Here we are, early September. However, there’s plenty of summer weather left, with fresh air options for fun still to come. The “taste of…” festivals certainly haven’t run their course. Food, rides, live music. Get out of the house and chill out. What’s not to like?

Well, sadly, some of these annual festivals have decided not to take place here in 2025. Those would especially be festivals celebrating Mexican or other racial/ethnic communities. Their reasoning to cancel is a mix of logic and emotion. This year that well-meant event’s attendees could be unwittingly setting themselves up for a “taste of detention”.  Imprisonment or deportation. Why aid ICE with an inadvertent sting operation?

In the Chicago area, there is an annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day coming up this month. Events includes the El Grito Festival in Grant Park and the Little Village 26th Street Parade. Those celebrations still intend to take place as of today, September 3. With the same ICE raids always becoming daily news, there is the additional recent threat by the Tin Pan Wannabee Dictator stating military troops will soon be sent to Chicago. Because it is a “crime-filled” city with “incompetent and corrupt leadership”. That, according to someone quite familiar with PROVEN criminal activity.

The Illinois Governor, the Chicago Mayor and many other statewide and local office holders, plus civic organizations have been blunt in their rejection of such a troop deployment. Chicago police have been told to not cooperate with any troop/ICE attempts to further create turmoil for Hispanic communities. Will confrontations turn violent? Will Chicago be the place of serious, successful, pushback? The city has as much as said, fuck off to this threat to occupy it. Labor unions (whose members are of all races and ethnicities) are defiant. Is the threat to “invade” really serious or saber rattling by the corrosive and and contemptable bully from 1600 Mar-a-Lago?

How did we get to this egregious political point in time? While racism has stained our history as a country since its founding, (white slave owners declaring “All men are created equal”) the persecution of Black and Brown people, working class people of all races, genders and ethnicities has never been as blatant as right now. But it should never have been allowed to become this ill-tasting toxic stew of fear, hate and lawlessness.

Recall, the previous Democrat administration had FOUR YEARS to hold the current wannabe-King to account for his role in the 1-9-21 deadly assault on the Capital. If that option carried a degree of difficulty beyond the Biden administration’s ability, what about 34 felony counts of falsifying business records? Or being convicted of sexual assault? Or, the virtually daily violation of the Emoluments Clause. This clause is part of the Constitution. It is meant to forbid any public officials–particularly the President–from receiving benefits that could compromise their independence and loyalty to the nation.

Clearly, what I now always refer to as Duopoly brought us our current dystopia. Referring to Democrat or Republican implies a choice. A truly terrible fake “choice”. 90 million potential voters chose not bother with the 2024 election. For many of those millions it was the failure to punish DJT for any of his criminal convictions. Many others were turned off by Democrat Party’s disgusting military/financial support of the documented bombing and killing of Palestinians, especially children. Moral bankrutpcy.

My last posting stated we needed more choices than this Duopoly. I, personally, am a member of the Green Party. However, the Duopoly goes to any length to muffle the Green messaging. People ask, “why haven’t I heard about the Greens?”.  Answer: the corporate media won’t acknowledge their presence on the political horizon. Or the political universe, galaxy or solar system.  Greens do not take corporate/Super PAC money.  Their platform seeks economic and social justice across the country and the globe. These are Green Party platforms antithetical to the Duopoly, which is wholly owned and operated by the corporate/billionaire class.

We must think past this absurd “lesser of two evils” nonsense. It’s an evil of two-lessors. We need to–and can do-–so much better. Let’s hope September in Chicago and elsewhere will prove to be a show of resistance that proves to be a harsh reality check for the destructive hate and fearmongering (now in its eight month!). Those responsible for this fascistic descent into darkness know that there are approximately 265 million Americans who did not vote for any part of it. And like the legendary Howard Beale, they may becoming more and more “mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore”.

To the ramparts. We have nothing to lose and everything good to gain.