The new journal Molecule – a tiny lit mag published my poem “Lyft Driver on the NJ Turnpike.” Read the journal here.

The President, in a Surreal Speech, Says Nothing.

President Donald Trump calls COVID-19 a “foreign virus,” which is consistent with his xenophobia and racism, and this description is characterizing his approach to its spread.

Take Wednesday night’s speech (see my attached annotation), during which he proposed several efforts consistent with the policies he’s pursued since taking office, but that amounted to Trump playing the role of Nero (as a meme making its way around social media —inexplicably retweeted by Trump himself— points out).

He has expanded a travel ban, adding much of Europe to China and the Middle East, a move the World Health Organization says is counterproductive. He called for tax cuts, hoping to calm volatile stock markets, but says nothing about actual workers, a full quarter of whom lack access to paid sick leave. He talks of partnering with health insurance companies and medical facilities, who have agreed to temporarily cover testing and to not issue “surprise bills,” but says nothing about the 30 million uninsured or the millions who are essentially underinsured, about a healthcare system quickly being pushed to its capacity, or a pharmaceutical industry whose only focus is profits.

Read the story at The Medium.

Sanders can make Biden a stronger November candidate, and keep left ideas alive going forward.

Joe Biden won Michigan yesterday and, make no mistake, that was the only state primary that mattered. Yes, Bernie Sanders won Washington and North Dakota. Yes, Sanders is less than 200 delegates behind Biden, which would seem to be within striking distance. But Michigan sealed it for Biden.

I don’t say this easily. I remain a Sanders supporter who had Elizabeth Warren as a close second and no one else (maybe Julian Castro) very high on my list. I also remain concerned that Biden brings a long list of vulnerabilities to the general election — vulnerabilities the Republicans can be counted on to exploit. (Sanders has his list, as well, so please don’t turn this into a Biden-Bernie dust up. That’s not what this is about.)

Read the story at Medium.

Here is a link to a Medium post on the primaries.

Notes on Ernesto Cardenal on His Death

A brief essay on the Nicaraguan poet and revolutionary.