Politics – The Many Shades of Green

The Fools on “The Hill” with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

Opening Song: The Fool on the Hill by The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney but attributed to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo, appearing in their 1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour. The song has different interpretations, but for me, it describes a person who sees what he wants to see, and lives in a bubble, as he differentiates himself from the world at large, and stays within his own circle.

Day after Day, alone on a hill.

The man with a foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.

But nobody wants to know him.

They can see that he’s just a fool,

And he doesn’t give an answer!

But the Fool on the hill sees the sun going down,

and the eyes in his head see the world spinning round!

The fool on the hill could be a single person or perhaps there are many fools on the hill. It is interesting to note that the term “The Hill” is used as a nickname for Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. where the U.S. Congress meets. Getting Congress to do its job has not been an easy task, as the current Speaker of the House has constantly put Congress in recess and nothing of substance seems to be getting done. The institution was designed to debate, compromise, and pass laws that address the nation’s problems. But increasingly, Americans are watching something else unfold. The House of Representatives through October 2025 had only met and voted on 87 days. They broke for holidays in November and December, which led to little being accomplished. There are fools on The Hill, and the song is quite apropos, as to the current workings of our representatives in the House and Senate, as they are not doing their jobs. There is a growing frustration with what many Americans are calling a “do-nothing Congress” which is now comprised of fools, as the members seem to be detached from reality. In these difficult times it is hard not to think about the song when looking at what is happening on The Hill-Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
While the country faces real challenges, war, rising costs, climate disasters, political division, infrastructure needs, pedophiles and global instability, the people elected to govern often appear locked in a different game entirely. A game of messaging, fundraising, and partisan theater. Citizens of the U.S. do not want war. What happened to the President’s promise of no wars and affordability so that we can all live a decent life? We want action on climate resilience, action on healthcare costs, action on housing shortages, action on immigration reform and the return of decency, empathy and morality.
On this episode of TMSOG we talk with George Polisner. George is our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and is the founder of Civ.works. He gives us information regarding what’s happening or not happening on The Hill. We delve into how increased renewable energy could have staved off the dependence of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. We will also talk about Cuba, the lifting of Russian sanctions and more. For additional information go to https://civ.works/defend

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 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 Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Are We Living In A Cartoon?

South Park Theme Song (Opens the program)

I’m goin’ down to South Park, gonna have myself a time.

Friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation.

Goin’ down to South Park, gonna leave my woes behind.

Ample parking day or night, people spouting: “Howdy, neighbor!”

Headin’ on up to South Park gonna see if I can’t unwind.

Has any series ever had a more fitting theme song than “South Park”? The “South Park Theme” by funk metal group Primus, later reworked by projects led by Les Claypool, is a twanging, frenetic jingle that quite deliberately fails to convince the viewer that its monotone lyrics about the titular small town’s idyllic nature hit their mark. It’s a perfect way to set the stage for the absurdities that invariably follow. The whole thing was carefully planned out and arranged, but as “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone said back in 2010, “the whole thing took just one incredibly lucky cold call to pull off. “

So the question is, are we living in a cartoon?

In a cartoon, characters exaggerate everything: emotions, reactions, conflicts. Sometimes I feel that we are living in an episode of South Park which just keeps rotating day in and day out, sort of like the plot in the movie Groundhog Day. If you’ve ever watched South Park, you know the formula. Something ridiculous happens in the news. The characters react in completely over-the-top ways. Everyone argues, chaos spreads, hypocrisy gets exposed, and by the end of the episode you’re laughing… but also slightly uncomfortable because the satire feels a little too real. The creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, built their reputation on one simple idea: take the most outrageous thing happening in society and push it just a little further until the absurdity becomes obvious. At its core, animation is a form of storytelling, and stories are an essential part of the human experience. From the earliest days of human history, people have used stories to make sense of the world around them, pass on knowledge and wisdom, and connect with others.

Animation takes this storytelling to a new level, using visuals and sound to create a rich and immersive experience that can transport us to new places and introduce us to new characters.

In a cartoon, a character falls off a cliff and pops back up unharmed, in real life, when systems break, people get hurt. In the current moment in the United States, sometimes reality seems to be moving faster than the satire. It feels like we are living in an alternate universe and we are being governed by what resembles a reality show. Even if politics feels like a cartoon, the consequences are very real. Policies affect healthcare, schools, immigration, climate policy, and civil rights. Trust in elections are declining, environmental protections are being dismantled and economic inequality is widening. We are now at war with Iran, and we have not received a credible explanation as to why. Every day there is chaos and people are suffering and are stressed. Prices for oil, gas, food, rent and more are rising daily, and we the people are not being heard. When will the madness end? It’s no wonder that Americans are moving to Europe and other places globally, but we need to stay and we must continue to fight, protest, and bring our collective will together to fix this mess. Actions speak louder than words, and we need to take action, so in the words of Bob Marley, “Get up stand up, stand Up For Your Rights!“

On this episode of TMSOG podcast, Charlotte Ghiorse joins me as we delve into the question: are we living in a cartoon? Charlotte is our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Choclet. We talk about the environmentally conscious ten your old fashion designer Max Alexander, and what he is doing to reduce fashion waste. We also touch on politics, astrology, eco and social issues and more. For more info about Charlotte, House of Choclet and Sexy Astrology go to https://www.houseofchoclet.com

For more information on civic action go to https://civ.works/ 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/

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

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Keep Hope Alive, We Are NOT Afraid with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.works

This week’s TMSOG podcast opens with a beautiful rendition of We Shall Overcome performed by the Morehouse College Glee Club

We Shall Overcome and other protest songs provided the soundtrack to the Civil Rights Movement. The period saw the U.S. confront one of the most complex and controversial issues in its history-race relations. The origins of the song are unclear, as it was thought to have descended from “I’ll Overcome Some Day,” a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley, while the modern version of the song was first said to have been sung by tobacco workers led by Lucille Simmons during the 1945-1946 Charleston Cigar Factory Strike in Charleston, South Carolina. The most famous version is the Pete Seeger rendition. In August 1963, 22-year old folksinger Joan Baez, led thousands of people in singing “We Shall Overcome” at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, where the famous “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reverend Jesse Jackson was part of the inner circle of Dr. King and was in attendance. Reverend Jackson recently passed away at the age of 84, and he always stood up for social justice and was a powerful voice for civil rights, voting rights, labor protections, anti-poverty initiatives, and peace. His speeches, organizing strategies, and coalition-building fundamentally shaped modern progressive politics.

Reverend Jackson said: “Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive.”

I grew up in the 1960s and 70s and lived through and felt the pain of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the Civil Rights riots and uprisings between 1964 and 1969 in New York, Newark, LA, Detroit, Chicago and other cities across the US. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated two months apart in 1968. Protestors filled the streets in opposition to the Vietnam War. Police brutality, systematic racism and inequality impacted American life, and citizens were on edge, as chaos reigned throughout the nation. While there were peaceful demonstrations, there was also intense civil unrest. During the “Long, Hot Summer of 1967,” more than 150 race riots erupted in cities across the country — fueled by deep frustration over police brutality, segregation, poverty, and systemic inequality. Flash forward to this current moment in history and we are again in perilous times, as democracy is being dismantled from within. In early 2026, Minnesota became a focal point for protests tied to federal immigration enforcement actions undertaken by Operation Metro Surge, where a significant number of federal agents by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been deployed. Outrage grew especially after fatal shootings and the use of force on immigrants and US citizens. These actions ignited statewide demonstrations, general strikes, and large public mobilizations calling for ICE to leave Minnesota and for accountability. In Minneapolis, tens of thousands of people participated in protests and a coordinated “shutdown” to oppose aggressive immigration raids and demand policy changes. People have the power and are standing up and are becoming leaders, as actual leaders seem to be MIA. Past leaders like the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as John Lewis, who spoke of the need to cause good trouble, have left a void which has not been filled. There is a leadership vacuum, and as our young nation enters its 250th year, we are underestimating the danger of the current administration’s autocratic behavior. What can we do to get the nation back on course? Will we overcome some day?

George Polisner joins us on this episode of TMSOG podcast. George is our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, and is the founder of Civ.works. He gives us information regarding the EPA eliminating core climate protection, Reverend Jesse Jackson’s passing, CBS and the FCC pressuring Stephen Colbert regarding the Equal Time Rule, plus the death of The Washington Post, the Orwellian “Board of Peace” and more. For more information go to https://civ.works/defend

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 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/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

What Say the EPA About What Your Life is Worth, plus Green Day says “Know Your Enemy” with George Polisner Founder of Civ.works

The song Know Your Enemy by Green Day which was released in 2009, is about questioning authority, societal control, self-destructive tendencies, and encouraging listeners to identify the real sources of oppression, whether external (government, elites) or internal (personal beliefs, bad habits).
Green Day has many successful titles including American Idiot, and they will be the opening act for Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl halftime show. I cannot wait to see what Green Day has in store for us. It’s going to be an epic ride!

Do we know who the enemy is now? The state of Minnesota, which has far less immigrants than Texas and Florida now seems to be the enemy of the current administration, and Federal troops might be sent to the state to quell the current protests which are peaceful. ICE is using tactics to intimidate the populace of Minneapolis and St.Paul, two cities with peaceful residents trying not to be dragged out of their cars, homes, and taken from their schools. Many of those taken into custody are American citizens with no criminal records and who are legal citizens. We are now told by ICE via the Department of Homeland Security to “carry” our papers. Check out the history of Germany in the 1930s and you will see the similarities to today’s USA. This isn’t dysfunction, it’s political choice, and it’s a nightmare. ICE continues operating with enormous budgets, limited oversight, minimal accountability, and devastating human consequences. Where is Congress, where is the Supreme Court, where is the Press, and where are the checks and balances? Who is going to uphold the Constitution to stop the madness? On this episode of TMSOG our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, joins us and gives us some insight into the why checks and balances are not working, as well as why the EPA is rolling back regulations and has determined that the value of a life is zero. Why has Congress not stopped the current administration from dismantling democracy? The powers that be are truly intent on destroying life as we know it, using violence while they disregard the law. Who is really is the enemy and who is really in charge? Who is pulling the puppet strings?

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

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Courage and High Hopes with Yolanda Nava, Tina Flores and George Polisner

This week’s podcast started with the song “High Hopes” sung by Frank Sinatra, which is an anthem about optimism, perseverance, and overcoming impossible odds by believing in yourself. The song ends with the phrase “Oops, there goes another problem, ker-plop.” It became a signature tune for its uplifting message, and was even adopted by John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Some of the lyrics are about overcoming obstacles which represent challenges that seem insurmountable but are overcome with “high hopes”. The tune encourages listeners to not give up when things seem impossible and for people to have a positive “can-do” attitude.

I started the New Year with high hopes, only to have those hopes dashed by the current regime starting a war with Venezuela, thus continuing the chaos of 2025. Hope seems elusive now, but it is crucial that we continue to fight and resist. I don’t have high apple pie in the sky hopes, as the song lyric says, but again, we cannot give up, as there are more of us. So where can we find hope? Is it something that is achievable in these difficult times? There are good things happening, but it is mostly under the radar, as mainstream media has been reduced to regurgitating the lies and misinformation being planted in the press daily. On the environmental front, 2025 marked the first year in which renewable energy generated more electricity than coal. Regarding social justice issues, people are mobilizing and taking to the streets to protest the demise of democracy and to protect their civil rights.

People are mobilizing by staying informed, by showing up to local meetings, school boards and town halls. We must support independent journalists, organizers, and watchdog groups and call our representatives—and not just during election season. Our right to protest must be protected. Democracy must remain participatory—or it disappears. We must unite and use our power as citizens. So it’s good to see that millions of people are taking to the streets to protest war, ICE and the rise of fascism. We must continue to raise our voices, protect one another and fight for truth, justice and our fundamental rights under the Constitution. We need to continue to find space for hope, as we cannot let fear overtake us. Yolanda Nava, Tina Flores and George Polisner give us great information, stories, life experience and wisdom on social justice, environmental issues and more.

For more information go to https://civ.works/ 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/

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/ and https://malcolmpresents.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 Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Stand By Me, Stand by Us, plus The Hoax Economy and Who’s Gonna Stop Me (Him?) with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

The song Stand By Me was originally performed in 1961 by singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called “Stand by Me Father”, recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead.

“Stand by Me” was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me, which was directed by the late Rob Reiner. The corresponding music video, featured Ben E King along with actors River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton, was used to promote the film. The lyrics are apropos to where we are today, a world that is beautiful, yet broken. I refer to the specific lyric: “if the sky that we look upon, should tumble and fall or the mountains should crumble to the sea, I won’t cry I won’t cry, no I won’t shed a tear, just as long as you stand, stand by me.” We all feel like crying, as the world as we know it is in free fall, and we are all shedding tears of sadness and outrage. I have not slept well in days, as the news cycle is truly breaking my heart (literally), as well as the hearts of millions of people who are experiencing what seems like the demise of goodness, as the uprise of evil has taken hold. We have to follow the lead of Rob Reiner, who fought for a better world, and encouraged people to take action. He said in October 2025 about the US that “We have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy and democracy completely leaves us.” Reiner continued to say that “We have to make the public absolutely aware that their democracy is being taken from them, and we have to do everything we can to make people understand that … if they lose that democracy, all of these [First Amendment rights] will be taken away from them.” We must stand by Rob Reiner’s words, and we must stand by each other and take our country and the world back. Our guest this week on TMSOG is our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works. George gives us some insight into climate news about AI data centers and Montana Youth lawsuit, plus the affordability “hoax”, immigration, the GOPs lack of a spine and more. For more information go to https://civ.works/

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://www.democracydocket.com/

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

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

The Worlds Gone Wrong with George Polisner Founder of Civ.Works

The phrase “the world’s gone wrong” is the title song from Lucinda Williams’ most recent album of the same name, and it refers to the turbulent socio-political landscape of modern America, reflecting division and hardship. The meaning is a call for resilience and strength in a world that feels chaotic and challenging. The title track which was played on this episode of TMSOG, specifically addresses the plight of the working class. There are so many issues to deal with and as the holidays near, how are we going to get through without having a nervous breakdown? Thanksgiving is a holiday built on gratitude, togetherness and reflection. It is very hard right now to focus on the goodness around us, as chaos is reigning in America from sea to shining sea. Economic pressures, political polarization and personal challenges seem to put a damper on the holiday spirit. We have a lot to think about during these trying times and we are experiencing a high toll on our mental health. We are all anxious, exhausted and on edge, as we deal with the fear of how every decision of the Executive branch, the Federal and State government, and the Supreme Court will impact our daily lives. We worry about the affordability of food, housing, and all basic needs. There are thousands of layoffs, and people are worrying if they will have job in the new year. Will there be a war with Venezuela, and how will extreme storms due to climate change affect us? How do we deal with ICE and the mistreatment of immigrants as well as American citizens? Can we trust anything the courts or government does? Maybe we can hit a pause button on the world gone wrong. Perhaps we can sit around the table on Thanksgiving and take a moment to breathe and regroup, and remember the parts of life that are still steady and meaningful. On this week’s podcast our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, gives us some insight into what is going wrong in America. We touch on the status of COP30 Climate Conference, the affordability of basic needs, women journalists standing up and doing their job, and so much more. For additional info go to https://civ.works

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

If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://www.preservebuttonhook.org/

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Save the Planet: Eat Less Meat, Boring Tunnels, COP30 and Astrology with Charlotte Ghiorse

The tune Mother Nature’s Son is about a deep, simple connection to nature, written by Paul McCartney with inspiration from his childhood love for the countryside and a lecture by the Maharishi.

Paul is a vegetarian and is very outspoken on the affect that raising meat and eating meat is having on the planet. He adopted the lifestyle for compassionate and ethical reasons and worked on the Best Free Monday campaign. Paul and his late wife Linda McCartney stopped eating meat in 1975 after watching lambs play outside their farm while they were eating lamb chops, which appeared to be quite the conundrum indeed. After that experience, Paul said that he would never go back to eating meat.

Paul McCartney stated that serving meat at a climate conference is like “handing out cigarettes at a cancer-prevention conference”. He issued this statement in a letter to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) organizers, urging them to make the event’s menu entirely vegetarian to align it with its mission to combat the climate crisis. His letter, shared by PETA, highlighted the significant environmental impact of the meat industry. The food we consume has an impact on the climate, as what we grow, how we grow it, what chemicals and fertilizers enter the foods we eat, and the methane that is produced by cattle are all having a detrimental impact on the climate and our well being.

According to a recent Associated Press article, about 15 million deaths could be avoided each year and agricultural emissions could drop by 15% if people worldwide shift to healthier, predominantly plant-based diets, The EAT-Lancet Commmission brought together scientists worldwide to review the latest data on food’s role in human health, climate change, biodiversity and people’s working and living conditions. Their conclusion was that without substantial changes to the food system, the worst effects of climate change will be unavoidable, even if humans successfully switch to cleaner energy. “If we do not transition away from the unsustainable food path we’re on today, we will fail on the climate agenda. We will fail on the biodiversity agenda. We will fail on food security. We’ll fail on so many pathways,” said study co-author Johan Rockström, who leads the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. We are what we eat, and we need to start to consider how our food is grown. Meatless Monday is a good starting point for a more plant based diet. We must consider our own health as well as the health of Mother Earth. On this episode of TMSOG podcast, we delve into the effects of climate change on the food system and the need to reduce meat consumption. We also discuss COP30, Boring Tunnels in Nevada, some Astrology, and other issues with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.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://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ To help protect the environment visit and please donate to https://earthjustice.org

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Burning Down the House with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.Works

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and the two houses that I grew up in, which were down the block from each other, were taken down by a wrecking ball and bulldozed. I had a great childhood, and it was terrific growing up on that block with a diverse group of friends from other nations and those born in Brooklyn. I witnessed the razing of my first house, which had a cherry tree in the back yard and an apple tree hanging over our property from a neighboring house. My mom had a garden and it was fun to play outside. It was a small house but it had history. My musical brothers, Phil and Mitch, who founded the singing group The Tokens, famous from the iconic tune, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, rocked the house into the wee hours and it was constantly filled with music. In my 8 year old mind, my house was a landmark, but a developer entered the picture and dangled some cash in front of my dad and the owners of the other six homes nearby. Plans for a large apartment building were put into place, as money usually talks. I was too young to be part of any decision, but my soul was crushed at the thought of moving somewhere else. My dad eventually capitulated to the sale, but to his credit he was the last holdout. I cried when I saw the wrecking ball knock it down, as I knew I would never enjoy that home again, but I did have the memories. A similar fate came to my second home, but that was after I had already moved out and was in college. I didn’t know the house was gone until I was about to drive by, with my mom in tow, as we had planned to visit the old Ocean Parkway neighborhood. Upon passing by for a look, the house, as well as four others, were gone, and a new four story apartment building stood in their place. My mom cried as we drove by, and I understood her pain. Nothing lasts forever! With my second childhood home razed, I thought about the time spent with my family in that house. I remembered the music, my mom cooking dinner in the middle of the night for my brothers who came home late from their gigs, the sleepovers, the smell of my dad’s cherry pipe tobacco, my brother Mitch’s man cave in the basement, the parties, the holidays, and so much more. Both homes were not grandiose, but they were very special me. I cannot obviously compare them to the White House, but seeing what is happening now, with the demolition of the entire East Wing to put up a ballroom, or perhaps build a new golden bunker, makes me want to cry. The White House is the peoples’ house, and it makes me sad to see it wounded. Its dismantling is akin to the citizenry losing their home, America’s home. There is so much being thrown at the citizens of the United States now, but we are standing strong, as evidenced by the high turnout at the recent rallies on No Kings Day. Over 7 million people attended the rallies in the US and many countries worldwide came out in support, yet mainstream media didn’t think it was high enough on the newsworthy scale and under reported the event. Those of us with morality, humanity and common sense are feeling mental anguish by the daily chaos and corruption. What is the end game and what do we need to do to get our country back? Will we make it home again?

On this week’s podcast we have our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, to give us some insight into the free fall of America into authoritarianism, the demise of the East Wing, and the daily dismantling of democracy. The powers that be are truly Burning Down the House and torching America. For more information go to https://civ.works/ 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/

Also please support https://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Dancing Frogs and Musical Mushrooms with Charlotte Ghiorse

“I’ve lived 82 years on this earth, and this is the first time ever I’ve witnessed people delighting in the suffering of others so openly, so proudly, and even recording it for the world to see.” Mick Jagger

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Jagger and Richards 1969)

And I went down to the demonstration

To get my fair share of abuse

Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration

If we don’t we’re gonna blow a fifty-amp fuse”

Sing it to me, honey

You can’t always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find

You get what you need

The Rolling Stones got it right, and the words and music of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger written back in 1969 reflect how I have been feeling of late. The state of things are, to say the least, quite depressing, but there are cracks in the wall that might eventually turn things around. I think people are energized and are fighting back. There are hundreds of No Kings rallies set for this coming Saturday 10.18.25 (go to nokings.org for more info), not only in the US, but worldwide, as people in foreign countries are supporting those in America who are peacefully protesting. We are at an inflection point, and it seems clear that things have to change, and a new scenario has to be put into place, because what we have now is not working. Yes, the Rolling Stones put it best, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.” We need to take action and I am asking our listeners to be proactive, and to dump the tea into the harbor, as we are not a nation of Kings! On this week’s episode we delve into politics a bit and we talk about topics that affect us. Micro plastics are in our bodies and we have to reduce single use plastic. Behavioral + small interventions (boiling water, avoiding plastic packaging / utensils, using natural fiber clothing) are helpful, especially while larger systems scale up. We also touch on nuclear waste being dumped into the Hudson River, plus musical mushrooms, October Astrology and more. We delve into these subjects with our resident eco activist, artist, astrologer, comic, marvelous mom and founder of House of Chochlet, Charlotte Ghiorse. For more info about Charlotte go to https://www.houseofchoclet.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://www.democracydocket.com/ and if you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Raindrops, Redford and Resistance with George Polisner, Founder of Civ.works and special guests Yolanda Nava and Tina Flores

We open this episode of TMSOG with the song Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head sung by B.T. Thomas which was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

Redford and Newman both epitomized the human spirit and stressed the importance of giving back by taking action to make things better. We recently lost Robert Redford. He was an amazing actor, director, conservationist and family man. He starred in such films as All The Presidents Men, The Candidate, The Way We Were, and he won an Oscar for directing Ordinary People. Robert Redford was an environmentalist, and he worked in concert with the NRDC to fight for the land. He also started the Sundance Film Festival which helped keep Independent film alive. He was greatly loved and admired and he will be missed.
We are losing our freedoms on a daily basis. So where do we go and what do we do? Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head uses the metaphor of raindrops to represent life’s challenges and struggles, but it also emphasizes that one needs to remain positive and believe that happiness is on its way. The lyrics go on to suggest a realization that complaining won’t stop the rain, and instead, one must “take action” or “take the initiative” to move life in the desired direction. The song can also be interpreted as promoting freedom and the idea that as long as one is free, everything is okay. In today’s world we are facing very difficult times and the rain drops seem more like Oobleck, as in the children’s book Bartholomew and the Oobleck written by Dr. Theodor Geisel, a/k/a Dr. Seuss. In that book the king is bored with normal weather, (is there such a thing as normal weather today?) and orders his magicians to create a new kind of precipitation. They conjure up Oobleck, a sticky, green goo (similar to Nickelodeon’s Green Slime) that falls and quickly wreaks havoc, causing the entire kingdom to become covered and immobilized. Young Bartholomew is the king’s page, and he is the only one not stuck in the green muck. He has to get the king to apologize to break the magicians spell. Bartholomew eventually convinces the king to apologize for his greedy desire for a new type of precipitation, and the king’s apology causes the Oobleck to melt away, and he learns to appreciate the simple, natural weather. Right now we are dealing with a wannabe king who has no capacity for apologies or being a leader for ALL the people of the USA. He believes climate change is a hoax and has reduced staff at the NOAA, FEMA, the EPA and other agencies that do research and follow weather patterns, hurricanes and other extreme weather. In these challenging times we need to resist, take action and work to save the Republic for which we stand! We are joined on this episode by our resident political analyst, environmentalist and curmudgeon, George Polisner, founder of Civ.works, to give us some insight into the free fall of democracy in the US and the globe. We also welcome Yolanda Nava and Tina Flores, as they will be doing a new TMSOG monthly program with a focus on activism, community organizing and climate, and the historic importance of diversity. So let’s walk between the raindrops, stay away from the Oobleck and activate our eco and social consciousness. Go to Civ.works for more info.

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/ and

https://www.democracydocket.com/ If you want to take more effective civic action visit https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org and https://www.nrdc.org/

To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com as well as 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 Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.

Liberty and Justice for Some and The Shadow Docket

Liberty and Justice for Some song by Mitch Margo (2000)

Spin a little spin, stay the truth to win

Suddenly it’s become liberty and justice for some

Forget Election Day, it’s equal protection day

We don’t have to vote at all

The Supreme Court will handle the call

Those wise old owls in their treehouse

changed the course of history

Though there’s a song for every bird

Some of them will not be heard

The Liberty Bell has lost its ring

my voice don’t mean a thing

It only takes a 5-4 swing

Liberty and Justice for some

How can I trust a man

who doesn’t seem understand

that there is something inherently dumb

about liberty and justice for some

Mitch wrote that song after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida vote recount in 2000. Remember the hanging chads! The song was Mitch’s commentary on the election system, and he must have had a vision into the future, as our election process continues to be a sh*t show 25 years later. The landmark Bush v. Gore case centered on a dispute over the vote count in Florida, which was critical to determining the winner of the Electoral College and, ultimately, the presidency. It was a highly controversial decision, sparking accusations of political partisanship and raising debates about the role of the judiciary in political processes. It brought to light flaws in the U.S. election system, particularly concerning the inconsistent application of voting standards and the potential for narrow margins to create electoral uncertainty. The decision underscored the complexities of federalism and the interplay between state and federal courts in matters of election law. So here we are again, but in a different circumstance, as the head of the current regime has demanded that the electoral maps in Texas be redrawn in order to give the GOP advantage in the 2026 midterm elections. The Texas legislature was successful in their gerrymandering efforts, and as of now, the GOP has a 5 seat advantage in Congress. I am fairly certain that the Supreme Court will be getting another election case in the not too distant future, and it will politicize voter rights.

There is clearly executive overreach and checks and balances have been diminished, as both the US Congress and the Supreme Court are rubber stamping the Executive orders of the President. We are already in a Constitutional crisis and these actions will affect our democracy for generations to come. The Supreme Court is especially aiding executive overreach as it is making decisions with virtually no case law backing those orders. In an article about the SCOTUS Shadow Docket by The Brennan Center dated July 2022, Harry Black and Alicia Bannon explained that the conservative justices are increasingly using a secretive process to issue consequential decisions.

Controversial uses of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket makes it quite clear that the justices are willing to use this previously obscure procedural mechanism in ways that their predecessors did not. For better or for worse, the shadow docket is now a significant part of Supreme Court jurisprudence. The Brennan Center explainer notes that shadow docket cases “typically do not receive extensive briefing or a hearing. The decisions are accompanied by little to no explanation and often lack clarity on which justices are in the majority or minority. They are sometimes released in the middle of the night, creating a sense of palace intrigue.” This is why SCOTUS has now gone rogue, as it no longer seems to be one of the checks on the Executive branch as was intended by the framers of the Constitution. Malcolm and I delve into the Shadow Docket, and its destructive path towards the environment and the dismantling of democracy, as both Congress and SCOTUS walk in lock step with the Executive Branch. 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/

To find out how to take actions to heighten your civic duty go to https://civ.works/ Please go to the following organizations to get info and if you can, donate to https://www.ucs.org/ (Union of Concerned Scientists which helps scientists continue their valuable work). If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org/ and World Wildlife Fund: WWF

A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.