THIS

At War with Myself

Today::: is a big day:::
the March for Our Lives will take place in hundreds of cities, besides Washington, where it will be massive, historical. NRA, find a hole and crawl in. Then pull the hole in after you.

the lights go off at 8:30 pm for the Worldwide Earth Hour, an hour of darkness to raise awareness about environmental problems and solutions. Energy companies, we have the switch.

poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti turns 99 years of age in San Francisco. He is a movement for good and a light in the dark.

so where's the war?

in Europe, among the million horrible things Trump is doing, one stands out -- the trade war. I know he later said he'd make exemptions, basically contradicting himself as usual, but leaders here have to take it seriously until further notice. He said he'd do it, he signed it, we believe it's coming, so unless we're well-behaved kiddies, we're next. Tariffs on steel mean no Levis, no peanut butter, no Harleys. Over here they say that a trade war is a real war, you declare war on us, we are now enemies, we fight back, it can only get worse before a truce is declared. I am a citizen of the EU and the US, hence today's title.

i'm so tired of this shit. I want to get off of facebook and twitter, stop watching CNN and BBC, stop letting this sicko dominate my days. I want to get back to writing and music and my quiet homelife, get my sanity back, find my smile again, wake up rested and let all the difficulties of the day just slide away. Yet I feel like I'm constantly in combat mode without the adrenaline of battle. Yet I can't just opt out, that's irresponsible, there's no room in the sand for another head. Yet keeping up on everything has worn me down and worn me out, which is exactly what Trump wants, and, although I tell my friends that his days are numbered, he's winning against me today. I can't keep up the fighting without some amphetamines (isn't that what he uses?). Thus the lack of polit-blogs of late.

and then I see the Parkland survivors, and I am inspired and refreshed. We all have a connection, all been touched by the ripple effect of school shootings. Mine is Cleveland Elementary in Stockton, 1989, a guy hid behind a building and picked off little kids playing during lunch hour with a semi-automatic rifle -- five dead, 32 wounded. I used to teach at Cleveland. This was after I'd been in Italy for ten years, but the guy who did it had gone there as a child, about the time when I substitute taught there, maybe even in one of my classes. So, yeah, enough is enough. Make it stop. Make it stop. Politician, do your job to protect us all against gun violence; you were not elected to sell more guns for your buddies.

i may be old and weary (or maybe I'm just faking it for the pathos effect), but the teenagers that are marching today are YOUNG AND STRONG and the hope for a better tomorrow. It chokes me up that they are so passionate and articulate and savvy and right. Right on! You make us old warriors proud! When I was your age, I marched regularly against the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, other causes, now it's your day. Thanks for your courage. hashtag Never Again.

happy trials, Martin

Mutt and Jeff are on assignment in the nation's capitol.