The Many Shades of Green – Providing ideas to help make the world a better place for this and future generations

Dosvedanya, Back in the USSR with George Polosner and Yolanda Nava

This episode starts with the song Back in the USSR by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney in 1968. The song took shape when Paul heard a UK campaign slogan “I’m Backing the UK” and he turned it into a parody of Chuck Berry’s “Back in the USA”. Cultural historian Doyle Greene stated that “the bridge parodies the Beach Boys “California Girls’’ and “Surfing’ USA”. Chuck Berry’s focus on commercialism is “relocated and mocked” such that “the joyous return to the Soviet homeland is sarcastic camp.” Like “Revolution” and “Piggies” “Back in the U.S.S.R.” prompted immediate responses in the US from the New Left and the Extreme Right, with the latter citing the song as further evidence of the Beatles’ supposed pro-Soviet sentiments. The line “You don’t know how lucky you are, boys” left many anti-communist groups stunned. Within recent times, the political right seems to have an admiration for Russia, which goes along with opposition to “wokeness” and globalism and skepticism about NATO. The coin has been flipped and times have surely changed.

Back in the USSR, Putin is the luckiest of them all, as the US is waiving newly enacted sanctions and tariffs that were intended to increase economic pressure on Russia and countries buying its oil and gas. On October 16, 2026 President DJT signed an executive order waiving the application of key provisions of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The law was designed to impose additional penalties on Russia and potentially tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas. The administration’s decision prevents those new measures from taking effect as originally planned, which will have grave consequences on both the US and Ukraine. It is interesting to note that on October 16, 1962, 64 years ago, we had the Cuban Missile Crisis. President John F. Kennedy received photographic proof from a U-2 spy plane showing Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba. A BBC Panorama presenter said “it was the most dangerous week in the whole history of mankind”. The fourteen day confrontation between the two superpowers threatened to boil over, and the world teetered on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. Americans and the world held their collective breath praying that calmer and intelligent minds would avert a disaster. The crisis was ultimately averted when the Soviets agreed to remove their weapons. There were many insights over the years as to the tactics behind the scenes during those fateful two weeks, which shook the world. US President John F Kennedy and Robert Kennedy’s statesmanship helped avert a dangerous confrontation. Now the world is shaken again, as the US Regime is working with the Russian Regime to turn the world upside down in conflict. Where are the leaders who can take control and stop the current regime from working with the enemy?
We have not learned from history, as it repeats itself over, and over, and over again. We are in very chaotic and dangerous times. Chaos and corruption are happening in plain sight. Justice is being weaponized, our president is Putin’s Employee of the Month, our climate defenses are being dismantled, and we have a midterm election which will determine if the US will remain a democracy. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does. To discuss these topics and more George Polisner and Yolanda Nava join us on the podcast. Yolanda is a Civil Rights Pioneer, Emmy Award®-Winning Broadcast Journalist, Columnist, Community Leader, Women’s Rights Activist, Educator, and Author. George Polisner is the founder of Civ.Works, and he is our political analyst, environmental activist, Executive Producer and curmudgeon in chief.

For more information go to https://civ.works/defend https://866ourvote.org/ and https://democracyunitesus.org/

Democracy needs our help, so if possible, please donate to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org/ https:/ /www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness.

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

The Scarecrow and The Octopus are Stealin’ the Show with Charlotte Ghiorse Founder of House of ChoClet

The podcast starts off with the song If I Only Had A Brain, from the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. The tune expresses the Scarecrow’s deep desire for intelligence, self-worth, and a purposeful life. The Scarecrow wants to understand the world. He dreams of talking to nature, solving riddles, and explaining why things happen (like why the ocean is near the shore). The truth of the matter is that the Scarecrow had a brain all along, he just needed the confidence to use it.

In a world that now seems to demean intelligence and refer to those with high intellect as what is wrong with society, it’s hard not to feel that we have lost our souls. It is difficult to muddle through the AI bot driven social platforms and deduce what is fact and what is fiction. The Fourth Estate, mainstream media, has acted as a cover to subvert societal norms. We need to use our collective brains to overcome the chaos! The media kowtows to the wizard, and it’s a miracle that anything gets done. We don’t seem to use our intelligence wisely, and many extreme political entities seem to blame and bash people with higher education as being the ones causing the world’s problems. We live in a time of remarkable scientific, educational, and technological achievements, yet we continue to struggle with misinformation, political hostility, environmental destruction, inequality, and indifference to human suffering. While society needs more knowledge; it also needs the wisdom, compassion, courage, and integrity to put its knowledge to good use.

There is an expression that fits this paradigm: “put brain in motion before moving mouth.” We have to stop the dumbing down of America. We must stop banning books, and learn history beyond the year 2000.
There is much that we don’t see, as the mainstream media outlets and social media focuses on terror and crime, while overlooking the positive things people are doing. We need to see the people that do good in the news cycle more often. Change agents, caregivers, scientists, teachers, medical personnel and those who fight for our safety and freedom must be recognized for the work they do on a daily basis to keep the world running. Now with AI, it’s hard to separate truth from lies. In the US we are facing a government not by the people or for the people, but one that bends to corporate interests, and a crime family. So now it’s up to the populous to use their brains and vote in numbers that will cause a tsunami to help reverse the curse. Charlotte Ghiorse joins us and we talk about the importance of brain power, youth powered environmental innovations and the Pearl Octopuses of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. We delve into how addiction affects the brain, especially with the rise in use of fentanyl and ketamine. Charlotte talks about her musical Bad Music for Bad People and her song Stealin’ which focuses on addiction and homelessness. Charlotte is our resident artist, eco-activist, song writer, comedian, super mom, astrologist and founder of House of ChoClet. https://www.houseofchoclet.com/ Check out the video of Bad Music For Bad People on Youtube misscherristrawberry https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWv68q7O6U38lCwsEnDEABw/videos

Please Rock the VOTE https://www.rockthevote.org/ and check out 866OURVOTE.ORG https://866ourvote.org/ to make sure your voter registration is accurate.

For more information go to https://democracyunitesus.org/ and https://civ.works/defend

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Your Vote is Your Voice-USE IT! With Mitchell and Phineas Anderson, founders of Democracy Unites Us (DUU) and George Polisner founder of Civ.Works

“Those who stand for nothing, will fall for anything” – Alexander Hamilton

We start this week’s podcast with the song This Land is Your Land, performed by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

“This Land Is Your Land” is a famous American folk song written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 as a message of equality, inclusion, and a critique of extreme wealth disparity. The song argues that the beauty and resources of the United States belong to everyone, not just the wealthy elite. The recurring phrase “This land was made for you and me” asserts that ordinary working people, immigrants, and the poor have an equal claim to the country. I don’t think Woody ever thought we would be dealing with authoritarian rule in the US in the year 2026, or on second thought, maybe he did know… We need Woody Guthrie and his compatriot, Pete Seeger, today more than ever. In the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings version of the song, they used the minor-key soul rendition to address enduring themes of racial inequality, economic disparity, and broken national promises.

This Land is Your Land has the lyric in the chorus: this land was made for you and me. My question is, was this land ever made for you and me? I used to naively think it was, and that our democratic republic was the shining example of freedom and equality, and that if you worked hard you could live a good life. The Declaration of Independence highlights that governments are formed to protect the basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and if a government fails to protect these freedoms, the people have the right to alter or abolish it. Men and women fought in wars and gave their lives to protect our rights, but it seems that they have fought for naught. Our rights are currently not protected and we are seeing corruption in government at levels not seen during the worst times in our history. We are heading into crucial midterm elections, and the majority of the populous within the US believes that the current regime is already putting in the fix. No one is minding the store, and if Americans don’t wake up, the nightmare we are all living through will get even worse. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero stated during an interview on The New Yorker Radio Hour that mass public mobilization—including potentially “shutting down the country”—would be a necessary final resort if the current administration openly defied court orders. My gut feeling is that there is going to be a massive Blue Wave, but the Speaker of the House Mike “little” Johnson, will not swear in the newly elected officials. What is the plan should this happen? What do we have to do to maintain free and fair elections? Joining us on this episode of TMSOG to talk about how we can fight back and resist are Phineas and Mitch Anderson. In 2025 they co-founded Democracy Unites Us or DUU, organizing the first No Kings rally in the summer of 2025 and gathered 13,000 people in cars and in the streets. They have collaborated and co-organized several other regional protests, and are currently planning Tucson’s involvement with No Work, No School, No Shopping nationwide protests should the midterm elections be tampered with. We must have free and fair Midterm elections!

Mitchell Anderson has been married to Phineas Anderson for 57 years. They have two sons, three grandchildren, all living in Tucson. Mitch was a textile designer in Manhattan and a garden designer and bookseller in Ohio. Phineas was a Supt. of British Schools in the UAE, a high school principal in Manhattan, and helped produce the film “Nuclear Tipping Point” that President Obama showed to the Joint Chief of Staff in the White House. Also joining us is George Polisner, founder of Civ.Works, who is our political analyst, environmental activist, Executive Producer and curmudgeon in chief. For more information go to https://democracyunitesus.org/ and https://civ.works/defend and https://866ourvote.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Connecting People, Communities and Nature with June Boyle Founder of Cerco Consulting

This week’s song is Green Garden by Laura Mvula which was released as the second single from her debut album Sing to the Moon, in 2013. The song describes a peaceful scene in a green garden where one can take in the beauty of nature, as well as freedom and joy. In a garden you can have a sensory experience and connect to the earth.

Green gardens only get green when property owners decide to take steps to be more proactive in planting native trees and plants, avoiding toxic fertilizers and pesticides, and being responsible stewards of the land by showing concern for wildlife and our precious pollinators. In this current moment of constant chaos, it’s hard to think about our gardens, as just getting through a day is a monumental task. How can we find a sense of community and a common thread that connects us in these difficult times? We all need some joy, and so gardening, forest bathing, and getting back to nature is good for ones psyche. Conservation reminds us that we have a responsibility to the places we call home. We don’t have to be scientists. We don’t have to work for an environmental organization. We don’t have to be experts. We can begin simply by paying attention.

June Boyle joins us to explore the connections among nature, our sense of place, community belonging, and civic participation. Drawing on her experiences with local conservation efforts, local government, community events, environmental organizations, she talks about how shared work around conservation and the environment can create opportunities for people to meet, learn from one another, and become more invested in their communities. June is a communications specialist and organizational effectiveness practitioner, and the founder of Cerco Consulting. She helps mission-driven organizations clarify strategy, strengthen communications, and move important initiatives from vision to action, working primarily with organizations in conservation, ecological restoration, and sustainability.

For more info go to homegrownnationalpark.org, joinwildr.com, lesslawnmorelife.com, healthyyards.org and cerco-research.com/blog/

Also check out hudsonriverradio.com and themanyshadesofgreen.com

Super El Nino v The Penguins with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

Penguins by Lyle Lovett starts off the podcast. It was a tune on his fifth album, I Love Everybody, which was released in 1994. The album consists of Lovett’s early songs penned prior to the recording of his first album, Lyle Lovett (1986). Lovett uses the flightless, tuxedo-clad bird as the ultimate deadpan counterpoint to glamorous or complicated human relationships—representing an uncomplicated, reliable, and amusingly absurd ideal of a companion. Lovett has explained in interviews that he originally wrote the song just to make fun of a penguin-loving college acquaintance.

Gotta love penguins! Just knowing that penguins are fun loving creatures makes the current world chaos slightly more tolerable. One of my favorite things to do at the Central Park Zoo is to go to the penguin house and watch their antics as they dash around https://centralparkzoo.com/things-to-do/exhibits/polar-circle Penguins are really cool and cute arctic critters. They are flightless, they slide on their bellies, and they literally fly through the ocean at high speeds. They also play a role in helping reduce climate change. Did you know that Penguin guano a/k/a penguin poop can help offset the warming of the planet? In a paper by Matthew Boyer published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, he described how ammonia wafting off the droppings of 60,000 birds contributed to the formation of clouds that might be insulating Antarctica, helping cool down an otherwise rapidly warming continent. This could help some penguin populations which are under serious threat because of climate change. If we don’t protect them and their guano, fewer clouds would be produced, and more heating would occur in an already fragile ecosystem, which is so full of ice that it will significantly raise sea levels worldwide as it melts. Boyer said “There is a deep connection between these ecosystem processes, between penguins and phytoplankton at the ocean surface, and their gas is all interacting to form these particles and clouds.” So hail the mighty penguins who are an important piece of reducing green house gas emissions, pun intended. Penguins are also connected to politics, yes, if you go back in time a bit, you will remember that the the current administration’s trade tariffs targeted the remote Antarctic territories, the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are populated exclusively by penguins and seals. The tariff sparked satirical media coverage and conservation awareness campaigns, particularly the spoof protest march by Penguins International (https://www.penguinsinternational.org/). So on this episode of TMSOG we chat about penguins, politics, the Godzilla El Nino, silencing the press and much more with George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, who is our resident curmudgeon in chief, political analyst, and environmental activist. For more information go to https://civ.works/ and Election Protection https://866ourvote.org/ and https://civixthread.com/

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org/ https:/ /www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Squirrels are Super + Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Fall with Victoria Alzapiedi Co-Founder of New Castle Healthy Yards and Environmental Consultant at My Native Garden Oasis

The podcast starts off with the Squirrel Song (a parody of the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls” often featured on The Dr. Demento Show). It was written and performed by the comedy group The Beastly Boys (Ron Friedman, Chip Craig, and Steve Bencich) using the instrumental music of the Beastie Boys. The song lyrics find Squirrels complaining about cars, fur coats, hunting, and being cute and harmless. The novelty song first debuted and became a regular favorite on The Dr. Demento Show in 1987, though it was not officially released on a compilation CD (Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes No. 5) until 1996.

Squirrels are amazing animals, and are kinda cute. The squirrel family is one of the most widespread creatures on Earth. There are almost 300 species of squirrels that can glide through the air, outwit rattlesnakes, and survive the coldest temperatures of any mammal. As we approach Fall, they are very busy gathering acorns and winterizing their homes. They store food, build insulated nests and eat extra food to build body fat. When we cut trees, replace native habitat with lawns and and put up parking lots we reduce their ability to survive. Humans have built neighborhoods across wildlife corridors and fragmented the places where animals once moved freely. It’s important to think before we destroy areas where wildlife live and survive. Squirrels. chipmunks and mice can sometimes cause problems, especially when they decide to chew through electric wires, but we have to live alongside them and adapt. We have to remember that we share the landscape with animals that were here long before our roads, houses and fences were built. Sometimes coexistence begins with seeing the world from their side. If we secure our trash, create wildlife-friendly landscaping and keep food indoors we can protect our homes and prevent conflicts without harming the animals. Here is an interesting squirrel fact. Squirrels are so agile that they are being used as a model organism to understand the biological limits of balance and agility. Former UC Berkeley doctoral student Nathaniel Hunt, now an assistant professor of biomechanics at the University of Nebraska stated that “I would argue that squirrels are second to none. If we try to understand how squirrels do this, then we may discover general principles of high performance locomotion in the canopy and other complex terrains that apply to the movements of other animals and robots.” In essence, Squirrels are amazing creatures. They help create forests and now they are helping scientists learn more about mobility.

As Fall arrives, we need to be more proactive while preparing our yards for the Fall and we can start by skipping pesticides and herbicides and by leaving leaves alone to protect the pollinators, squirrels and other wildlife. It is beneficial to us and wildlife to work in harmony. So on this episode of TMSOG podcast, our resident gardener, conservationist and environmental activist Victoria Alzapiedi joins us to talk about preparing our yards for the Fall, what native plants are best for planting, how to keep our property safe for wildlife and migrating birds, leaving leaves alone, and skipping pesticides. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards, and is the chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board, as well as a member of the Westchester Climate Smart Communities Task Force. She is also a member of Friends of Buttonhook Forest which is working to save a 20.3 acre forest in the Town of New Castle. In addition, she is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5000 members. Victoria is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly recommendations https://www.mynativegardenoasis.com/

For more information on ways t0 protect wildlife go to National Wildlife Federation

To help protect the environment visit and if you can please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

Please make sure you are registered to vote check out https://civ.works/defend and https://www.rockthevote.org/about-rock-the-vote/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

What are the Environmental Costs of 99 Red Balloons? Charlotte Ghiorse founder of House of Choclet joins us to discuss the hazards of releasing balloons into the atmosphere. We also talk about how California is working to reduce textile waste, plus astrology and more…

99 Red Balloons by the group Nena is our featured song on this week’s podcast. Did you know that the song is a protest song which touches on the cold war?

Ninety-nine red balloons, foating in the summer sky

Panic bells, it’s red alert

There’s something here from somewhere else

The war machine springs to life, opens up one eager eye

Focusing it on the sky, where ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine Decision Street, ninety-nine ministers meet

To worry, worry, super scurry, call the troops out in a hurry

This is what we’ve waited for, this is it, boys, this is war

The president is on the line, as ninety-nine red balloons go by

While we love balloons, if we see 99 red balloons in the sky, there could be trouble ahead for the environment. Balloons are fun and whimsical, but there is a problem which most people don’t think about or understand. While we delight at balloons rising into the sky, we don’t think about the fact that they don’t disappear when we let them go. They come back down, and when they do, they can be detrimental to many creatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) considers balloons a form of marine debris. NOAA has documented balloon debris affecting wildlife, waterways and even deep-ocean habitats. One of the most disturbing problems is what happens when animals encounter balloon debris. A sea turtle may mistake a deflated balloon for a jellyfish. A bird may pick up a piece of balloon or ribbon, and a marine mammal may ingest it.

Once inside an animal, balloon material can cause serious digestive problems, obstruction, injury, starvation and even death. The NOAA has documented the dangers of balloons and balloon ribbons to marine animals. While we see the beautiful moment when a balloon rises into the sky it is actually the beginning of a much longer environmental story. On this episode of The Many Shades of Green podcast Charlotte Ghiorse our resident eco-activist, artist, writer, comedian and super mom joins us. We focus on the environmental cost of balloons, how we can educate people about alternatives so that we can celebrate without turning a moment of joy into an environmental hazard. We talk about California’s proposal to become the first state to make fashion brands, manufacturers and retailers pick up the tab for textile waste, some good environmental stories, the floating single red heart balloon floating above Grand Central Station, astrology and more.

For more information go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com/

To help protect the environment visit and if you can, please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://action.nrdc.org/ Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

Please make sure you are registered to vote! For more info go to https://civ.works/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Green My Power with Tom Watson Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester

The Joni Mitchell’s tune “Big Yellow Taxi” is a 1970 folk-pop protest song in which Joni warns against environmental destruction and taking nature for granted. The inspiration came to Joni Mitchell after taking her first trip to Hawaii, where she looked out her hotel window and saw a gorgeous mountain view ruined by a massive, sprawling parking lot. The lyric “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” critiques unchecked urban development and the replacement of green spaces with concrete. The song calls out the commercialization of nature, referencing a “tree museum” where people pay to see trees, and criticizes industrial agriculture by asking a farmer to put away the pesticide DDT. The lyrics are as apropos today as they were in 1970.

Pave paradise and put up a parking lot. While we don’t want to pave paradise, we can do something to make parking lots more sustainable. There is a push in Westchester to put solar canopies in parking areas, and there is already a solar canopy system in place at the Metro North train station in Croton Harmon. One of the most powerful things we can do is make climate action visible. When people see that municipalities are taking action, the idea of change becomes less intimidating, and eventually, it becomes part of the culture of a community. Sustainable Westchester’s current 2026 solar and clean-energy initiatives, include Community Solar, Green My Power, Solarize, Grid Rewards, MOVE systems, Workforce Development and the organization’s newly announced solar expansion strategy to put solar solutions front and center. Sustainable Westchester’s multiple Solarize campaigns have resulted in 601 solar installations across more than 20 municipalities, totaling 5.7 MW, and it is now pursuing a strategy to triple rooftop solar and increase parking-lot solar canopies tenfold. Climate change is not a hoax, as we are seeing more extreme weather, rising temperatures, more intense storms, and wildfires. Mother Earth is trying to tell us something, and we have to start listening. We have to take action and be open to solutions to prevent carbon emissions by using renewable energy, and taking simple actions like switching to LED lighting, recycling, composting and more.

How do we accomplish being more sustainable? Tom Watson, the Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester joins us on this episode of TMSOG to talk about what programs are available to help us reduce our carbon footprint and reduce CO2 emissions by following the sun. Tom worked as a journalist for LoHud, Hudson Valley magazine, The New York Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wired and many other publications. He was an early dot-com digital entrepreneur before co-founding a major nonprofit consulting firm, and later creating his own practice CauseWired, named for his best-selling book about the rise of digital activism. Tom serves on the Board of the Westchester Human Rights Commission, and is a professor in the Nonprofit Management masters program at Columbia University. He is a deeply committed native plant gardener who loves a good compost pile. He is also the guitar player for the Westchester band Retro-North.

For more information about Sustainable Westchester go to https://sustainablewestchester.org/ for questions about Solar and other programs email: hello@sustainablewestchester.org

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Election Protection: Rock the Vote!

We started off the podcast with Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5” which is an anthem about the daily grind, economic frustration, and the exploitation of working-class employees by wealthy bosses. The tune was written as the theme song for the 1980 movie 9 to 5 (starring Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin). The song specifically highlights the struggles of working women facing sexual harassment, gender inequality, disrespect, and unequal pay compared to men. The lyrics criticize corporate systems where workers give everything (“it’s all taking and no giving”) while rich bosses get richer off the backs of the poor (“they just use your mind and they never give you credit”). Dolly was an advocate for women’s rights, gay rights and personal freedom. She advocated for equal pay for women in the workplace and better working conditions.
Dolly was an amazing woman, writer, musician, actor and philanthropist who donated a million dollars to help develop the Covid vaccine, and gave away millions of books to children through her Imagination Library foundation. She was a talent, a mensch and a beautiful soul. She will be sorely missed.

Women’s rights have experienced a major setback as Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, and women’s health and rights have been greatly affected. The decision erased nearly 50 years of legal precedent, returning authority entirely to individual states to restrict or ban abortion. It seems that SCOTUS has become a bastion of extreme right wing rulings as they bow to the President and his DOJ. Women need to go to the polls in numbers that are of epic proportions so that their rights can be restored. SCOTUS has recently gone rogue again, as the Court decided to give the President a chance to rig the elections from the inside. The lower court injunction that blocked the Executive order of DJT to restrict mail in ballots was lifted by the Roberts court ruling (6-3), in an unsigned opinion.

The majority said the states challenging the order had brought their lawsuit too early. The order directed federal agencies to develop systems identifying eligible voters and instructed the U.S. Postal Service to establish rules concerning the delivery of mail-in ballots. The administration argues that these measures are about election security and ensuring that only eligible voters receive ballots. But critics, including states, voting-rights organizations and election officials, argue that the president is attempting to exert federal control over an area traditionally administered by the states. It greatly affects older voters, people with disabilities, people who work long hours, military and overseas voters, rural residents and people who may have difficulty getting to a polling place on Election Day.

For many Americans, voting by mail isn’t simply a convenience. It is the way they are able to participate in democracy. The ruling was not final, as the majority concluded that the states had challenged the federal government’s actions before the relevant rules had been finalized. In other words, the Court essentially said: Come back when there is a final rule that can actually be challenged. Voting is not just a procedure. It is a form of civic participation and it is a form of empowerment. And ultimately, it is one of the ways we determine what kind of society we want to live in.

So as usual, there was so much to cover with George Polisner, founder of Civ.works who joined us on the podcast. He is our curmudgeon in chief, political analyst, and environmental activist. We delved into Election Subversion, as SCOTUS strikes again, this time regarding restricting mail-in voting. We also talked about Liberal tears, fires affecting Reno, Nevada, wild horses being dragged away from land where they roam free, and much more.

For more information go to: https://civ.works/ and https://civixthread.com/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

We Can’t Back Down & We Won’t Back Down, plus Maxine’s Birthday Astrology Chart Reading by Charlotte Ghiorse

I have Mars in Sagittarius, can I get rid of clutter? Why did I ask for a reading? Should I have a Tarot reading next?

On this episode of TMSOG we start off with the Tom Petty song I Won’t Back Down. The song was released in 1989 on Petty’s solo album Full Moon Fever. The artist told interviewers that people would come up to him all the time, or would write to him, sharing stories of how this song, with its plainspoken message of resilience and empowerment helped steer them through difficult times.

So we must stand our ground on many issues. When environmental and political challenges seem overwhelming, it helps to remember that we are not the first generation to face seemingly impossible obstacles. Environmental leaders have spent their lives reminding us that hope isn’t passive. Hope is something we put into action. The same holds true in the political arena. Activism is key on issues affecting the environment, social justice, democracy, being a responsible citizen and not backing down.

There are moments when standing up for what is right can feel exhausting. Many times people are told that their voice doesn’t matter and that change is impossible. You may be pressured to compromise but don’t give up, as the principle you are fighting for is more than worth your attention.. So, what does not backing down look like in everyday life? It means refusing to yield, quit, or surrender when you face pressure, fear, opposition, or hard times. It is about holding your ground for your personal values, goals, or rights instead of running away. Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, and her quiet steadfast defiance sparked the Montgomery bus boycott which was a defining moment in the American Civil Rights movement. John Lewis continually got into good trouble, but got his head cracked open when peacefully protesting for civil rights while walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama. In 2025 into 2026, the citizens of Minneapolis and other towns in Minnesota did not back down when ICE invaded their cities and harassed and shot immigrants and activists. E.Jean Carroll did not back down when she stood up to DJT and sued him for sexual assault and won. ABC recently decided to sue the FCC over First Amendment rights to keep their TV licenses. People are standing up to stop AI data centers from destroying land and polluting the air and water in the areas where they live and work. Millions of people did not back down and showed unity during the No Kings rallies.

Despite pushback and reductions in funding, scientists and engineers are still working on ways to improve life in areas of medicine, and we recently learned that there could be a cure for certain cancers using the mRNA messenger vaccine, which would indeed be a miracle. We need millions of voices to rise up and not back down. I believe that the good people out number the bad, and we must take to the streets daily. We must vote in the midterm elections in numbers never seen before. We must call and write elected officials and tell them what’s on our minds. We must make sure people are registered to vote. We must be proactive to conserve the land and be good stewards of the Earth. But most of all, we need to listen to each other, be kind to each other and respect each other. On this week’s podcast we discuss the need to stand up and not back down, and we talk about environmental innovations, my birthday astrology chart and more with friend of the podcast, Charlotte Ghiorse, who is our resident eco activist, artist, writer, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of ChoCLet. For more info go to: https://www.houseofchoclet.com/ and Sexy Astrology on Facebook. Also check out Bad Music for Bad People ACT 1 and ACT 2

ACT 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pYwoj01lfA&t=923s

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

The Spirit of Doves with Poet, Artist Attorney and Renaissance Woman Susan L. Pollet

We start off the TMSOG podcast with the song When Doves Cry, which was written by Prince for the film Purple Rain in 1984 and it was his first Billboard number 1 single. Prince used doves as a metaphor in that a dove in distress or crying represents the violent shattering of peace. Doves are a universal symbol of peace and Prince’s lyrics refer to his parents differences and not getting along. He states:

Maybe I’m just like my father, too bold

Maybe you’re just like my mother

She’s never satisfied

Why do we scream at each other

This is what it sounds like when doves cry

By using doves as a symbol, was Prince hoping that his parents could work things out?

We need connectedness and peace more than ever, as we live in a world which is teetering on the brink of moral and ethical collapse. Wars continue to be fought between countries and the environment is being decimated by human behavior. While I truly believe that most people want to do good things, it seems like the evil empire is holding us hostage, and we need to fight the powers that be who are bent on destroying the earth so they can rule the world. We don’t want war, we want peace, clean air, clean water, untainted food, good medical care, a living wage and a better life for our children. We need to take a stand and fight for our rights, and so we bring out our symbols to try to counter the madness. While those who resist and protest dress up as frogs or unicorns, the ultimate symbol of peace are doves. Doves are gentle, quiet, and non-aggressive. The nature of doves makes them a natural visual metaphor for harmony. Ancient Mediterranean cultures used harvested olive branches as an offering to signal peaceful intent to end hostilities. The white dove carrying an olive branch is a universal symbol of peace and renewal, deeply rooted in ancient traditions, biblical stories and modern art popularized by Pablo Picasso. With the world in dire need of peace, we are lucky to have poets, artists and musicians to help us get through tough times, and fill our need for joy. I am delighted to have Susan Pollet on this episode to talk about the relationship between poetry and art and how these two forms of creativity speak to each other, inspire each other, and connect in many ways. Susan is a poet, an artist, published author and an attorney. Her poetry and artwork have been featured in many publications, and she created the cover art for her latest poetry collection, Deep Diving. Other recent collections are Managerie of Musings, Palpable Ponderings and Susiku And More which was her first collection of poetry. In addition to writing poetry, Susan is an attorney who has practiced law for for over 40 years, primarily in the area of family law. She has published over 60 articles on a variety of legal topics. Susan is a published author, poet and artist, and truly is a Renaissance woman. So let’s read some poems and explore the mindset of my friend Susan Pollet. Check out her poem The Spirit of Doves and others by going to https://susanpollet.com/ and https://susanpollet.substack.com/

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org / www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/ and learn more about civics at https://civ.works/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!

Fireflies, Lightening Bugs, Glow Worms with Victoria Alzapiedi

The song for this episode is Glow Worm by The Mills Brothers. “The Glow-Worm” is a lighthearted, romantic metaphor about love and guidance in the dark. Rather than a deep philosophical statement, the lyrics use the glowing bug as a friendly lantern that helps lovers find their path when the night is dark and “love’s sweet voice is calling.” The Glow-Worm is a song from Paul Lincke’s 1902 operetta Lysistrata, with German lyrics by Heinz Bolten-Backers. It was originally translated into English by Lilla Cayley Robinson, in the early 20th century, and was used in the 1907 Broadway musical The Girl Behind The Counter.

I remember as a kid, having shear delight in chasing fireflies. My childlike wonder rose up when they lit up near the trees in the early evening and the absolute joy that it brought. My friends and I would try to catch them and put them in jars, which in hindsight was not the best way to treat fireflies. In keeping with that childlike wonder, I look at my lawn and forest today and I do not see fireflies in the numbers I used to see them. Their population is dwindling, and I can’t help feeling saddened and mortified that we are killing off this amazing species. More people are using pesticides, which is a major factor in the dwindling population. Fireflies are beetles, not flies, and pesticides are designed to kill beetles and other insects. These pesticides can harm fireflies over time, or kill them outright. The chemicals are targeted towards snails, slugs, and worms which are all favored food sources of hungry baby fireflies. If you want to keep fireflies around, you’ll need to learn to live with their prey populations and eliminate use of herbicides which can damage fireflies, slugs, and snail habitat by killing the plants they use for shelter. Also, as I previously mentioned, I want to reiterate that while kids and adults playfully catch fireflies and put them in jars, that is actually detrimental to their wellbeing. If you see them, try to video them, and watch them skirt around the lawn and forest areas, and take joy in their bioluminescence. On this episode of TMSOG we talk about fireflies and ways to be more sustainable and proactive in growing your garden. Our resident gardener, conservationist, and activist Victoria Alzapiedi joins us and gives us great info on fireflies and other helpful tips as the summer winds down and we head to Fall. Victoria is a co-founder of New Castle Healthy Yards, and is the chair of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board, as well as a member of the Westchester Climate Smart Communities Task Force. She is also a member of Friends of Buttonhook, which is working to save a 20.3 acre forrest in the Town of New Castle. In addition, she is the co-founder of the New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition, and started the Facebook group “The Nature of Westchester” an active community of nature lovers which now has more than 5000 members. Victoria is also a Native plant gardening consultant and coach providing eco-friendly planting recommendations .https://www.mynativegardenoasis.com/. For more info go to https://action.nrdc.org/ https://www.xerces.org/ Check out Healthy Yards and The Nature of Westchester on Facebook.

To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to: https://www.aclu.org / www.brennancenter.org/ https://libertyjusticecenter.org/

To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org Help save a forest by going to https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ https://malcolmpresents.com and https://themanyshadesofgreen.com/

A big shout out to Neil for all his engineering wizardry!