I’ve been feeling untethered for so long that it’s difficult to remember fully trusting gravity alone to keep me anchored. In the bizarre Twilight Zone that we find ourselves living in, where truth is not necessarily true, (thanks, Rudy), facts have contrary alternatives, fascism is in vogue and kindness and understanding are reserved more and more solely for those closest to us and less and less as a celebrated human condition, optimism has become a rare commodity. Please, correct me if I’m mistaken, but, as diverse as our opinions may be, there was usually a tacit expectation that most of us, at least in the light of our public lives, embraced a well-conditioned sense of compassion for the oppressed and less fortunate, the victims of disaster and the creatures and natural wonders with which we share our planet. Surely there are those who still care, but never, in my unimaginably long lifetime, can I remember when so many obviously and openly don’t.  The new, cackling voice of the Republican Party is mean spirited, bigoted, misogynistic, (even from the women), and devoid of the most basic common decency.  The rabid rampage to impose their destructive and inhumane influence, while they still maintain the numbers for Congressional majority, would be dismissed by any responsible DC Comic editor as too preposterously villainous for anyone’s suspension of disbelief, and the apish buffoon they’ve tasked with bringing us to our knees makes Batman’s Joker and Penguin and Dick Tracy’s Fly Face seem normal and cuddly in comparison.  So, on behalf of any of us left who do give a fuck, I would like to apologize to all individuals, ethnic, religious and social groups, allies, shit-holes, public servants and, in particular, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.  Although I can’t speak to the unimpeachable veracity of the specific remembrance of her horrific sexual attack, (my crystal ball is being repaired in the same shop that’s been working on my abacus for months), I have listened, (probably way too intently), to the evasive and inadequate blather of Brett Kavanaugh’s sham of a confirmation hearing, and more importantly looked directly into his lyin’ eyes, (thanks, J. D.)…and that asshole shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a court of any kind, unless he’s wearing an orange jumpsuit.