A Torrent of Terribleness...

You wake up. Tune in. And ask: What terrible things, atrocities, crimes & sins, have my fellow Human Beings committed today? The debauchery, treachery, murder & mayhem, & over-amped nasty shite, never seems to ebb. It's always flowing; an unrelenting torrent of terribleness. The powerful abuse the weak. The rich rip-off, exploit, rape & ravage the poor. And our society, & culture celebrates the abusers, the exploiters, the rapists and ravagers. Yikes. Makes one want to retreat, abdicate from the species, spend time gazing up a the sky, deciphering messages in the clouds, hanging out with the small & pretty creatures, communing with the solemn, wise old trees & rocks. Killing time with the best and brightest non-human associcates. The Human Species; a tricky, complicated, disappointing, vicious, greedy, selfish, rapacious, & extremely silly, lot. Some days you just want to resign from the ranks of the rank. Where do I turn in my decoder ring, and operator's manual?

The Grifter Era...

Folk #1: When we recall this era, and well, Dear Pilgrim, if we survive, and have the luxury of looking back, you will be forgiven if you try your damnedest not to recall this fucking lame-ass, era, I mean, I am sure we can all understand why you'd want to erase every last vestige of this era from your reeling, gobsmacked, deeply faltering, & troubled consciousness; we will recall it as the era when everyone fucking cooked their brains on over-amped, shit-sandwich-type bullshit enthusiastically foisted upon us by rich & powerful grifters, scumbags, moral cretins, greedy fucks, super-sized-assholes, corruptly creepy criminals who ruled & lorded over us, stealing all the perks & attention, sucking all the oxygen out of the atmosphere, and filling our heads & hearts with gaseous, noxious, toxic bilge. Compromised weasels lying to us, in all major areas of our culture: business, media, show-business, politics, etc. Searching for Intelligent Life on the Planet is something I do every morning, checking in on the news of the day, searching for those vanishing chimeras: Intelligence, Humor, Grace, Beauty, Humility, Goodness. Let me tell you, those qualities are rare indeed, going extinct moment to moment. We live in the land of manufactured, gaudily-packaged, hard to digest shite.

A World Gone Wrong, Totally Out of Our Control...

Folk #1: Another maddening reality we deal with day to day. My partner & I have a tendency to want to solve problems. We see a World Gone Wrong, and we try to come up with creative solutions to all the "wrongness," we see everywhere. We spend lots of our time discussing events in the world, trying understand "what's happening," and trying to come up with creative ways to fix or solve these most likely unsolvable problems. Or maybe the problems aren't totally unsolvable, but solving or fixing them would require great collective action from vast quantities of humans.  Collective action well beyond our own personal capabilities. You know it's a World Gone Wrong ,Totally & Out Of Our Control. So the talking and solving is just a sort of fruitless game we play with our own brains. It's not a very satisfying game, often it's frustrating & disheartening. I suppose, at least we are using our brain power, exercising our thinking muscles, being fully aware, alive, awake moment to moment. But it's a certain cross to bear, no doubt. Living with the Wrongness, not letting it destroy us. You know we also play this game with our own very personal problems, we do better when we focus close to home. Again, there are some aspects of our own personalities that need fixing, and eternal attention. And who and what we are has been shaped by experiences and realities beyond our control, but we can do the work of improving ourselves, identifying problems, coming up with solutions, new ways of being. It's a determind process of unfolding, it probably never ends, until the end. Living with ourselves in this world is a constantly evolving adventure. Anyway, we are left to our own devices, being good, doing good. Hoping for the best. Putting our Faith in Good Thoughts & Right Action, no matter how paltry, and close to the bone these gestures mean in the grand scheme of things. Being Human is not an easy thing...

Left with the Buddy System...

Folk #1: It starts early in life, and I think the feeling continues to grow as we experience the world and the people in it. We are truly stuck in our own heads, in our own bodies, perceiving and acting in the world as  unique entities. Sure, at the same time, we are constantly checking in with others, there is the social nature of our human existence, and we are always in a social contract & in an on-going, never-ending conversation with our fellow humans. None of us are truly an island, or alone, unless we have totally fallen off the cliff.  Total isolation is a certain road to madness.  Still we are all on the spectrum: social or anti-social? For most of us there is the day to day query: "I'm okay, are you okay?" Always checking in, verifying, testing the waters, sampling the sanity of our fellow human beings. Lately, and who knows, maybe it's always been so, there seems to be a major break in the fabric of our collective existence. Our consensus reality lacks consensus. And the breach is not a small crack, but a wide, yawning, canyon. Folks just don't see eye to eye. We aren't even living in the same reality. Events happen and folks can't even agree on basic facts. It's quite disturbing & yes, alienating. Also, there is this distinct feeling & impression that all of our institutions are failing us. Logic, rationality, reason, and good cheer seem like quaint fictions. It also feels like no one is truly in charge, (and they aren't), there is no big daddy looking out for us, and those power-hungry folks who do assume the levers of the machinery are corrupt, stupid, cruel, greedy. Many of these folks actually intend to do us harm. Paranoia! So, there is a bit of a retreat, a turning inward, leading to the insight that we truly are on our own. Now, if we are lucky, we know & live with like-minded folks, folks who we can pull close, folks who look out for us, and who we look out for too. We offer each other a helping hand in normal times, as well as in times of deep, over-powering stress. All we have is our own agency & the agency of our buddies. It is the buddy system lifestyle. Now of course, we can make this buddy system a closely held thing, or more admirably, and idealistically, a super-expansive, world-embracing kind of thing. You know, following in the footsteps of that great teacher and moral philosopher, cultural icon, sweater-wearing hero, Mister Rodgers?! "Please, won't you be my neighbor?" Yes, indeed, be a neighbor to the Universe. Hmmm... but what about those others? What about the intolerant ones, the deplorables who live amongst us, those who want to hurt us and hurt those we love? Live & let live is a nice idea, but of course, the evil-doers should be shunned, shamed, brought to justice, and made to face up to the consequences of their actions. Day to day, it is best to avoid those folks, I mean, avoid them like the plague. Still, being neighborly with the neighbors? That's the way to do it.

Justice for Alex & Renee...

Murdering (white), American Citizens in the street? Maybe a bridge too far for most of us? Alex Pretti and Renee Good died for our sins. The heavy hand of the oppressors pulled the trigger, murdered them in cold blood for all the world to see, then lied shamelessly, baldly, ridiculously, horrifically, and expected us all to happily swallow the lies, to nod our heads, and walk away, and bow down to the power of evil.

Thankfully, the heroes of Minneapolis have stood strong, smartphones at the ready, brave & courageous folks willing to risk life & limb standing together in sub-zero temps, protecting each other, documenting the atrocities, witnessing and testifying against these crimes against humanity. 

It is easy to see that this is a battle of good vs. evil unfolding in the streets. Choosing sides is essential. I can't imagine choosing the side of the murdering oppressors. Alex and Renee will not be forgotten. And those committing these atrocities, those lying about them, must be held accountable. Justice for Alex and Renee. It is the only way forward...

Eyes Wide Open to the Horrors of Oppression...

 

Yes. Will Stancil is one of many, many citizens standing up, observing, documenting, witnessing the atrocities & horrors committed by ICE & Border Control in the streets of Minneapolis. Brave, courageous, righteous American Citizens, standing up for their rights, their community, their city, their state, their country. Armed with Empathy & Courage. Outfitted with outdoor gear to survive sub-zero temps. Smart-phones at the ready, making sure all of us can see & witness for ourselves, the cold truth. Yes, in this case, and in many, many others too, the smartphone, set to record, is a definitve act of defiance, a weapon of truth. The lies told about these murders in the street, were easily & quickly disproven by countlesss videos from many angles. The lies were immediately exposed, and evaporated, in the face of the simple act of documenting the moment to moment, bearing witness, by common folks who really, really cared.  Aware, Alive, Awake. Woke to the max. Courage & Empathy on record mode.

What a brilliant, shining example of People Power. Democracy in action, in the streets, folks coming to each other's aid, braving the elements, and the hostile forces of evil, that have been unleashed by this lawless, lying administration. Here is where hope, optimism, a better day, and a better way resides. In the hearts and minds of those willing to stand up and say, "No," to tyranny, murder, lying, brutality, inhumanity. Stronger together. Eyes wide open to the horrors of oppression. We stand with Minneapolis, scarred forever with  the searing tragedy of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti burned deeply into our brains.

First they Murder, then they Lie...

Paul Krugman: MONSTERS  - "It has been clear for a long time, to anyone willing to see, that the people running the federal government — Trump, Miller, Noem, Bovino and more — are monsters. It has been equally obvious that ICE and the Border Patrol are now filled with sadistic thugs. Yet many people — almost the entire GOP, everyone serving in the Trump administration, some Democrats, a significant part of the media — were too cowardly to admit the obvious."

Their son was murdered, executed by Border Patrol/ICE on the street in Minneapolis yesterday. And the adminstration lies shamelessly, "sickening lies," lies about a cold-blooded murder. There are many, many videos, many angles, there are eye-witness accounts, no doubts, believe your eyes, a young man, immobile on the ground, shot multiple times, helpless in the street. The parents released a statement. Heartbreaking. Remember each & every person who lies about this murder. Never forget the shameless, disgusting lies & those who are telling them.  Those defending this murder have blood on their hands too. They are co-conspirators to murder. They should all be charged, tried, and brought to Justice. Crimes against humanity...

Now, finally, even some cautious, cowardly (?), "centrist," Democratic Senators can see the truth with their own eyes. Next step, refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security. It is an abomination, and a tool of oppression, murder, kidnapping, brutalizing & terrorizing human beings...

“The Trump administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, said in a statement announcing her opposition. “They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement. This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe. It’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants.”

Standing Up Against ICE in Sub-Zero Temps!

Will Stancil describes himself as "a Minnesota Guy." He is pretty damn woke, he is politcally active, he has been roaming the streets of Minneapolis, documenting the horrors, and the terror unleashed by the ICE goons.

Yesterday there was a massive protest against ICE in Minneapolis. The good folks are rising against the oppression. They are common folk, brave, courageous, admirable American citizens, standing up for their rights, and for each other. It so inspiring, powerful and good to see the people giving a damn, taking a stand. ABOLISH ICE NOW!

BTW - I am re-reading  one of Roberto Bolano's great novels The Savage Detectives. It seems so of the moment right now, even though it is based on experiences of young poets in the 1970's & 1980's. It is the  story of people searching and reaching for meaning in Mexico City and beyond. It's the kind of novel I love, young idealistic, searchers, wanderers, dreamers, people looking to be onto something, and at the same time, they are confronting conformity, oppression & standing up in opposition to vast retrograde, life-killing forces.  

These lines resonated with me last night during my late read (page 372): "... the heart of the matter is knowing whether evil (or sin or crime or whatever you want to call it) is random or purposeful. If it's purposeful, we can fight it, it's hard to defeat, but we have a chance, like two boxers in the same weight class, more or less. If it's random, on the other hand, we're fucked, and we'll just have to hope that God, if He exists, has mercy on us. And that's what it all comes down to."

So yeah, I do think this present evil is "purposeful" it resides in very flawed, cruel, brutal and corrupt hearts & heads, and we know who to hold to account and who to fight, and who to bring to Justice.  Yes. Indeed. We do...

The thing is to make it...

Here in the Midwest the weather is God, sometimes a benevolent God, I am thinking of those sunny, blue sky days in Spring, Summer & Fall, when the temps are liveable, and the days and nights carress you. Going out, & meeting the moment can be joyful, pleasurable, and life-affirming.

It's not like that here, now, in the depths of a deep, bone-chilling winter, & polar vortex episode. We are in the middle of the deep freeze. Harsh, brutal temps 0 to -20 with the wind kicking up. God is acting as if he/she despises humanity, and, you know, if that's case, it's understandable. To venture outside is to venture into hostile territory. Everything is harder. Everything is cold, brittle, clunky, every step is a potential misadventure.

Up early, and I figure I am not going anywhere today. Being forced to be Zen today. Take one's cues from this icy, frost-bite wielding God, and lay low in a warm  & friendly home. This Winter God is very Old Testament; a cold, unforgiving, unyielding, quite brutal God who probably hates the frailty & idiocy of humanity. Yikes.

You know, I am agnostic when it comes to believing in a higher power. I mean, of course there are higher powers, we are surrounded by them, non-human powers that rule & guide us. But they are mysterious, can't beseech them, you know like gravity, evolution, energy, vibes, and the complexity & uncomprehending nature of existence, etc. I think there is Mystery embedded in everything, but beyond that, I am kind of like "who knows?!" 

But it is easy to believe in the weather. Or you don't have believe in it, just experience it's unforgiving power. It just is what it is, and it is God-like in it's glory, it rules, and we must deal with it day to day. That's the challenge of living. Making it through in the light of unbridled benevolence or malevolence. No sense in taking it personally. The thing is to make it to the next day, and the one after that too.

Yes. Of Course, Horrified & Embarrassed...

Yes. We should all be horrified & embarrassed that Donald Trump speaks for the USA in Davos Switzerland. Paul Krugman is brillaint and spot-on once again.

"I listened to Trump’s Davos speech with fear: How much damage will this demented, vindictive individual do to America and the world? I also felt a deep sense of shame: What is wrong with my country, that we put someone like this in a position of unprecedented power?

As the whole world watched, the president of the United States (God help us) repeatedly referred to Greenland, which he is willing to blow up NATO to acquire, as Iceland. Don’t dismiss this as trivial: if any previous president had been that befuddled, the whole press corps would have been howling about senility and demanding that he step down.

And of course Trump’s press secretary insisted that he didn’t say what we all saw and heard him say.

Trump also repeatedly displayed his trademark willful ignorance, for example when talking about renewable energy. While berating Europe for using wind energy, he admitted that China also has big wind farms — someone must have showed him pictures — but declared that

They put up a couple of big wind farms, but they don’t use them. They just put them up to show people what they could look like. They don’t spin, they don’t do anything.

In reality, China accounts for almost 40 percent of total world generation of electricity from wind power, substantially more than Europe.

Beyond confusion and ignorance, Trump delivered menace..."

Yes. We are trapped in clutches of the worst of the worst people on the planet. If you aren't horrified & embarrassed, you either aren't listening, or you are well beyond help.  Mercy, mercy me...

Bewitched & Bewildered...

Folk #1: A sentence from a friend - "Live by the Dream, Die by the Dream." I suppose that is close to the mark on what my credo, or code of conduct, might be. If you are in the biz of dreaming, you know, many, maybe even most of those dreams will evaporate into nothingness. Still, in the depths of the down & out, always conjuring up the next dream. It's a funny existence. The more I know myself, the more I realize I am perpetually amused & bemused.

Star-crossed = "pleasantly entertained or diverted/marked by confusion or bewilderment." Yes. Makes for a mildly entertaining existence.

The other tool in my kit-bag: Always on a mission. Onto the next thing. There is a lot of wreckage behind me. Crashed plans, broken eggs on the pavement, dreams combusting, but, surprisingly I seem to always be moving forward. Sure, I hit bottom from time to time. Can barely speak. Energy lost in the breeze. But I always bounce. At least that has been the pattern up to now.

I am bewitched & bewildered by the world. No doubt. I turn to humor, and a certain detachment from all things human. I get it. The Universe isn't about me. I am just being, doing, recalibrating...

Don't Cry for Me Greenland...

Ok. As a chorus of a song, it is pretty damn clunky: "Don't cry for me... Greenland?!" Doesn't really fly off the tongue.

So now, this born & bred American Boy finds himself rooting against the clod, the idiot, the madman, the big, fat crybaby, who just can't get over not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, and now wants to claim Greenland for himself, just because... 

This all can't really be that stupid, can it?! Yes, dear reader, it can.

The Danes (a NATO ally), are deploying to Greenland to defend the land from the clutches of the idiot. Anyone with half-a-brain left, finds themselves on the side of the Danes, no doubt.

Sure, America, we are fucking lost. Now we need to hope & pray that the Europeans can stand strong & united in resistance to the grand madness of Mr. Corruptly Stupid.

The Lay of the Land, the State of Things...

You are forgiven, & you should forgive yourself too. If your brain feels like it's breaking, that everyone is lying to you, that the world as you know it seems like a severly damaged & stupid place, and it is running rampant with grifters, conmen, liars, idiots, corrupt fucks, bullies & assholes all out to destroy your brain, your common sense & good cheer, you are not wrong. That is the lay of the land, the state of things. Do you feel betrayed? Cheated? Disappointed? Good. You are getting it.

The Mad King of Chaos, Uncertainty & Bedlam Has Made his Stupidest Move Yet...

Yes. Call him the Mad King. Call him the King of Chaos & Uncertainty. A King with no wisdom, little fandom, and lots of stupid, cruel, corrupt ideas. Sure. Why not, King of Bedlam? We have called him every other bad name in the book, and calling up bad names gets extremely tiresome. Jesus. Can we all agree that that man in the White House is "a danger to himself & others?" Seems like an easy call. Yesterday, they say the Mad King of Bedlam has made his stupidest move yet. Shouldn't it be about time that someone locked him away in a rubber room? Give him a desk, a bed, a phone, and of course, a big, grotesque mirror so he can strut around like a fat chicken, and pose & pout, and act like a big man totally off his nut, & rig up his smartphone so that his Truth Social posts go nowhere, they would be launched into the black void, seen by no one, and, we could all try our best to forget him, bury his name in the mud. Sure, death, by natural causes, would be better, better for both him & us, but, in the meantime, rubber room for him, sweet peace & silence for the rest of us. We certainly don't need any more Chaos & Uncertainty swirling around in our crazy-ass lives. We have enough of that shite, more than enough, to go around.

Faith, Hope & Gollum...

I was gonna write about "Hope" & "Faith," inspired by Sarah Lyon's amazing post from November 7, 2025: "It's OK to be Hopeless."

She has decided to replace Hope, which she feels is disempowering, with Faith, which is empowering. Sarah Lyons: "I think it’s time we give up on simply hoping, and find something worth putting our faith into building. Hope is “what if”, faith, on the other hand is “even if.” 

I have leaned on the idea of Hope myself, but I get what she is onto here. Hope is sort just a vague cloud, that you want to surround & engulf you, but Faith is sort of something you have work for and towards.

And lately, the world, and current events seem to be loads of hopelessness...

I actually fall back on my own phrase: "You Must Believe." I even wrote a song with that title. Believing actively, and putting it to work. Now, of course, "what to believe," is critical. Believing is a tool, like any other, what you choose to believe can open the world or totally close it. Create or destroy? Good or Evil?

What do I believe in with all my heart & soul? The creative process. Working at it, doing it, being it, embodying it, as often as possible.

So, yeah, believe in simple, humble things like: practice, discipline, work, a better day, a better way, trying things, health & good cheer. And maybe believe in some complicated things like evolution & long-form improvisation.

I was gonna write about Sarah Lyons post, but then I came across this post & commentary from Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns & Money, and I thought this is it, everything in a nutshell, the reason why hopelessness is rampant here in the USA, and we all feel like we are failing & flailing, no getting around it, we are under the thumb of a real-life, world-class turbo-charged Gollum. We are fucking cursed and the only way to banish it? Well, actually, Death, "... it will end when he dies."

We are in uncharted waters.

. . . commenter Richard Roland has achieved Zen-like clarity:

Trump is an uncomplicated creature. He’s the most UnEnlightened being on earth.

He wanted his Noble(sic) Peace Prize. He got it (for some values of got it) and now he doesn’t want it anymore.

He’s the most Hedonic Treadmill Human Being on Earth. He can’t stop because it’s the WANTING that keeps him alive.

The Electorate strapped us to a Fuck You Machine and it will end when he dies.

Good Hygeine...

Just a random thought this a.m. 

If you are paying attention, and you should be, you are watching & listening to horrible people do horrible things to other people, either for no good reason or, more likely, for very intentional, horrible reasons.  You are also watching & listening to a group of demented people cheering these horrible actions on, or turning away and ignoring all of the shite. This disciplined, paying attention is probably not good for you, not a good way to spend your time, not good for your head, your spirit, or your good cheer. Still, bearing witness, seems to be part of the deal. You are dealt into the grand game, and it turns out paying attention is just part of it. You need to be fully alive, aware, awake at all times. You also need to detox on a regular basis, just for good hygeine & in pursuit of a determined well-being of being well. You know, a little self-care oasis in the sea of horribleness?

Standing Up Against the Thuggery in Minneapolis...

Yes. Paul Krugman this a.m. with "The Minneapolis Crucible." The ICE goons, thugs, fascists, are occupying, and terrorizing an American City. The good folks of the community are standing up, and protesting against this brutal occupation. They are doing their best to protect their friends, families, and fellow citizens from the brutality of oppression. Minneapolis is the latest front-line protecting our democratic ideals. 

It is heartening, and inspiring to watch the brave souls of a community rise together. The best of America in the streets, aligned against the thuggery. Americans armed with smartphones, recording the assaults and abuses of an occupying force. It brings the reality of oppression to each and every one of us. Maybe in this way, we can remake, re-commit to our democratic ideals. From Krugman...

Heroes in a Small Town in USA...

One of the more inspiring TV moments lately comes in Stranger Things, when the kids in a small town stand up to evil. They don't blink, they don't hesitate, they stare down the big guns, the burly military-types, and big, powerful evil one, and they get busy taking back the streets of their little town. And various versions of David Bowie's fantastic, beautiful song "Heroes," is sung, first by Peter Gabriel and then later by Bowie himself.

What is happening in Minnesota right now, is that same stirring, inspiring, kind of heroic response from the common folk standing up in the streets against ICE and Border Patrol. Below is reporting from the front lines, the streets of Minneapolis. Yes, Heroes indeed. ABOLISH ICE NOW!!!

Common Folk Heroes...

Facing the Madness & Mayhem...

Yikes. Facing all the tumult, hurly-burly, madness & mayhem, one is struck dumb. Ha. I mean, of course, my mind is racing, my emotions are raging, there is a tornado swirling around in my body, and I find myself typing into an empty page, into the void, into the gaping maw. What to say? Hmmm. Maybe a certain silence is the best idea at the moment? A quiet fury, a disciplined silence enveloping me, in the face of the stupidity, cruelty, malevolence & evil insanity of my fellow human beings. One wants to take a shower, or a long bath, to the wash off the stink of humanity furiously at war with itself. Powerful, evil forces have been unleashed by the worst of the worst amongst us. We are all implicated, each & every one of us. Basic principles, hard choices are in the offing. How to right the wrongs? It's not going to be easy.

A Blurry Dream...

There is something to be said for "just making it." Even if, as the 12-steppers tell us, you sometimes might need to "fake it to make it." I am thinking of the benefits & certain good-will of simple, stubborn, longevity & endurance. Yes. Growing old, gracefully, or maybe not so gracefully, but with as much grace as one can manage. Live long enough, and life itself seems sort of like a blurry dream. Decades pass by in a flash. Turns out there is very little you can hang onto; there is the moment to moment, and the time to reflect on the moment to moment, and then, well, if you are lucky you still have your wits, your vim & vigour, a dash of energy & optimism, body parts continue to work, you are still curious about the world, and other people, still open to creativity, and changing your mind about things if the evidence of your senses call for a rethink. Life as long-form improvisation. Keeping your shit together even as you wade through the shit. Keeping a sense of humour, and a sense of proportion. A common sense grappling with a wild world.