The Blue Wave

 

"Pretend I'm on the ballot."

—Donald J. Trump, Fall Midterm Campaign Tour (2026)

Roll Call: The 120th Congress (2027)

Adam Hamilton (Kansas): Senior pastor who became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932.

Deb Haaland (New Mexico): First Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history; 35th-generation New Mexican and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan): Physician and epidemiologist who became the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

Peggy Flanagan (Minnesota): Member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe who became the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

Wes Moore (Maryland): First Black governor of Maryland and second elected Black governor in U.S. history; Rhodes Scholar and combat veteran.

Maura Healey (Massachusetts): First woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person elected governor of Massachusetts.

Chris Pappas (New Hampshire): First openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate.

Annie Andrews (South Carolina): Pediatrician who became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina.

Josh Turek (Iowa): Two-time Paralympic gold medalist who became the first Paralympian elected to the U.S. Senate.

Kathy Hochul (New York): First woman elected governor of New York in the state's 245-year history.

Summer Lee (Pennsylvania): First Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania.

Becca Balint (Vermont): First woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to represent Vermont in Congress.

Geographic & Statehouse Realignments

Kansas: Flipped a long-standing U.S. Senate seat blue for the first time in nearly a century (since 1932).

Michigan: Secured a state trifecta (Governor, Senate, House) while electing the state's first Muslim U.S. Senator.

Arizona & Georgia: Continued long-term realignment by flipping key down-ballot statewide executive offices and securing pivotal judicial seats.

Pennsylvania: Flipped the State House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade, driven by record suburban turnout.

Minnesota: Established a Democratic legislative trifecta, passing landmark civil rights and reproductive freedom legislation.

November 3, 2026

Evening Journal: October 2026

 

Leaves in summer heat
preparing burial robes–
Autumn approaches

10/04/2026

Classic Fall baseball
no Yankees, no Dodgers–
hope springs eternal

10/15/2026

"1415: Strike Drones on Target 
(THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS
WILL DEFINITELY DROP)"

–Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, unsecured group chats, March 2025

"Leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly...To me, 
they're the scum of the earth. In my opinion, 

leakers should be shot." 

–Donald Trump, Arizona Campaign Rally, October 2026

"People need to understand that there's 
serious consequences for these types of things."

–Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on live streaming 
the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, October 2026

10/17/2026

As I finished reading the poem 
the wind reached down 
and turned the page 
and I wondered 
who was reading 
with me

10/18/2026

I never imagined
relentless political ads
could have me looking forward 
to Shen Yun season

10/21/2026

I have no energy
to figure out why
I have no energy–
a nap might help

10/22/2026

This morning
just outside my window
a small sparrow stayed 
to watch the sunrise
and sing me a sad song
about you

– In memory of Randy Lee Odell

10/27/2026

"You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again."

–Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy under Donald Trump, to Vladimir Putin

The Work of a "Humanitarian"

Ukrainian Civilian: ~17,000+ killed; ~54,000+ injured 

Ukrainian Military: ~150,000 killed; ~370,000–475,000 injured 
Russian Civilian: ~1,000+ killed; ~3,000+ injured 
Russian Military: ~450,000–500,000 killed; ~950,000–1,000,000 injured 

10/28/2026

I realize now that voting
is like sending a 'Reply STOP to end' 
to the current White House occupants 
so we don’t hear from them again

10/30/2026

Evening Journal: September 2026

 Jupiter and the Crescent Moon 

"THE MOON IS OURS!"

Donald Trump, Truth Social, 09/06/2026

I imagine the world's Muslim nations 

smiled when viewing Jupiter and the crescent moon 

shining together after the petulant schoolboy 

claimed the moon and stars for his own

09/09/2026

"You know what happens if you don’t vote? 
You go to hell, you know that. 
And I don’t want that to happen to you, 
so please go and vote." 

 Donald Trump, 2026 RNC Midterm Convention, Dallas, Texas

One thing for sure
 about our current President 
is he sure knows his audience
and how to read the room

09/11/2026

Our once great nation
is in its tenth consecutive year 
of being governed by a sundowner 
waving goodbye to reality 

09/12/2026

The spirit told the body
you and I have traveled 
great distances
inside and out

09/15/2026

"The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART 

(High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" 

Donald J. Trump, Truth Social | September 14, 2026

Perhaps we could use AI

to help us identify a candidate for President 

who can focus on solving problems of great urgency 

instead of reminding the world how to spell dumb

09/16/2026

We said thank you sir
when the young gentleman held the door
and were surprised to hear him respond
you’re welcome

To be encouraged by something 
that was once so common
shows us how far we’ve come
and how much we’ve lost

09/20/2026

Morning Haiku

a single sparrow
from his place in the garden
pretends to be King

~~~

thoughts from long ago
hiding slightly out of reach
marking times passage

09/22/2026

"I am the code."

–Donald Trump

"I beg to differ."

–Claude AI

09/25/2026

Poem for Pete

                       

Photo by Bob Hakins

his heartbeat

        our rhythm

his family

        our community

his love

        our love
                                               
his smile

        our smile

his spirit

        our comfort

his gift      

        our reward

his battles

        our hope

his victories

        our joys

his courage

        our caring

his memory

        our dreams



-in memory and celebration of Pete Devine, 2026



Ken Owen
August 2026

Evening Journal: August 2026

 

The House Always Wins

Trading in the financial markets

with insider information

is now completely legal

as long as The Don gets his cut

Trump Media & Technology Group selling early access

to market-moving White House social media posts.

08/01/2026 

“There’s nothing we could do to rein in the president.”

John Cornyn, U.S. Senator, R-TX

“The first step is identifying the problem.”

Bill W., Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous 

08/05/2026

I write poetry for people 
who like me will never feel comfortable
crafting casual conversation using words like
diaspora, zeitgeist, and gestalt

08/06/2026

One of life’s few certainties
regardless of the angle
is you will never get 
all the crumbs out of the toaster

08/07/2026

"Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this 

 in 1621 in order to stop celebrating colonialism.”

Francesca Hong, Wisconsin State Representative, 
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member

A big tent is fine

but it looks like the DNC 

needs a bouncer 

and a red velvet rope

08/17/2026

What good is poetry
if it reads like a locked door
and leaves a clouded mind
fumbling for a key

– respectfully frustrated and inspired by
Philip Lamantia (1927 - 2005)

08/21/2026

“We don’t think that anybody should have the constitutional right to double-digit returns on their investment.”  

Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who lives in a $1.5 million Brooklyn home that his parents bought for him (currently under renovation) 

It seems the work of leaders 
attempting institutional reconstruction
can only be done from white houses 
under domestic reconstruction

08/22/2026

More disappointing than the actions
of the Man Who Would Be King
is the inaction from those 
with the power to remove him

08/25/2026

The joy in discovering poems
so amazingly beautiful and resonant
that you let the morning coffee go cold
without a second thought

with thanks to Audrey for sharing 

the poems of Andrea Gibson (1975–2025)

08/26/2026

An indifferent student as a young man

now an autodidact with a failing memory

I fear my life’s path has me heading 

right back to where I started

08/28/2026

"Tonight we will try to understand why Donald Trump 

hates Canada and respects North Korea."

Jeffrey Goldberg, host of the PBS program 

"Washington Week with The Atlantic"

These days find an alarming number

of strange reports you’d never expected to hear

flying right through your medication

each night at 5:00pm

08/29/2026