activity. Doing something you love to do, commiting completely, everything falls away, time and space seem to tilt and morph.

Yeah, the vibes, man. 

But you know, I think we all need to be humble in the face of this kind of thing. Sure, flow activities, recommended. Find things you love to do and do them Heart, Head, Spirit totally aligned. And yes, sure, believe in something, I think that's important, but maybe something like "a better day." Or "goodness." 

Be fucking humble, man. We are just very human beings.

Simple. Practical, Rational (?), Magic. Yes. There is mystery all around us, but that's just because, it's a big complicated Universe. Lots going on. I know enough to say, "I don't know enough..."

Oh, the Meaningless Futility in the Oval...

Folk #1: "Here is that super-rotund, world-class, imbecile, lumbering & waddling around the oval office, hyping silly, manufactured, totally meaningless charts that he had his boot-licking, lackeys put together..."

"This one chart really says it better than anything, if you look at this. This is great. But this chart is pretty amazing. Right here. All new numbers."

Narrator: (quoting Wm. Shakespeare via Macbeth): "It is a tale, Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."

Culture of Lies, There, Then, and Here, Now...

 "What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all." - Valery Legasov

My partner and I recently streamed the amazing, powerful, devastating 5 part series, "Chernobyl," (2019). What to say? Masterful. Heartbreaking. Maddening. An ugly story told masterfully & beautifully.

Yes. For us. We learned so much about something we knew so little about. Human Beings exposed in all their heroic and flawed natures, in the most dire and heartrending circumstances. 

Sure, it may have been the disaster at Chernobyl (Man-made hell on Earth), the efforts to contain it, the efforts to cover it up, that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but the echoes of that event in today's culture of lies in the USA, really, really hit home.

We are the "tricky monkeys" who think we are smarter than we really are. And we will lie, cheat, deceive, do whatever it takes to not face the music, or the consequences of our actions. There are a very few truth-tellers. They stand out from the pack. They do give us a glimmer of hope. But it is a slender reed, indeed.

"How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?”

Yes. A question from a woman at a townhall meeting in Nebraska yesterday. It was a very good question. Totally on-point. "How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?”

From Heather Cox Richardson this morning:

"Members of the House of Representatives are back in their districts for August, and on Monday, Republican Mike Flood of Nebraska held a town hall in Lincoln. A woman asked what she called a fiscal question.

She said: “With 450 million FEMA dollars being reallocated to open Alligator Alcatraz, and 600 million taxpayer FEMA dollars being used to now open more concentration camps, and ICE burning through $8.4 million a day to illegally detain people—How much does it cost for fascism? How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?”

The crowd cheered wildly.

Untethered & Unhinged...

Well. It is sometimes nice to just let words fly. I find it sort of theraputic. But then again, they say that "brevity is the soul of wit." And it is important to have your wits about you, especially in this so very stupid, and incredibly witless time in which we find ourselves. 

So, today, after that little preliminary opening blast, one pithy thought: We are the People, the Country, the Culture that has gladly, happily and mindlessly decided that being Untethered & Unhinged from Reality is a good thing. Of course, it's not. And there will be consequences. I mean, yeah, like right fucking now...

Taking Care...

Well. We took our own advice yesterday. We took a long bike ride on the lakefront, and then parked ourselves on a bench facing Lake Michigan. It was pretty agreeable August, Summer day. Temps in the 70's, a cooling breeze coming from the North. The waves were up. Looking across the horizon, the lake looked like an ocean. There were some beach-goers, lots of kids in the water. We sat under a shady tree, like two aspiring Buddhas. We talked a bit about the madness of the world. But, then, let it all go. We weren't going to solve anything. We just noted the madness, and then turned to the waves. It seems like a little thing, sitting quietly on a bench, watching the waves, the clouds, the sunshine sparkling off the water. But it was immensely healing. There is something about facing an expansive horizon, it sort of opens you up. It was calming, healing, and recharging. We have been struggling with the latest news, & the 24/7, shit-show America, it is gruesome, and is not going away any time soon. We do expect things to get worse, maybe much worse. But we need to take care of ourselves. Meditating on a bench in the face of beauty & wonder? Oh yeah. Necessary medicine, for sure.

Crazy & Lazy...

We, the culture, the people, have totally lost the thread. As George Orwell (the Oracle of Dystopia), put it, our daily task is "to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity," and "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle". 

It seems we are now incapable of that kind of will, clarity, intention, discipline & struggle. We just don't want to. What made us so willfully crazy & lazy?

My friend and I have theories. Below are some of the Contenders, but you know, it is probably a combination of all of these:

Covid lockdown. 

The Internet. 

Media Click-Bait. 

Smart-Phones - Tik Tok, Facebook, AI, Doom-scrolling, etc.

The Unrelenting Swamp of Lies & Disinformation. 

Virtual & Simulated Worlds. They are Halls of Lies.

Elevating Money to God-Like Status. 

Climate-Catastrophe (cooking our brains one day at a time, robbing us of optimism for the Future).

Electing a Convicted Felon, known Racist, Sexual Predator, Shit-Stirrer, Grifter, Con-man & Corrupt as Fuck Person as President (twice, with a double-assist from Russia)   

Magical Thinking - wanting to see what we want to see, to believe what we want to believe, when we want to see & believe it. Evidence, Facts, Truth, Reality, Gravity be Damned.

We both have concluded that our culture & our people are absolutely committed to not seeing what's in front of our noses! We just refuse to do the work!

What is the antidote to the crazy & lazy? Stepping back, stepping away. Living in the "analog world." Being real. Breathing. Meditating. Taking a walk in Nature. Observing the passing scene with merciless intelligence. Trying to keep all of one's perceptive skills honed and at the ready. Seeing and cataloging the Lies, calling them out. Refusing to succumb or surrender.

The Zombies Running Amok...

So much bad shite going down. I think they are even trying to kill Big Bird. Fuck these evil people. In our heads we still believe in the forces for Good, but right now, the onslaught of evil & pointlessly bad-shite is a bit overwhelming. Yeah, sure, we find ourselves in an evil Kingdom where cruelty, corruption, and idiocy are supreme. What to do? Ah, I guess, stay alive, aware, awake. And then what? Refuse to surrender. Everything these fuckers are unleashing in the USA is complete, retrograde, immoral, hollow, soulless, inhumane garbage. I suppose it is sort impressive just how completely unrelentingly disgusting these Trumpers , MAGAs, Republicans are. It is like watching the Zombies take over. The heartless, brain-dead, running amok. There is no reasoning with these folks. They hold the levers of power in D.C. Seems they are intent on breaking everything. To what end? Pure power, greed, hate & corruption. Ha. One almost has to laugh. It seems like a dead-end movement. Nihilistic. It can't last right?! We carry on with our day to day, doing our best to lean to the Better Angels. But it ain't easy, watching the shit-show unfold in full technicolor.

Conspiracy-Land...

Folk #1: Usually, I am pretty much "conspiracy theory agnostic." 

You know. Look for the simple explanation. No need to conjure up some grand, multi-pronged, coordinated skullduggery. But then, for instance, this Epstein/Trump thing just seems to be getting bigger & wilder. And the basic facts, lots of very wealthy, prominent folks ensnared in a sex-trafficking ring hatched by Epstein, we are already in the thick of conspiracy right out of the gate. Just the basic, on the record facts reveal a conspiracy of ugliness. And among those prominent folks implicated, there is a certain toxic President that is acting like a very guilty perpetrator, spinning, and flailing about with obvious, distracting, lies.

So, well, I read this post by the writer Craig Unger - "Too Good to Be True,"  and I come to the great insight that the Epstein Scandal and the Trump/Russia Scandal are actually one and the same grand conspiracy. Ha. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. I mean, this is just me connecting the dots. Craig Unger seems to have lots of the receipts, and connecting evidence.

Read Unger's latest post. Can it be that 478 sex tapes initially recorded in Epstein's lair, are sitting somewhere in Moscow? Is Vladimir Putin the great puppet-master who has successfully helped his very special "asset," win the White House twice, holding these sex tapes over prominent folks around the world? International blackmail? Was Epstein basically running a "honey trap" for Russian intelligence? Was Trump ensnared early on? Has he subsequently been running a counter-intelligence "op" on America? Is Trump, Putin's embedded asset, destroying America from the inside out? 

Hmmm. Who knows?! I mean all the mayhem and destruction of this admininstration is quite diabolical. Once you jump into the conspiracy pool, it's hard to extract yourself, the pool just seems to expand, and hold together quite elegantly.

This is from Unger's Post: "Dougan’s story is filled with inconsistencies and lies, but it’s still worth telling because it shows how the Russians cultivated an intelligence operative who became a significant figure in spreading disinformation in the 2024 election.

As I’ve already shown in previous posts, both Lana Pozhidaeva and Masha Drokova appear to have been Russian intelligence operatives when they worked with Epstein. Dougan’s story adds another component to what we know about Russia’s active measures in America at the time."

So, yeah, Epstein, Trump, Russians, sex-trafficking, money-laundering, active disinformation campaigns, it all sort of collides & congeals. Welcome to Conspriacy-Land.

Ashes & Insanity...

Folk#1: Funny. I woke yesterday with that vision of an American flag burning to a crisp (see previous post). It was not a happy image. But maybe it was a sign that I knew something I didn't yet know?  Turns out there was a bold Canadian breeze blowing off the lake in our little town. It chased the humidity out, and brought a bit of cooling to the land. It also brought smoke from fires in Canada. The air itself was dangerous for folks to breathe. Most folks didn't notice or didn't care. Eveyone was out and about. My partner and were the only ones taking precautions. I wore a bandana over my mouth and nose, she wore a hospital-grade mask. Flashback to the pandemic. We were definitely outliers in our little town, but even that little act of self-preservation seemed inadequate. We both could taste ashes, and smell smoke, as we made our appointed rounds, and we both ended up burnt-out and nursing headaches. In the evening, we ended up watching "The Tragedy of Macbeth." (2021). So powerful and well done. You know, for some reason we were in the mind of a movie about a corrupt, murderous, King, unloved by his kinsmen. And of course, the play and the movie are so satisfying because after a long string of skullduggery, Macbeth runs out of luck & time, and meets with a swift and perfect Justice. One can only hope the same happens in our own cursed land with our own corrupt, Wanna-Be-King. This is the line that my partner latched onto, as we took in all the dazzling visuals, definitely the "state of the state" at the moment in our bleak & cursed land... Banquo speaking: "Were such things here as we do speak about, Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?"

A Dream, Aflame...

Folk #1: I had this vision of America, you know, the idea of America, the American Dream of Lincoln & MLK Jr. It is burning, it is a flaming, burnt husk. Those of us still clinging to the Dream, well, we find ourselves cautiously stepping around the burning embers of destruction. The revolution has happened. The liars & thieves have commandeered all the levers of government, and those creepy, corrupt folks in power are punishing all of us. Why? They actually hate America. Really. It is that simple. They hate the reality of America. They hate the aspirational dream-version of America. We are multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-denominational & nondenominational, population, we are a melting pot of humanity; diverse, educated, "woke." The powers that be want to destroy all of that. And we are watching them do it in real time. What of the forces of opposition? Grasping at straws, spitting in the wind, counting down the days to the next election. It is a dicey, disturbing time, even if you seek out the glimmers of light & goodness. Hanging onto a burning, flaming Dream, hoping it all dosen't disappear, disintegrate, go up in smoke.

Beautiful Karmic Justice...

Last night I ran thru the Epstein Conspiracy Story with my partner. It is a weird, convoluted story for sure. And I don't think this story is going away anytime soon. It is now consuming the Trump Presidency, which is certainly some kind of Beautiful Karmic Justice.

I am not usually a conspiracy-minded person, but if you take the time to review the evidence, this is a story that gets weirder and weirder the more you examine the evidence. The more you look, the more you see, the less you understand. There are major holes in the story, and all kinds of contradictions. 

It is the perfect conspiracy theory. At the heart of it is Jeffery Epstein & Donald Trump. Two wealthy human beings, known for being super-creepy and corrupt. I am one of those folks who has no set idea about what happened, and/or what to believe happened.

I am just a very inquiring mind, inquiring!

Trump, all these years later, is furiously spinning out, continuing to confess about things, and lie about things too. You almost think he is getting close to outright confessing something monumentally damaging, just by mistake. 

Freaky. Weird. Strange. Fascinating.

CBS News drops a story about the videotape of Epstein's cell: "The CBS News review found the video does little to provide evidence to support claims that were later made by federal officials. Additionally, CBS News has identified multiple inconsistencies between that report and the video that raise serious questions about the accuracy of witness statements and the thoroughness of the government's investigation."

Will we ever know the truth? Did Epstein commit suicide? Did someone assist him? Did someone murder him, and make it look like suicide?

And what of Trump? What did he know? When did he know it? What is he afraid of now? What are in the files? Are those files being tampered with now? Will we ever get the full, complete, truthful story? 

Marcy Wheeler too has some great questions, for instance, "Did Trump Just Confess He Learned about Virginia Giuffre before Jeffrey Epstein Recruited Someone Else at Mar-a-Lago?

Wild. Amazing, And it is sort of hilarious that it is Trump and people in his own administration who fanned the flames of conspiracy, and this conspriacy is now so toxic to Mr. Toxic.

"The Great Conspiracy-Monger Being Consumed in the Flames of a Conspiracy He Helped Stoke."

Trump & Epstein

Yes. In my own little patch, we don't soft-peddle fascism, or look away from the sordid-corruption of the mafia state. Seeing clearly, with eyes-wide-open, is essential. So, yeah, I am determined to be determined. Leaning to the Light. Looking for the sparks of creativity, freedom, joy & wonder, but also pointing out the ugliness, the bleak, the dire, the scary. Why bother? Because I can. I choose to be a concerned Citizen of the World. 

This has always been a place where I just jot down my latest thoughts about anything on my mind. It is a bit of a safe space for me. My mind is a place of hurly-burly and thunder. Writing helps me to keep my head on straight; so I find myself typing into the void.

Lately it is the brewing, bubbling Epstein scandal that has me stirred up. I just find it funny and strange that our President is madly spinning. It is also sort of gratifying to observe the great conspiracy-monger  being consumed in the flames of a conspiracy he helped stoke. Maybe it is a case of the "inner saboteur." Self-sabotage is the best variety.

Of course Trump is "in the Epstein files." They were best buddies for years. They have lots in common. Why is he so furiously contorting himself now like a very corrupt pretzel, with all these crazy, nonsensical non-explanations? The lies are coming fast & furious; extremely stupid lies, yes indeed.

What is he hiding, what is he commanding all his lick-splittles, lackeys, evil-minions, and doofus-go-fors to cover up? Inquiring Minds want to know...

Impressive Resume...

Putting it down in one post like this is pretty illumniating. You know who we are talking about, right? Impressive Resume, no doubt. How could one human being be so utterly transgressive & disgusting?

How did America whiff on this one? How is it possible we let this guy get anywhere near the White House? Still godsmackingly wild. I, for one, will probably never understand how we let this complete fail & fuck-up dominate our political scene. 

Can we get thru it? Hmmm. Don't know. How bad will it get? How bad is it right now? 

We are disappearing people off the streets of America, building concentration camps, destroying all the institutions of Education, Science, Health & Human Services. Taking Healthcare and Food away from the needy. Selling out America to the highest bidders.  We are a corrupt Mafia State (see previous post), and a budding Authoritarian Hellscape. All this carnage and mayhem to our lovely country is intentional. Fuck.

We are going to need a total rethink, redo, of the American Dream. But at the moment all the forces of opposition are on their back foot,  & out of power.

Let's not lose heart or hope. We need to get thru this horrible phase, some how, some way. We need a renewal. So, yeah, first acknowledge the utter shittiness of the state of the state. Lean to the light. Damn the Torpedoes. Believe in  Better Day and a Better Way.

USA = The New Mafia State...

 Yes. A new framing idea: Mafia State. Maybe better than Fascist State? I mean, better, as in, more accurate? 

"In politics, a mafia state is a state system where the government is tied with organized crime to the degree when government officials, the police, and/or military became a part of the criminal enterprise."

Certainly that is where Toxic-Fat-Boy-Slim is heading. The organized crime emanates directly from the fevered, dementia-oriented, totally corrupt & disgusting, deeply disorganized mind of our Felon in Chief.

"The fix is in." And "where's mine?" Those are the two guiding principles in this lawless administration.

We are being cheated out of good government, honest public servants, and  a fair, humane, equitable, honorable, deal. A simple idea. The folks in power are corrupt, morally-bankrupt, crooks. And they are robbing us of our government and our future. 

And the coverup continues. The President's mafia lawyer went to a prison to manfacture a new narrative with Jeffery Epstein's co-conspirator,  to take the heat off the Toixc Stain. Ha! Inquiring Minds are not fooled!

Whatever Happened to "Smarts?"

Weird. So many of my fellow Americans are really, really slow on the uptake. Whatever happened to "smarts?" I am not saying I am a freaking genius, nope, I am clueless on so much, but really, there are some obvious things floating around in the air, that supposedly intelligent human beings are totally whiffing on. Sure, it's that partisan politics influence that's part of it. Republicans and MAGA dupes are willfully ingnorant for political power purposes. They are in the business of lying about so much of what's going down in the world. And they gladly follow the lying, sexual predator in the White House; even as he is clearly sinking, a horribly-degraded, corrupt, buffoon. He is wailing, flailing, whining and failing now like a desperate scoundrel looking for a way out. How long can this whole weird charade play out? The folks in the House and Senate could end it all today, or tomorrow. I mean, it's all so pathetic. And what happened to the smart folks?! Where did they go? WTF?!

Something in the Air...

Something is in the air. I woke up with this sentence ringing in my head: "A million ways to Sunday." What does it mean? Who knows?!

If I am reading the room correctly there is one very large, prominent figure who is garnering some heat. Not the good kind.  A few random hits:

News that Trump's personal lawyer is visiting Jeffery Epstein's long-time co-conspirator. You think, another episode of "Dumb Godfather." Surely, the coverup is now kicking into over-drive...

Then word that the Toxic One is going to Scotland, and their local press responds accordingly. Makes you sure that a bit of distance, also brings clarity:

And, then, well, the anarcho-libertarian, provocatuers of South Park, give us the Dear Leader in Bed with Satan. Hmmm. Something is in the air.  Yes indeed...

The Truth, Radiant, Sometimes Ugly & Obvious...

You know, the lies are now coming fast and furious. It is rare when the truth rears it's sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, always radiant & revealing head.

Awhile back, one sketchy Billionaire dropped a dime on another sketchy Billionaire (see below). And now the Wall Street Journal confirms the story: "Bondi Told Trump he is in the Epstein Files." 

The "bombshell," from Elon was posted, and then subsequently taken down a few months back on the Nazi-fied platform & toxic sinkhole that he owns. 

This seems to be the stupid, obvious truth that is sending the other toxic Billionaire into a wild, furious, careening, spin-out. Funny. Sometimes the cold hard truth cuts like a knife, & stings with a pure & deadly precision...

Yes. Back to the Swamp.

Do I wade into that sordid swamp once again?!

Well... yes...

This Trump/Epstein thing is not going away. Which is kind of hilarious. The Right-Wing Nutjobs have been hyping this scandal for years. And somehow they concocted a wacky plot-line that their Beloved Hero was going to expose this insane tale of a Deep State Cabal of Pedophiles and Child-Cannibals.

One little detail seemed to get lost. Their Beloved Hero was best friends with the Evil Madman & Prime Suspect, and well, one wonders, is he too intimately, implicated in the skullduggery himself? Plus, seeing how the Beloved Hero is acting, like a wildly, unmistakably guilty person, one can't help thinking that there must be some major bombshells buried deep in those vaunted files.

Inquiring minds want to know...

So the story continues to spin out. The Beloved Hero is wailing, whining, spinning, flailing, failing. He seems to be a desperate man, looking for anything to change the subject. And the more he wails, flails and fails, the more everyone is beginning to think, that the dude is guilty of something.

Yes. Well. Hilarious. Scary too. A powerful man, unraveling & desperate. It has the potential to get even weirder, stranger, & more dangerous. What a tangled fucking web. You couldn't make this shit up...

State of Things...

Funny. My partner I do not know any MAGA Americans. We are white, working-class people, we come from long lines of working stiffs who did their best to stay afloat in difficult circumstances. Working folk. We may have been connected to a few MAGAs on Facebook, but we quickly, and happily deleted them. As Dylan once sang: "So don't hate nothing at all, except hatred..." In our estimation MAGA is all about hatred. 

Who knows there may be a few "undercover MAGA," lurking about, but they are quiet about it in our hood. Sure, we know what MAGA is, we pay attention. But really, it's true, personally, we live MAGA-free. We live in a Blue Bubble Political Consciousness, in a Blue Bubble Town, in a Blue Bubble State. Happy to be in the Bubble.

The wealthy, majority-white town we live in hosts a major University, which adds to the diversity. Lots of young folks, lots of students from around the world. We also have progressive City Council that promotes diversity and "integration." There are many wealthy folks living, here, progressive Dems mostly. The "working class" folks here are multi-cultural rainbow; they are the folks who do the landscaping, make the deliveries, do the house-cleaning, the nannie-sitting, the dog-walking, garbage-pickup, street-cleaning, pot-hole-fixing,  cappicinno-making.

Yes. Colorful. Young & Old mixing. There are black, brown, red folks, trans-folks, gay-folks, non-binary folks. LGBTQ+ folks. You, know, you name it. There is some crime here. Gangs, guns. Sex, Drugs, R&R. But pretty much in the background. It's sort of sleepy town. A beautiful, lakefront village.

We do not deny Reality, Education, Science, Diversity. We embrace those things. We love Immigrants & Cities. We love the melting-pot nature of the USA. We were both born here, but we come from a long line of folks a few generations back who were immigrants, born in lands far away. Immigrants made America, America.

We are opposed to racism, bigotry, hate, torture, concentration camps, disappearing folks off the streets of America. We are open to evidence & facts. We are open to changing our minds if reality disagrees with our opinions.

We believe in Democracy and the promise of America. We believe that government can & should be a force for good; helping the poor, the needy, the disadvantaged, and also, enouraging the best for, and from, all of us.

Sure it's a bit of a dream. But it is a good dream, and a goal, and a process, for living a good life.

We know people are tricky & complicated; capable of wondrous, beautiful things, and also horrific, terrible, unconsciounable things too. It's the duality of being Human. Angel on one shoulder, Devil on the other. Born to Kill & Peace, Love & Understanding.

It's a strange, sticky, winding road. What's the point?! Even though everything seems to be going to hell in the broader culture, we still live in very nice community of very open minded folks. We worry and care about the terrible direction USA seems to be heading. But we still lean to the light, and have high hopes for better days ahead. 

Can't help it, maybe just the way we were drawn. Damn the torpedoes.

The Primarily White Priviledged Clowns of Our Corrupted Democracy...

Reading smart takes from smart people makes you smarter. That seems pretty solid. This morning, no surprise, Paul Krugman tackles a subject and enlightens. It's a beautiful thing, from a beautiful mind.

So yeah, be sure the read about the raging Tech Bros. Many lines of the piece speak to me. This hits the fuckng bullseye: 

"The thing is, the tech bros haven’t just turned right. Many of them are filled with rage — that special kind of rage exhibited by men who enjoy vast privilege and can’t abide any suggestion that their privilege is unjustified."

Right. Doesn't that ring so damn true? Same thing with the Bankers, the Corporate Titans, the Fat (especially) White Clowns stuffed with $? Oh yes, and the compromised & sassy toadies of the GOP.

This stark income inequality in our Corrupted Democracy is killing us. I flash on AOC's brilliant insight: "Every Billionaire is a Policy Failure." If, and when, the Democrats get back in positions of power, it will be time to even up the playing field a bit.

Tax the Rich. Yes. Indeed.

Yes, Everybody Still Talking...

Folk #1: Pardon my French. I can't believe we are still talking about that heinous, disgusting, totally despicable asshole. What the fuck happened?!

The Rails, Off & On...

Gone off the rails...

What am I referring to? The media, our politics, the culture, the vibe, the zeitgeist. Can't trust anyone to do the right thing for the right reasons. Figure most of of your fellow humans are doing the wrongs things for the wrong reasons.

Blame the temperature (climate catastrophe), blame the $ (stock market unhinged, business folks in a mad greedy frenzy - "YOLO baby."). Folks are just plain fucking nuts.

It's pretty impressive. Almost makes you want to jump in the pool of madness too. But you hesitate. Staying on the rails is actually a sort of radical idea nowadays. Keeping your head, staying calm, "watching the river flow," hunh, maybe that's the thing?

I think of words like: morality, ethics, conscience, honesty, humility, grace. Seems they are missing in action in the hearts & minds of most of my fellow humans. Weird. Whatever happened to chivalry? And a generous, hard-boiled code of honor?  You know like a cold-eyed Sam Spade, or Philip Marlowe?

Whatever happened to clarity, gravity, reality?!

Over here in our little world, we met the day head on. Not chasing, not running ahead, just in the moment to moment. It's was a beautiful, perfect day, filled with music, laughter, quiet times on the lakefront path &  under a shady tree. We marveled at the crazy-ass shite going down all around us. 

Crazy fucking humans...

Box of Lunacies...

Yes. Seems the "scandal," (see previous post), is getting crazier, and the bad people are getting more & more stupid & desperate. Last night, this particular Pilgrim had a few very disturbing dreams. Some kind of warning or prophecy? Ha. Probably not. But... yes... crazy, desperate, stupid, and immensely powerful people = a very unhealthy combination. Especially when the crazies are backed by major institutions either because of fear, or greed, or their own special madness. I flashed on Pandora's Box. Sure. It is sometimes useful to reach back to Greek Mythology. Seems we have opened a box of lunacies, curses, and atrocities. How low can Human Beings sink in the grip of madness? Well. A review of History is quite scary. I won't even name the atrocities. We all know of them.  Holy shite. Right?!

A Scandal with Legs?!

A scandal that is "landing..."

Reminds me of Ticky Dick, and a little break-in at the DNC, that blew up to be the biggest political scandal of the 70's. It wasn't so much the crime, but the cover-up of a host of crimes that actually brought a President and a clutch of his co-conspirators down. Tricky Dick won a real landslide election in Novermber 1972, and resigned in disgrace in August, 1974.

So now we have the last two Playboys of the Western World, Trump & Epstein. And it seems we are watching this scandal blow-up with a very clumsy cover-up happening right before our eyes and ears.

"There are far more photos of Jeffrey Epstein hanging out with Donald Trump in obviously dubious social settings than there are trans women athletes in the entire world of American college sports."

It was known these two "playboys," were good buddies. One ended up dying in jail before he could be brought to trial, the other got elected (again!) to the Presidency in 2024.

Sure seems like the one in the White House is furiously trying to change the subject.  What is he afraid of? Inquiring Minds really, really, really now want to know...

House of Lies...

I think we've entered the " spider-web-like, house of lies," phase of our Democratic experiment. Pretty interesting to watch prominent folks who have spun lies, about pretty much everything, as a tool of politics, propaganda, to mislead, and to acquire power, are now ensnared in a swamp of lies of their own conjuring. And the swamp is deep & murky. Every move opens up to more strange, and unbelievable lies. Funny there is a whole movement built on this swampy, cess-pool of lies. And now the liars are fumbling, fuming, lying to their own devoted cult members with the thinnest, baldest-faced lies imaginable. What is a loyal cult member to think?! The grand conspiracy that they are believe in, is now crashing before their eyes. They are told: "Nothing to see here, just move along." That powerful tool, being able to lie with no conscience, or compunction is now a double-edged weapon turning back on the big, shameless liar. There is a rough Justice there. No doubt. Weird how people will lie to themselves and to each other for so long. Then what?!  Will the truth ever rise up and smack them in the kisser?! Ha. Inquiring minds want to know...

Being Good, Is Good...

"Be a good person." Yes. That came up in a conversation yesterday. Really. Isn't that the ultimate goal or end-state? The really important thing to be? Not so mysterious. Of course, the trick is to get out of your own way, drop your ego a few notches, get out of your worried mind, meet the day, and the folks in it, with a clear head & heart.

Is it too normal, sappy, mundane? Nah. It's actually sort of radical, wild, an unkempt state. You have to gravitate to some truth in your being, and be willing to take on the realities of existence with ingenuity and enthusiasm.

Is it not ambitious enough? I don't think so. Being good while enduring all of the slings & arrows, wading thru the never-ending waves of b.s. &  the hurly-burly of a well-rounded existence? Probably takes heart, courage, fortitude, discipline. Pretty ambitious right there, for a humble Pilgrim. And just a point of emphasis, this project of being good has nothing to do with organized religion. Most, all (?), religions make a point of beating up on non-believers. That's a disqualifier right there.

So, yeah, pick & choose your wisdom carefully. This is a singular, personal journey you are embarked upon. It's all up to you, but you know, it's not all about you.

Not saying it's easy. As Ringo once sang, "It don't come easy."  Kindness, gentleness, acceptance, less judging, more experiencing; guideposts along the way. Maybe you never quite get there, right? Being human and all, it's always a process, an adventure, a journey. Good/Evil. It's the human duality thing.

And just why did we construct a human society that rewards the unkind assholes amongst us? That is a "good" question worth a good think.

Devolving One Day at a Time...

Could we be devolving? You know, like the band Devo suggested?

"The name Devo comes from the concept of "de-evolution" and the band's related idea that instead of continuing to evolve, mankind had begun to regress, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society."

Yes. Has the ring of truth. Lately, especially here in the USA, seems that as things are getting hotter, we are also getting much stupider. You know, the political movement called MAGA is a movement of the stupidest amongst us. Stupid, hostile, racist, loud. The worst of the worst.

All of us seem to have forgotten that representative Democracy is good, that we are a nation of immigrants. Immigration is the life-blood of our country. 

Oh yeah, Diversity, Equality, Inclusiveness. All good qualities for a healthy populace. How did we forget? 

"Are we not men? We are Devo..."

Conspiracy Monger Hoisted on HIs Own Conspiratorial Petard!

Oh. This. Is. So. Fucking. Hilarious.

Trump is now trying to say, "nothing to see here," about the long-running, Q-Anon/MAGA-fueled, Jeffery Epstein, Pedophile Ring Conspiracy. It's one of the core & defining MAGA lunacies, and MAGA-land isn't having it. They are furious! Fat Boy is now sweating bullets. Could the Mad-MAGA-King be consumed by his own MAGA Hordes?! Ha!

The question on MAGA's lips: Is the Trump administration finally going to reveal the grand Pedophile Network in the Government?!

MAGA wants to see the files now! Ha. Ha. Ha. Wouldn't it be hilarious if it's Trump's own crazy-ass conspiracy theory-mongering, that finally opens MAGA's eyes to his supremely ugly, lying, corrupt nature?!  I mean, I know, don't hold your breath. But something tells me the conspiracy nuts are not going to be satisfied with just moving on, and dropping their ball of lunacies.

You know, it's just so sweet that the Ultimate Bullshitter, is now flailing around in a swamp of bullshit.

Sure. We sensible ones, the rest of us common folk, have always assumed that Trump himself was always deeply implicated in Epstein's creepy, island, horror-show. That was a common-sense no-brainer!

Release the files! Let's see everything. Come on Fat Boy. Show the goods! Ha. Ha. Ha. It's Karma, baby! Snake eating it's own tail. Love to see it.

Taking the Temp...

Yes. Taking the temperature. Blazing hot here. Intense sunshine, overwhelming humidity, trekking down a city street, you think you are going to melt into the sidewalk.

Luckily I am living in someone else's home outfitted with central air. As Pete Townshend once sang, "I'm an air-conditioned gypsy." Yep. That's me.

And the country? Good ole USA? Well, trending towards full Nazi. Shite. 

It's early morning here. I am blasting Neil Young and Crazy Horses' "Weld." (1991) Of course, powerful, majestic, mayhem & rough beauty. Pure r&r glory.

The soundtrack goes well with my morning coffee. Can't help thinking we are somehow gonna get thru this fucking shite. The citizens need to get their heads out of their asses. The glorious, inclusive, diverse America of Immigrants from every corner of the globe is a dream worth keeping & saving.

"Keep on rocking in the free world." Right. 

A Little Healthy Pessimism Might Be in Order...

Another sign that things are not going well in your home country...

Your partner is spending lots of time going thru the tedious paperwork clarifying that she was born to a citizen of Canada, and that she too qualifies as a Citizen of that fine Country. Since I am married to this budding Candadian, this would be my ticket out too.

Escape plan? Yes, maybe so, the Fascism is getting a bit much...

Also, we now get word that one of our long-time friends, and her whole immediate family (father, sisters, niece) are all applying for Polish Citizenship. Life-long Americans looking for a safe harbor. Yikes. I mean, I wonder why?

I am an eternal optimist, but, you know, maybe there is place for pessimism too? I came across this Billy Wilder quote which sort of brought me up short:

The director Billy Wilder in 1945: "The optimists died in the gas chambers, the pessimists have pools in Beverly Hills."

So, yeah, weird, back in the day, folks were fleeing facsist, Nazi-Germany for the safe harbor of the USA. Now? Fleeing from a newly-robust facsist USA to freer & friendlier countries around the globe? Fuck. Wild.

Where Does the Energy Go?

Folk #1: Long day yesterday. Woke up this morning & already a bit burned out. Where does the energy go? My thoughts this morning: "We are all burning up, and getting stupider too." Pretty sure we can chalk it up to man-made climate catastrophe. We all must get up speed on the UV Index. Sure seems like the rays of the sun are getting more intense. We all also seem to be at odds with reality. Seems reality isn't all it's cracked up to be, or all that fun. So we have spun off into all of these diversions, excursions and deep denials. Living in these kooky counter-factual, virtual concoctions. Bad fascimiles of reality. A terrible way to expend our time on the planet. What ever happened to "Be here, now?" You know, even if it's hot, we must be present. Gravitate to the shade, hydrate, think cool thoughts. Keep calm, carry on. Don't forget sun-block.

The Confounding Unsayable...

Some folks probably turn to the Bible, or the Koran. Dip their toes into some inspiring or humbling line or verse. Me? Hell no. I turn to my r&r. Early morning, sun just breaking across the lake, sipping my coffee, watering the outside plants & flowers, dipping into Neil Young's album "Rust Never Sleeps."  (1979). So, I find myself spraying water into the air, vibing off  the line: "Welfare Mothers make better lovers..." and all seems right with the world.

It could have have just as easily been Tom Petty's "Wildflowers." (1994), "No one knows what it's like to be me..."  or the Stone's "Exile on Main Street,"  (1972), "I just wanna see his face..." or Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," (1965) "Tell me, great hero, but please, make it brief, Is there a hole for me to get sick in?" or the Who's "Who's Next" (1971), "I once heard a note, pure & easy..."

Whatever. You know, the r&r canon & gospel. 

My partner & I finished off the 4th season of "The Bear" last night. Oh, man. What to say? Love the series. What is it about? Grief, depression, suicide, family, yelling, business, machismo, success & failure, deep anger, loss, loneliness, death, Chicago, great food, great music, gorgeous film-making, friends, enemies, the great unsaid, and the deeply confounding unsayable.

Seems like the most important things in Life happen to be invisible, and hard to pin down. Funny.

We had a long, rambling, heartfelt conversation afterwards. It opened up some new avenues, deep pools and silent places in our beings. I suppose that's the power of great art. 

New Blue Sun, the Best Medicine...

Music. Yes. Truly Spiritual and Psychological Medicine. Listening to it, playing it, being totally obsessed with it. Always having it spinning on the box, or always having a guitar nearby, or having a band of musicians (or two bands), ready to meet, rehearse and play. My partner and I are a songwriting team. I also have another close friend with whom I write songs. It's kind of amazing. Even to me.

I have all my favorite singers & bands at my fingertips. I have my little CD player and my very fine GRADO headphones. Wherever I go, there is usually a big stereo system in the family room to keep busy.

Lately, the last 5 or 6 months, my partner and I have obsessed over Andre 3000's "New Blue Sun."  (2023). It's Andre's "flute album." We each have our own personal copy of the 2 CD album. We both refer to it as "medicine." We play it when we meditate, or when we just want to set a chill atmosphere, or right before we go to sleep. Truly magnificent.

It's all very floaty, like a beautiful, cooling breeze, or swaying trees, or a bird silently flying low over a green field. You know, listening to good music is good for you. An easy formulation and recommendation. And yes, this is just the finest. Highly recommended.

Singing Your Truth...

So happy no sun yesterday, just big black clouds, and a sprinkling of rain. My friend and I were so exhausted, we didn't meet up, only whispered to each other over the phone. Late in the day, with a blazing headache, I worked on a song; armed with a borrowed mahagony Martin guitar, and one nagging line that has been with me for awhile.

I had just finished watching Bono's Stories of Surrender (2025). Yes. It's a bit much. But I found it incredibly beautiful and compelling. Bono totally exposes himself, it's over the top, melodramatic, extravagant, bombastic. Bono is certainly full of himself. He is also a compelling evangelist for music. No doubt. The film opened me up. It brought me to tears. That man, now ruminative, weathered, melancholy, and vulnerable, in the midst of his blazing self-assurance, and prodigious, full-stop, confidence, can really sing his truth. 

So, yeah, exhausted, headache and all, I was inspired to tackle my own little song. I discovered a new riff or two, and blasted thru my nagging line and a few stray chords. Sitting on the couch, improvising & spitting new lyrics into the wind. I flipped on my iPhone and recorded all that noise & rumble. This morning, listening to the recording, I think: "Not bad... it's something..."

A Concentration Camp in a Town Near You! That's America Now!

Well...

Signs and clues that things are not going well in the country in which you live: 

The powers that be have authorized a force to kidnap Human Beings, disappear them off the streets of America, and ship them out to rot in prisons in lands far away. No charges, no hearings, no apologies, or explanations.

The powers that be have also conjured up & secured massive amounts of dollars to construct concentration camps across the land. They envision shiny new cages & camps to imprison Human Beings in every state of the Union. 

The powers that be have declared the best way to amass dollars for these new intiatives? Kick folks off of their healthcare and take food assistance away from poor children.

The powers that be have also declared that the Filthy Rich shall get tax breaks forever. They call this Making America Great Again.

It's the new Golden Age of America! Welcome to the Terror Dome, suckers!

Celebrating/Not Celebrating...

How did we celebrate the 4th of July 2025?

First my partner and I played a little parlor game, we tried to decide what's the worst crime in the bill this zombified Republican Congress, and this criminal President just passed? 

1. Taking Healtcare from our fellow Americans? 

2. Stealing food from poor, needy children? 

3. Killing off Green Energy prjoects? 

4. Giving tax breaks to the filthy rich? 

5. Funding ICE to make that abominable force the shiny new Police State in USA? 

6. Building concentration camps in every state of the Union? 

7. Disappearing Human Beings off the streets of America and putting them in cages like animals?

Hard to pick the worst offence. We decided they were all dastardly evil crimes against humanity, against our intelligence, good cheer and well-being too. Fuck. Welcome to our New American Dystopia.

A day off. So, yeah, we turned away from all that shite, ordered up some takeout: vegetarian ravioli & lasagna, and spun Steely Dan records on the box, while we lazed around on lounge chairs under big canopy umbrellas, next to a large pool, and a garden of earthly delights (not our place, a caretaking gig). 

We are not wealthy, but we work for some very nice, benevolent, progressive, fully-woke & wealthy folks.

My partner remarked, "Steely Dan always makes me happy." Yes. Indeed, nothing like blasting "Countdown to Ecstasy"  (1973) at maximum volume on a magnificent stereo system. "Show-biz kids don't give a fuck about anybody else..."

We talked of other things; movies, books, philosophy, ways of keeping our heads, trying our best to be happy, in the face of the shite & madness. We ignored the hoopla of the lakefront 4th of July celebrations.  The teeming masses were burning meat on grills, playing volleyball, gathering for the evening fireworks display.

Did any one of them give a fuck about the trashing of our Constitutional order? The strangling of our little Democratic experiment?  What & why exactly are we celebrating today? Who knows? Fun & frolic seemed to be the theme. Denial is a powerful tool.

Lots of "sound & fury, signifying nothing." 

Anyway, we adopted a defiant attitude, we decided that we will refuse to be defeated. Dreaming of better days. You know, Hope, it dies last. Fuck the evil-doers. Damn the Torpedoes. America is a story. The story is still unfolding. The future is unwritten. 

Something in the Air...

Sure. Not happy about America's turn to Fascism, and anti-democratic idiocy (see previous post, and all the latest news). Maybe it's something in the air? The Evil-doers (I know, it sounds a bit overwrought, but it really isn't.), seem to be on the ascendent, and the good, hard-working folks are on the "outs."

Summer is here. It seems that it is hot everywhere. Lately we have been intimately aware of the UV Index. Intensity of the Sun, turned up high. 

My partner and I have had a long-standing theory that as the planet heats up, humans are getting goofier, crazier, meaner, & yes, lot's stupider. That would explain a lot of things. It would also include us; we do feel under pressure & under threat, for sure. Trying our best to keep our heads and hearts clear.

How to carry on? Just carry on. No special secret sauce. Things seems to be going in a retrograde, super-bad direction in so many fundamental ways. We can only take care & "lean to the light." Jump into our creative pursuits. Chase rabbits down rabbit holes. Turn to each other. Look for the love and the humor that can bubble up in the most unlikely moments. 

We get lost in making music. Working on new songs and old songs too. Little things to engage us. A bit of a turning away from the heat, madness, and supremely bad juju. Survival techniques. Damn the torpedoes.

Blood on Our Hands...

Yes. I think the existential, bone-crushing question during this current Trump era will be "What did you do when ICE disappeared, detained, & tortured innocent people here in America?" 

Blood on our hands. All of our hands.

I know lots of folks are just stupidly, blindly, blissfully, tuned out, maybe they have no idea what's going on. Their ignorance is not an excuse. It's a crime. You must pay attention. These "Crimes against humanity," committed in our names, are crimes against us all. We are all implicated. We must all do our best to right these wrongs.

Truth & Consequences. Truth & Reconciliation. These acts of Evil shall not stand. That's just me. I still believe in American Democracy, in Truth, Honesty, Justice, Human Rights. We are better than what is going down, and will continue to go down, in the near term.  

It is all exceedingly, excruciatingly bad. These are horrible people doing horrible things to other people. The worst of the worst. We must take a stand against this administration, and all of their crimes. We must stand with, & support those in opposition.