Focus on the media and congress Part 2

There's enough evidence that the new president is doing things that should cause concern. My own concern is deepened as he continues to lie, brag and attack those who disagree. However much we are worried and for whatever reasons, ringing our hands is not enough.

Call people in congress, they own the purse strings; they can insist on the maturity the President should show and limit him if he doesn't show it. When you call, have a list (preferably short) of the things you want them to pay attention to.  And tell them you'll be watching.

My own list:

Be a saner voice about immigration, from Mexico and elsewhere. Don't fund the building of a wall. It sends a terrible message to Mexico and beyond. 

Do fund an infrastructure bill, but not one that enables crony contractors. It will create jobs and the roads, bridges, etc. that we need

Stay in the Paris Climate Agreement.  We cant afford to back away from the gathering perils of climate change. If you don't agree with that, you're pandering to fools who endanger us all.

Do fund Planned Parenthood and lift the gag order abroad. The best abortion prevention has been provided by Planned Parenthood and there is no viable option for underserved women here or abroad re. cancer screenings, and a host of other health matters. 

Focus on the Media & Congress: Tell Them We Are Here.

We have a dangerous President. Enough people feel and think that. So, like it or not, individuals must be more engaged in our country's business than ever before. We have to speak up with patience, compassion for others and with persistence; in our communities, in protest demonstrations.

But, most important, it is the media and the Congress who can bring attention to the issues and limits to his actions.  Our time and energy should be focused on them, engaging with them, learning from them, learning about them and persistently trying to influence them. They can and should make a difference.

Our time and energy should not be diluted into endless rumination about how awful it might be, with a President who boasts and lies with breathtaking abandon, who enables thoughtless anger like the hateful choruses of "lock her up", even at his own inauguration. Enough of commenting on his excesses.  It is time for acting to change things.  Not him, he is hopeless, but his agenda.

The media should counter his claims that they are biased, speak up even more with evidence based journalism. We should read and watch them, not just our favorite outlets, comment on them, to the media themselves and to others in our community.  We should let them know we are here, insist that they be informative and unbiased, whoever are their corporate sponsors.

The congress must have enough people of sound and open mind to reconsider who they have as their President. We should be calling them, trying to get them to limit the power he has. They should know for certain that we are watching, expect them to do the right things on climate change, voting rights, women's rights, any issues we care about. They need to know we are here.

The Demagogue in the White House

Demagogue: a popular leader, a leader of a mob, or rabble-rouser, in a democracy who gains popularity by exploiting prejudice and ignorance among people, whipping up the passions of the crowd.

This message is especially for people who hold different views than mine about the election of Donald Trump. It is an expression of deep concern that he is a bad choice. I am not a sore loser. Other people became the president that I did not vote for, and I welcomed them with the hope that they would do well by our country. This is not the case with Donald Trump. In fact, he is every day more clearly showing that he is unhinged and will be a problem for the well being of this country, possibly the world. Anyone who thinks that my deep concern is about being a sore loser is not willing to really look at him.  By ignoring him, they become part of the problem.

I have been around senior leaders, CEOs all of my professional life. I do know what good looks like. He's clearly not even close to being fit for the office.

·      He is far too self centered, has no interest in the country or in anybody but himself.

·      He doesn’t learn anything new, even though he very much needs to.

·      He sneers at people who disagree with him, does not debate with them.

·      He has little or no integrity; creates fake news and then accuses others of doing so. He lies or    covers up his many conflicting interests, including especially his interest in Russia.

·      He is too secretive. We see no tax returns we see no blind trust that would protect the office of the presidency from conflicts of interest and self dealing.

·      He doesn’t know how to create and lead effective teams, selects people for his cabinet who are grossly unqualified. Think of Ben Carson, Mike Flynn, Rick Perry. These are people who clearly do not know how to lead (or really care about) what they have suddenly inherited.

Some have told me to wait and see if Trump changes, if he grows up into the office. We now clearly know that he won't. His recent ranting about Nazi like behavior in the intelligence community, disavowal of the need to put his assets in a blind trust, are just two of the clear indicators that he is not going to change. What you’ve seen is what you will get, once he is in office. And he is not going to change; he is immature, ego-centric, petty-angry at slights at a level that indicates he is unhinged. And that makes him a danger, nothing less.

It is time to stop belittling anyone who opposes him. Instead, it is time for all of us to take action, but that begs the question what action will be effective. Individuals will need to express their concerns, call (don’t write to people in Congress). The media and Congress should be taking the lead. The media need to not back down no matter what is said about them. 

Congress is perhaps an even more important vehicle for change. As I said above: We see no tax returns, we see no blind trust that would protect the office of the presidency from conflicts of interest and self dealing. How can congress let that happen?  The people in the Senate no less those in the house need to stand up and be counted as caring more about country than their party. It is OK to take a fresh look at Obama Care. It is OK to take a fresh look at how to address immigration, climate change, or build our infrastructure. It is not OK to allow a demagogue to run our country who has no coherent views on any of these matters.

This is clearly not as bad a situation as it was in Berlin in 1933 when another demagogue and the Nazis took over. There are no people who are wearing brown shirts but there are evidently people (see internet trolls) who have in mind great malice towards Others who disagree or who are Mexican or Muslim.  People back in 1933, including Jewish Germans, somehow hoped that they should wait-and-see, maybe things will get better. But it is worth noting that people today are denying the data that sits right in front of them.

This situation has our country in a perilous position. It is the first time in my long life that I truly have become worried about who will be president. And I have seen a lot of presidents who I clearly thought were not the best choice.  Tough luck, but that's a democracy. Donald Trump is not only not the best choice, he is a very bad and dangerous choice. And it is time for all of us, but especially the media and Congress who have the most leverage to speak their mind and put limits on him. 

Improv poems

Our family created some improv poems on Christmas eve.  A "prompt" was suggested, and we had 5 minutes to come up with something. Turned out to be better than caroling. Here a few of the pieces that emerged for me.  The prompt/titles are in bold.

                                           The first wish you can remember

 I was a little boy and I wanted to be my mother’s hero.

A spring day. 

She’s standing on the porch

in front of our apartment house

with her spring coat on. 

There she was in her coat

with her hair up

looking out at the apartment courtyard.

I saw her there

when I came out of our apartment. 

I had put on the belt with my cap pistol

in the holster strapped to my leg

and drew out the pistol. 

Then I walked out onto the porch

and put my arm around the bottom of her dress. 

I couldn’t reach higher.

I was there to make sure she was safe. 

She felt me and looked down at me and smiled.

 Reflect

Once upon, once upon a mirror I look into

but cannot get beyond.

I see just my front

I cannot get behind no matter what I do. 

I want to stop this world

to crash the surface of the mirror. 

My thoughts can’t get around the surface. 

I am trapped in not seeing beyond, around, inside. 

Its just the apparent

the surfaces of things. 

I’m just a reflection of what I see

never more.

There is meaning there beyond this surface

but I am trapped with me

as I see me now

and fool myself into contentment

I try to not find mirrors

because what will be there

is only what is easy to see

what I have agreed to go on with.

Power play

Who plays with power? 

No one admits they do

but don’t we all love it

wouldn’t we all love to do it nakedly

not be sly about it

just have our way and have everyone love it.

Do it because I said so

and nobody feels bad about it; they say

Wow.  Yeah. You the man

so glad you had that better idea.

Feels so good to have you do that.

Takes less time than thinking it through myself. 

And it don’t matter if it’s a sandbox game or a country. 

You got the power

and everyone loves you for it. 

What could be better than that

except maybe to lie down in the summer shade

with a little bowl of cool watermelon balls and a tall glass of ice water.

Come all ye faithful

What if all the faithful came

not like in being here

but like in having an orgasm, at the same time?

They’d be in the temple or the church or mosque

and all of them

would suddenly be seized with the desire to blast off. 

Rub a dub dub all the faithful in a tub. 

Not prayin, but playin

with their privates

and as they got closer to the magic moment

they’d all be getting there at the same time,

they’d start breathin as one

and getting more deep breathin

and then they all’d let er rip

all at the same time. 

They wouldn’t wipe it up afterwards

no shame

just a hearty amen and a good ol smile.

And there would be peace.

Instead of politics or a new year's resolution

The piece below is to be published in the upcoming edition of US 1 Worksheets.  Its a good poetry journal that has poems which are not hard to figure out.  It comes out once a year.  Look it up, maybe you'll want to subscribe.  My best wishes (fingers crossed) for a new year with some more compassion and joy in it.

Ed

The Troubadour                           

I watch you strumming down my street

inside my leafy suburb.

You are not from here

a grizzled troubadour

ponytail, scrubby, rutted skin

signs of life lived poorly elsewhere.

You sing about your journey

even as I pass you on my street.

Underneath my notice

comes in the leisure of your drawl

Lend a hand my friend…

Help me to my next horizon …

I keep heading for a next appointment

wonder where you’re going.

Next morning there’s your music

languid looping through my leafy suburb head

worming deep inside

I feel the soft and sing song way

you stroll and plead

like someone born to be seductive.