July 28, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin
I used to think about, as I'm sure others have, why the people of the USA didn't hit the streets and protest like they do in Europe. Jobs. Their jobs were/are protected for things like that, ours weren't.
My how things change. The government was used to the old way, now they are being steam rolled by the new reality. Most of the jobs are gone now. I am proud of these BLM protesters and the citizens who have come out to stand with them.
I understand that the administration will go apoplectic that citizens would take a stand, they are looking for diversions from the plague and the relentlessly awful job they are doing with that. This allows them to throw the law and order meat to their base, even if they have to use old footage from overseas to justify their ugliness.
Lets give all our support and our prayers to those citizens who are standing tall for all of us. It's terrifying to protest in a police state.
Hold those dear to you close
God save the Republic.

July 26, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin

“The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Toward Justice.” It does indeed. Martin Luther King was a hero of mine, and his optimism lives on. The multiple disasters the nation is suffering through will make us stronger. This plague can be dealt with, other countries have shown us the way, and our medics are the best in the world.. The struggle could be a springboard for massive changes that have been a long time coming. Universal Healthcare, Universal Basic Income, equality under the law, real equality, for all of us.

It starts with the election. Joe Biden and his team can use a couple of examples in how to proceed. Franklin Roosevelt and his team are standing in the shadows, willing us on. PBO and Joe had to rebuild after W. Bush. We've done this before, maybe even to this dreadful degree. We cannot let ourselves feel overwhelmed.
Justice must be served for the illegalities and unconstitutional acts committed by the Trump administration, and it is not something to take any joy in. Think Nuremberg. Horrific crimes have been committed. Many thousands have suffered and died through a desire for profit, incompetence and neglect.

The Republic can persevere, our twenty-first century coalition of cultures and races are vibrant and will provide the energy, and the will, to get this done.

Hold those dear to you close
God save the Republic.

July 25, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin

These are absurd times. A wanna be dictator invading our cities. Public education dying on the vine. The election of our lifetimes in three months. It seems like the thirty percent of our population that leans Fascist is doubling down instead of coming to their senses. I seem to have become a social media warrior, unexpected, unwanted.

I'm fed up with all of it. The horror and pain of those afflicted with the plague. The citizens of Portland and elsewhere who have to face off with mercs. Mercs belonging to one Eric Prince, brother of Betsey DeVos, billionaire enablers of Hair Fuhrer. Sickening. Both public education and our post office targeted for destruction, these are the ties that bind our nation together.

I have my own personal demons I have to battle every fucking day, and I'm pretty fed up with that as well. I sit awake at night and wonder how much damage my internal organs have taken from the plague, and I lay that right at the feet of the godamned republican party. Why it didn't kill me with the initial infection, old bastard that I am, I do not know. I guess the gods want me to see the end of this farce.

Hold those dear to you close
God save the Republic

July 16, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin

Look, there is only one way we are going to get ahead of this plague. We listen to the doctors/scientists, follow their guide lines, and PAY people to stay home. That's it. Nothing else is going to work, and the longer we put off doing this, the longer this nightmare will last. There also needs to be an eviction moratorium, and maybe even a debt holiday. But that's all secondary to getting the infection rate under control. If, by some miracle we manage that, we can confront the economic disaster.

The Trump administration, as much as it is cherished by the right, the Fascists, the white supremacists, and the just plain selfish, is costing this nation way too much. Not just in lives- a quarter of a million by election day in all likelyhood, but in our place in the world, our chance to compete, our place at the table. Our, and our children's future. This is a disaster of epic proportions.

We are wasting time debating this, time equals lives.

Hold those dear to you close
God save the republic.

July 8, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin

The Republic is certainly hurting, this plague will have, is having devastating consequences. It is the cause for the monumental changes that are coming, a catalyst that will sweep away what we were, as we ponder the things we may become.
The election is the trigger. Biden must be aware of two things: He cannot let the horrific crimes of the current administration slide. There can be no, must be no "we will look forward, not behind" attitude. The other thing is that he must assemble a team that can produce the Roosevelt type effort to right the ship of state. We can do this, we are strong enough. Those coming up behind us deserve it, those who went before earned it.

Hold those dear to you close

God save the Republic

July 6, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View from the Tenderloin

Bringing something pretty into the world. I'm indulging in a little urban agriculture, seeding my new planter box outside, plus a rose bush, and getting a program started that will turn the apartment into a floral refuge. When I moved in here last April, the manager said "For the time being, absolutely no visitors." So we look for company and enlightenment elsewhere.

The strife and suffering in the world outside is daunting. We have to cope with the fear and madness caused by the plague and our malignant political situation on top of our personal turmoil. We look for solace in our gods, our music, our poetry, ourselves.

The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade
You make the change
You rearrange me til I'm sane
You lock the door and throw away the key
There's someone in my head, but it's not me

Hold those dear to you close
God save the Republic

July 1, 2020

The View from the Tenderloin

The View From the Tenderloin

July. Four months into this "shelter in place". Four months, and the nation is in a very bad place. We are quarantined internationally. There is no national, coordinated strategy for fighting this plague. The party in power barely acknowledges it. Nothing will be done in that regard until after the election and the new team transitions in. It will take a Roosevelt sized effort to right this ship.
Personally, I'm torn. Like many, there is a player missing from my life, and it's devastating to me. That player was there before all this came down, and will never be back. It rips me up. I've been physically damaged by the plague, and it's not over yet.
On the other hand, my home is locked in, it's not in jeopardy as so many are about to be. My home care provider is here most of the time, it's like having a servant. My income is guaranteed, no matter how badly the republicans screw the pooch. This, what will no doubt be the last chapter of my life, is strange beyond belief.

Hold those dear to you close

God save the Republic.