Simple Sentence...

I came across a simple sentence this morning. All encompassing. It perfectly captures the tenor of the times in our crazy-ass, human world.

"Expect a wave of bullshit..."

Maybe that should be a tattoo? Or a pithy slogan for a new movement of a decided clarity and truth? We are swimming, no, drowning, in bullshit. Yikes.

USA Tearful, Embarrassed, Ashamed...

 

Yes. This captures USA at the moment...

Mural by JDL Street Art in Roubaix, Lille, France.

The current President and his Nazi minions are trashing the country with racist, fascist, authoritarian garbage. Still there are signs that the opposition is rising and rallying. Let it be so.

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.