ANARCHY

Two nights ago I went to bed with images of the Minneapolis police station, precinct 3 (?) engulfed in flames by protestors (?) with no authority in sight, no police, no national guard, no community leaders. Anarchy. Last night, cities across America had massive protests for the death of George Lloyd who took a knee to his neck and died at the hand of a Minneapolis police officer with 18 complaints filed against him for using excessive force.

The Civil War is not over. When you lose a war you are not supposed to fly your flag. You have to take it down. When you lose a war you are not supposed to have statues erected of your generals.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
the best lack all conviction, while the worst
are full of passionate intensity."

The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats.

NO LEADERSHIP.

SPACE X LAUNCH

Around 3:30 pm Elon Musk's Space X launched into space on its way to the International Space Station. (This is the same wunderkind entrepenueur who refused to keep his Tesla factory closed in Oakland to protect workers by threatening to take his business elsewhere.) Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and civil unrest. The current occupant attended the launch.

Not a word about the over 100,000 people who have died from Covid-19 or the violent demonstrations across almost a dozen U.S. cities, Boston, Denver, Atlanta, Oakland, Minneapolis, St. Paul, New York, San Francisco, Louisville, Chicago, L.A., etc. Protests are going on as I write this. Is it really a good idea to go into space when we haven't figured out how to behave on Earth ?

SHAVUOT
Today is the second day of Shavuot, the jewish holiday comemmorating the Giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai. How ironic. On Shavuot we read the Book of Ruth. Ruth the Moabite says to Naomi, her mother-in-law, "Whither thou goest, I will go,  for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;" And from Ruth we get to David.

Back to Leonard Cohen, Dylan, Joan Baez.
ANTHEM.
A HARD RAIN'S A GONNA FALL, PATTI SMITH.
ELEGY FOR JANIS JOPLIN, LEONARD COHEN . 
MURDER MOST FOUL. BOB DYLAN. 

After two and a half months in Lockdown, STAY HOME, WEAR A MASK, PHYSICALLY DISTANCE 6 FEET APART, young people are pouring into the streets, some wearing masks but no physically distancing. I see a spike in cases and deaths looming. Two enemies, one invisible. Armed police in L.A. and Chicago are pointing their guns at demonstrators in tank tops, sports bras and jeans.

DESOLATION ROW. , BOB DYLAN

This generation, the ones in the street, have no music. 

Protests have gone on all day long across the country. No Leadership in sight. Just the protestors and the media, CNN. NO LEADERSHIP in Corporate America. CNN headquarters was attacked last night in Atlanta.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, STEPHEN SILLS, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, 1967. 

CHELSEA HOTEL #2, LEONARD COHEN, , LIVE, 2008


NIGHTFALL  8:17 PM

CURRENT OCCUPANT FANS THE FLAMES

The current occupant fanned these flames. Why is there no leadership ? Rotten at the top. Going into my 70th decade, I never saw anything like this VOID - no one is talking to those young protestors. No community leaders, no religious leaders, no advocates If they are, I don't see it. Social media; they are organizing on Facebook and Twitter.  It is a diverse crowd, black, white, brown. They have the internet and cell phones. The early 21st century is not going so well. Orwellian.

CURRENT OCCUPANT quotes:

Charlottesville:Re. White Nationalists marching with tiki torches and swastikas.  There are fine people on both sides. WHAT ?!?!

Brown people from Mexico are rapists and murderers.

Women: you can grab them by the p***y.

ABDICATED POWER DURING A NATIONAL CRISIS WITH SILENCE.