Wednesday, March 31, 2004
What Saddam might have intended
We haven't given up the search for WMD in Iraq (just give the inspectors the time they need!), but the focus of the search has shifted. Now, the search teams's leader, Charles Duelfer, says that they are now also looking for evidence that Saddam 'intended' on developing weapons.
And, should we find evidence of 'intent' (3 barrels and 2 warheads of Intended Harm, and a portable Intent lab) that will then secure for the Bush administration a seal of approval from the world. Not that they need it anyway. Saddam was an evil, bad man. Bad Saddam! How dare you use those weapons we so graciously provided you with against us! They were for shooting Persians, not Americans!
Did they say they knew he had WMD? No, no, you must be mistaken. We knew he was intending to build them, AND, he was a really bad guy. We had to go in and take him out. For Iraqis. Give them their oil back. Yep.
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And, should we find evidence of 'intent' (3 barrels and 2 warheads of Intended Harm, and a portable Intent lab) that will then secure for the Bush administration a seal of approval from the world. Not that they need it anyway. Saddam was an evil, bad man. Bad Saddam! How dare you use those weapons we so graciously provided you with against us! They were for shooting Persians, not Americans!
Did they say they knew he had WMD? No, no, you must be mistaken. We knew he was intending to build them, AND, he was a really bad guy. We had to go in and take him out. For Iraqis. Give them their oil back. Yep.
Poem for the Day
#14
Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn,
and moreover my mother told me as a boy
(repeatingly) 'Ever to confess you're bored
means you have no
Inner Resources.' I conclude now I have no
inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
Peoples bore me,
literature bores me, especially great literature,
Henry bores me, with his plights & gripes
as bad as achilles,
who loves people and valiant art, which bores me.
And the tranquil hills, & gin, look like a drag
and somehow a dog
has taken itself & its tail considerably away
into mountains or sea or sky, leaving
behind: me, wag.
~John Berryman, from 77 Dream Songs
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Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn,
and moreover my mother told me as a boy
(repeatingly) 'Ever to confess you're bored
means you have no
Inner Resources.' I conclude now I have no
inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
Peoples bore me,
literature bores me, especially great literature,
Henry bores me, with his plights & gripes
as bad as achilles,
who loves people and valiant art, which bores me.
And the tranquil hills, & gin, look like a drag
and somehow a dog
has taken itself & its tail considerably away
into mountains or sea or sky, leaving
behind: me, wag.
~John Berryman, from 77 Dream Songs
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
"Web users entering the words "miserable failure" into the popular search engine [Google] are directed to the biography of the president on the White House website. " quothe the BBC News World edition. And indeed. Tis true. He has been the most miserable failure we have yet had the humor of witnessing and experiencing.
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Online fun
Since getting back online again full-time I've been having more fun than I can ever remember. There are just so many wild and interesting people out there who are so creative and unique. I've been missing out.
Here's another link, much more interesting than the previous.
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Here's another link, much more interesting than the previous.
Most disheartening
Is the fact that a convicted felon, no matter the felony, can never again vote in an election for public office. The government will still gladly, and forcefully, take their money, but they will not allow them to have a say in their representation, effectively voiding several million Americans from the ballots. Of those, there is a disproportionate percentage of blacks, statistically Democratic votes. Tens of thousands of those were living in FL at the time of the 2000 elections.
Worse, the FL state government began claiming that thousands more blacks were not allowed to vote under the false claims that they too had criminal records. By the time the smoke cleared, sometime in late December, and it was found that several thousand individuals were wrongly kept from voting, the governor's brother had already won the VP's concession. The deception we have come to know and expect from dubya began before he was even sworn in.
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Worse, the FL state government began claiming that thousands more blacks were not allowed to vote under the false claims that they too had criminal records. By the time the smoke cleared, sometime in late December, and it was found that several thousand individuals were wrongly kept from voting, the governor's brother had already won the VP's concession. The deception we have come to know and expect from dubya began before he was even sworn in.
...Continued
...I just wish I could wake from this other dream I had that Jed Bush and Katherine Graham denied 1000s of prisoners their constitutional right to vote in the 2000 election, threw out a few hundred other votes from a district (a democratic stronghold) they claimed sent them in minutes too late (even though the district denies this allegation), and refused and hindered the recounting efforts in certain districts (which also happened to be democratic strongholds) leading to a Dubya victory by a mere 540-something votes--a margin smaller than could've withstood the inclusion of the above-mentioned ballots. God, what a disheartening sueno that was. I just hope it doesn't recur in November. God Bless America (and ONLY America!!!!!)
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Just Browsing
and found this disturbing site; thought I should share. You'll get a kick John.
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To Be Continued...
I just awoke from dream-laden rest. Aaaahhh. Sweet, swirling serotonin. I wish I could remember, revisit, retell the places and faces and feelings that were evoked. I am sure they would reveal motivations, fears, convictions, fantasies, yadda, dadadda, dada, and dali. But quick as garder snakes disappear under weed and brush when encountered, all my beautiful dreams have slithered away. Three movies that will twist your grip on dreams: The Waking Life, Vanilla Sky, Jacob's Ladder. Oooooooo, Ooo OOo OOOo Ooooooooo, I'm lyin in bed, My blanket is warm, This body will never be safe from my harm, I still feel your hair, Black Ribbons of Coal, That touch my skin, To keep me whole....(jeff buckley's dream: Mojo Pin). Good-morning groggy bloggers, welcome to the Desert of the Real.
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Monday, March 29, 2004
Terrorist Filesharing
A bill was introduced to the Senate floor last Thursday by senators Leahy and Hatch called the Pirate Act which would enable federal prosecutors to file suits against individual P2P file sharers. Both Senators are getting campaign contributions by RIAA and MPAA, whose industries have lost billions in the last 3 years due, in part, to the downloading of files from networks.
And while both industries do have a case to make, the fact that their system has failed to secure itself indicates change is most certainly on the horizon.
What really chews gum in my ear is that these senators are spouting anti-terrorism rhetoric, equating all P2P networks as conspiracies and the file sharers as obsessed with child pornography. And the fact that federal prosecutors are using tax-payers money to sue file sharers for those who own the copyrights.
Some huge proportion of individuals in this country think that file sharing for individual use is appropriate. Tens of millions of people use networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for the trade of programs and media. How they think that going after a few individuals is supposed to act an effective means of deterrent to this mass movement strikes me as idiocy. Intelligent, talented people will always be able to find a way to get past the safe guards the courts implant. The demand is too high and the legal system is too slow.
The system of recording music will change. My vision here is poor, but I imagine a complex system of communication via this sharing network allowing talent to rise to the surface, large contract or not. Ani, Spearhead, Damian Rice. Let me hear what you've got; if I like it, I'll pay you to play for me.
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And while both industries do have a case to make, the fact that their system has failed to secure itself indicates change is most certainly on the horizon.
What really chews gum in my ear is that these senators are spouting anti-terrorism rhetoric, equating all P2P networks as conspiracies and the file sharers as obsessed with child pornography. And the fact that federal prosecutors are using tax-payers money to sue file sharers for those who own the copyrights.
Some huge proportion of individuals in this country think that file sharing for individual use is appropriate. Tens of millions of people use networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for the trade of programs and media. How they think that going after a few individuals is supposed to act an effective means of deterrent to this mass movement strikes me as idiocy. Intelligent, talented people will always be able to find a way to get past the safe guards the courts implant. The demand is too high and the legal system is too slow.
The system of recording music will change. My vision here is poor, but I imagine a complex system of communication via this sharing network allowing talent to rise to the surface, large contract or not. Ani, Spearhead, Damian Rice. Let me hear what you've got; if I like it, I'll pay you to play for me.
Will Honoring the Rights of Every Citizen Be the Downfall of all Civilization?!
Sorry if my first entry was not entirely politically correct--or even grammatically for that matter. But I believe that words are only as dangerous as the people that use them. If there is no hate/fear/bullshit in your heart and you happen to slip a racist joke in here or there or make frequent quips about the obvious inequalities of our civilization, I don't think you're an impediment to the Struggle (as my more passionate activists friends would call it). However, if you conceal deep-seated fears and anxieties about another race or sex or sexuality, nothing--not even your squeaky-clean unoffensive language--can change your actions, which will undoubtedly reflect the Truth in your....ahhemmmn, excuse me, you're only going to hear me say this once or twice...Soul.
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How can we ever hope for the Feds and the Religious Right and the Mediocre Middle to embrace the notion that homosexuality creates as healthy, happy, and holy a matrimony as heterosexuality when we live in a country where the Cinema only shows women after sex in their birthday suits and the men always manage to have a towel or a sheet or a pair of underwear disguising their wares? Until the "male" ego of the United States of America grows unashamed of itself enough to be able to simply look at another man's twig & berries (in the parlance of our times) without feeling the urge to vomit or blush or block out thoughts about their fathers they don't want to admit--how will we ever convince those who still need convincing to marry Gays, which is merely the first step for them in deciding that it wouldn't be a terrible, apocalyptic, crime-vs-humanity if they were to want to be GAy or Bi or Trans or Queer too...It's okay Congressman Knight; it's alright George Bush; don't worry all you heads of inaccurately named Protect Our Families and Preserve the Oldest Pillar of Civilation organizations; we wouldn't treat you any differently if you turned out to be a bunch of closeted bull-dykes and donut-punchers: you'd still be mean, misguided, xenophobic, hateful, destructive, divisive and delusionary assholes with nothing better to do than dedicate the best days of your lives to trying to make the best days of other people's lives not as good as yours. Congrats! Your doing a great job. Sincerely, Kiss-My-Ass-In-Macy's-Window-You-Fucking-Homophobes.
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The Middle Ground for Politicians
I realize that for one to get elected in our present form of government, one must cater to as many groups as possible as well as their respective beliefs. However, we have also been granted, in our Constitution, equal rights. Each and every citizen of the United States.
The Massachusetts legislature today took a step backwards from granting gay couples the right to marriage and inserting a clause allowing civil unions. While this does allow for certain state benefits, it does not allow for federal benefits to those couples.
Hundreds of protestors outside the statehouse declared their opposition to the measure based on religious grounds saying that civil unions went too far.
Is this just another case of politicians being swayed by a majority whose primary opposition to an issue lies in a religious belief? I have no degree in political science but I would have sworn that in middle school I was taught that our government was formed with the absolute distinction between religion and state. I have been under the impression that we left Puritanism behind us in the 17th century and that our Constitution, along with our sense of social justice, has evolved into something more egalatarian and truly democratic. They go out and claim a right to control your lives and they still demand your fucking taxes. Am I wrong? (no...) Am I wrong? (yeah, but...) OK then...They STILL demand your fucking taxes.
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The Massachusetts legislature today took a step backwards from granting gay couples the right to marriage and inserting a clause allowing civil unions. While this does allow for certain state benefits, it does not allow for federal benefits to those couples.
Hundreds of protestors outside the statehouse declared their opposition to the measure based on religious grounds saying that civil unions went too far.
Is this just another case of politicians being swayed by a majority whose primary opposition to an issue lies in a religious belief? I have no degree in political science but I would have sworn that in middle school I was taught that our government was formed with the absolute distinction between religion and state. I have been under the impression that we left Puritanism behind us in the 17th century and that our Constitution, along with our sense of social justice, has evolved into something more egalatarian and truly democratic. They go out and claim a right to control your lives and they still demand your fucking taxes. Am I wrong? (no...) Am I wrong? (yeah, but...) OK then...They STILL demand your fucking taxes.
Took me a long time to get there, I ashamedly admit, but Radiohead has quickly become a regular in my cd player and computer. For years it was classic rock, then DMB, but since moving to western Mass, new people have introduced me to new music, and Radiohead has made its way into my soul. I can't get off of 'Amnesiac'. It's just too melodic and enthralling.
Jeff Buckley, thank you Johnny, has also made my life more complete. I know there are albums out there released post-mortem, but all's I have at the moment is 'Grace', which blows me away. I've listened to 'Lover, you should've come over' 15 times in a row and not gotten sick of it. Some of the best lyrical poetry I've ever heard.
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Jeff Buckley, thank you Johnny, has also made my life more complete. I know there are albums out there released post-mortem, but all's I have at the moment is 'Grace', which blows me away. I've listened to 'Lover, you should've come over' 15 times in a row and not gotten sick of it. Some of the best lyrical poetry I've ever heard.
A big shout out to my boys in Jersey! Johnny Lovrich, the poet/plumber's assistant extrordinaire! NYC yo! Damian Cunniff, may the force be with you, and your daughter.
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I'm a teaching assistant at the Frontier Regional H.S. in Deerfield, MA. Just started about 3 weeks ago. Totally different environment than what I had expected, but not unpleasant at all. The staff have been supportive and caring, not at all apathetic, which I must admit, I was slightly concerned about. I help out the girl's track and field team, and I'm an at-home tutor for individual students.
I graduated from a small New Jersey state school called Ramapo College after having been at Rutgers U. and having received my national cert. in massage therapy. I worked as a supervisor at a human services agency in Northampton, MA for a while, been a cook, worked with a landscaper, a plumber, and love all sorts of sports.
I just started running again yesterday, and goddamn, what a gorgeous day it was. Spring, sweetness of all fruits, has finally arrived. No more 40's or 30's or sheeet, below 0 days. At least till next winter.
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I graduated from a small New Jersey state school called Ramapo College after having been at Rutgers U. and having received my national cert. in massage therapy. I worked as a supervisor at a human services agency in Northampton, MA for a while, been a cook, worked with a landscaper, a plumber, and love all sorts of sports.
I just started running again yesterday, and goddamn, what a gorgeous day it was. Spring, sweetness of all fruits, has finally arrived. No more 40's or 30's or sheeet, below 0 days. At least till next winter.
Done a whole lot of different stuff in the last few years. I've been a collegiate golfer, a cook, a massage therapist, and at the moment, an assistant teacher.
I work and live in Deerfield, MA, a tiny, old settlement from the late 17th Century.
Actually, my girlfriend and I visited historic Deerfield yesterday. An 18th C. village preserved in its entirety. Deerfield Academy is there, a college prep school that looks better than my College did.
More to come.
We hear nothing so clearly as what comes out of silence.
- David James Duncan
I work and live in Deerfield, MA, a tiny, old settlement from the late 17th Century.
Actually, my girlfriend and I visited historic Deerfield yesterday. An 18th C. village preserved in its entirety. Deerfield Academy is there, a college prep school that looks better than my College did.
More to come.
We hear nothing so clearly as what comes out of silence.
- David James Duncan
