Friday, April 30, 2004
John
I'm taking this opportunity to publicly state that Mr. John Lovrich, the John to the right of this post in our email column, is hereby declared an erascable bastard for going so long without blogging or commenting on our infinitely important forum.
A man I consider to be my hetero-lifemate, whom I am to be living with in less than two months, who is, should be, researching possible Brooklyn neighborhoods and apartments, has failed to this point to contact me on that research.
This man, the self-proclaimed poet, the English major with a concentration in creative writing, has posted here twice, this beautiful cyberspace interactive discussion log from which to share ideas, feelings, criticisms, optimisms.
Johnny, get your ass online.
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A man I consider to be my hetero-lifemate, whom I am to be living with in less than two months, who is, should be, researching possible Brooklyn neighborhoods and apartments, has failed to this point to contact me on that research.
This man, the self-proclaimed poet, the English major with a concentration in creative writing, has posted here twice, this beautiful cyberspace interactive discussion log from which to share ideas, feelings, criticisms, optimisms.
Johnny, get your ass online.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Mr. Bush
Policies coming from Washington seem to have a greater effect on the average person more than I had realized. I've known that his record has not been strong in a number of areas that I, as a democratic educator, care about: the environment, women's issues, healthcare, social services, and of course education. I had not known, however, how directly his policies would be affecting my professional life.
Jack Newfield, writer for The Nation , discusses here many of the political spheres that Bush's policies have been influencing in NYC. From homeland security and FD and PD funding to Section 8 housing, Bush seems to be on a crusade to have NYC (and many other dense urban areas of the country) run his gaunlet of budget cuts. I am confused as to why Bush would alienate such a huge section of the electorate, unless he's already counted them as his opponents. But still, there will be a tremendous amount of work to be done in order to undo the damage his policies are enacting. We all know about the steps backwards he has been taking in reversing Roe vs. Wade. (Here is a link for a the Freedom of Choice Act Petition).
For my own woes, the special education districts seem not to be getting the proportionate amount of funding I had thought they'd be receiving. I don't know why I thought that the No Child Left Behind Act should actually help children. In any case, NCLB increases the standards by which children must pass their testing in order to be promoted and to graduated, while at the same time decreasing the funds for those schools serving children in most need of better education. Schools that fail to meet the new standards set by NCLB would then be sanctioned (receive even fewer funds) and eventually could be closed.
My man. Mr. Shrub.
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Jack Newfield, writer for The Nation , discusses here many of the political spheres that Bush's policies have been influencing in NYC. From homeland security and FD and PD funding to Section 8 housing, Bush seems to be on a crusade to have NYC (and many other dense urban areas of the country) run his gaunlet of budget cuts. I am confused as to why Bush would alienate such a huge section of the electorate, unless he's already counted them as his opponents. But still, there will be a tremendous amount of work to be done in order to undo the damage his policies are enacting. We all know about the steps backwards he has been taking in reversing Roe vs. Wade. (Here is a link for a the Freedom of Choice Act Petition).
For my own woes, the special education districts seem not to be getting the proportionate amount of funding I had thought they'd be receiving. I don't know why I thought that the No Child Left Behind Act should actually help children. In any case, NCLB increases the standards by which children must pass their testing in order to be promoted and to graduated, while at the same time decreasing the funds for those schools serving children in most need of better education. Schools that fail to meet the new standards set by NCLB would then be sanctioned (receive even fewer funds) and eventually could be closed.
My man. Mr. Shrub.
Media on Iraq
Every time a soldier dies in Iraq it's a tragedy; every time an innocent civilian or an Iraqi insurgent dies as well. I wish this war were over and that the Iraqi civilians can choose a government structure of their own, in a manner they see best.
It seems that the war doesn't get as much media coverage when Iraqis are dying, only when Americans die. The media seem to forget what is happening in Iraq when Americans aren't dying. Reports are pouring in saying that several dozen of Sadr's militia have been killed in Najaf last night and that at least one US marine was killed.
There are conflicting reports from different news sources about the impact of suicide bombings on oil pipelines. There seems to have been much disruption at the port city of Basra, but, for the lack of American deaths, there has been little mention of it in mainstream media. They seem to rather quibble about a protest Kerry took part in over 30 years ago. (All Democrats get out and vote!!!)
This month of bloodshed and anarchy that appears to be taking place in Iraq should be plenty for the American public to be convinced that Bush is a war-mongering, corporate lap-dog. However, I am still astounded that mainstream media, talk rado, and campaign propaganda can still fool millions of Americans that Bush and his cronies have their best interests (and Iraqis) at heart.
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It seems that the war doesn't get as much media coverage when Iraqis are dying, only when Americans die. The media seem to forget what is happening in Iraq when Americans aren't dying. Reports are pouring in saying that several dozen of Sadr's militia have been killed in Najaf last night and that at least one US marine was killed.
There are conflicting reports from different news sources about the impact of suicide bombings on oil pipelines. There seems to have been much disruption at the port city of Basra, but, for the lack of American deaths, there has been little mention of it in mainstream media. They seem to rather quibble about a protest Kerry took part in over 30 years ago. (All Democrats get out and vote!!!)
This month of bloodshed and anarchy that appears to be taking place in Iraq should be plenty for the American public to be convinced that Bush is a war-mongering, corporate lap-dog. However, I am still astounded that mainstream media, talk rado, and campaign propaganda can still fool millions of Americans that Bush and his cronies have their best interests (and Iraqis) at heart.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
At some point I had been recommended Mission: Impossible II. I should have turned it off within the first half hour. The opening sequence caught me with fantastic scenes of impossible rock climbing and had me hoping for a decent flick. No such luck.
I've been intrigued with the films Cruise has chosen the last few years. They've generally been interesting plots with an an exceptional element to each.
The Last Samurai had a Dances with Wolves Revisited feel to it, but the cinematography was breathtaking. I loved the confusion I felt through Cruise's character during Vanilla Sky. And Eyes Wide Shut had its eerily subtle exploration of a marriage.
MI 2 just totally sucked. Sorry. I was entirely bored throughout; there was never any hope for surprise. Dialogue hardly existed and Pierce Brosnan plays a far cooler and sophisticated dude than Cruise.
Think I'm going back to the Sopranos for a bit.
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I've been intrigued with the films Cruise has chosen the last few years. They've generally been interesting plots with an an exceptional element to each.
The Last Samurai had a Dances with Wolves Revisited feel to it, but the cinematography was breathtaking. I loved the confusion I felt through Cruise's character during Vanilla Sky. And Eyes Wide Shut had its eerily subtle exploration of a marriage.
MI 2 just totally sucked. Sorry. I was entirely bored throughout; there was never any hope for surprise. Dialogue hardly existed and Pierce Brosnan plays a far cooler and sophisticated dude than Cruise.
Think I'm going back to the Sopranos for a bit.
An impromptu Homage to Women Day, in my heart
Last night a friend of mine said she's heading down to D.C. for a march on the 25th aimed at supporting women's reproductive rights. Much of the protesting is in direct response to present policies enacted by Bush during the last few years.
Molly Ivins discusses a similar march also occurring on Sunday down in Austin.
In an age where I have taken for granted social equality, equal opportunity, and shared responsibility (Mom did a good job with me as a kid), I seem to have overlooked many of the burdens women still face today. As a male, I haven't had to deal with sexist remarks, or if I have, they were easily laughed off; I never have to worry about getting pregnant, maternity leave, breast-feeding, or sexual harrassment (at least from women). Women encounter unique pressures that I simply will never feel. Breast-feeding, for example, is bad for formula-manufacturing companies, so they'll produce shoddy breast-pumping devices and attempt to influence public policy so that breast-feeding is seen as a backwards, unsanitary practice.
I'm about to finish 'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia E. Butler. The heroine of the story is an 18 year old woman who dreams to shape the world into a place where people take care of each other and learn and survive. Her strength leaps off the pages.
There are many bad things going on in our world today, but there's strength, and dreams, of beautiful people who are choosing to change the world. I can't be there in Austin or in D.C. this Sunday, but everyday, wherever I am, I try to reach out to people who'll listen.
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Molly Ivins discusses a similar march also occurring on Sunday down in Austin.
In an age where I have taken for granted social equality, equal opportunity, and shared responsibility (Mom did a good job with me as a kid), I seem to have overlooked many of the burdens women still face today. As a male, I haven't had to deal with sexist remarks, or if I have, they were easily laughed off; I never have to worry about getting pregnant, maternity leave, breast-feeding, or sexual harrassment (at least from women). Women encounter unique pressures that I simply will never feel. Breast-feeding, for example, is bad for formula-manufacturing companies, so they'll produce shoddy breast-pumping devices and attempt to influence public policy so that breast-feeding is seen as a backwards, unsanitary practice.
I'm about to finish 'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia E. Butler. The heroine of the story is an 18 year old woman who dreams to shape the world into a place where people take care of each other and learn and survive. Her strength leaps off the pages.
There are many bad things going on in our world today, but there's strength, and dreams, of beautiful people who are choosing to change the world. I can't be there in Austin or in D.C. this Sunday, but everyday, wherever I am, I try to reach out to people who'll listen.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Constipation
What to blog, what to blog, that is the question. Whether tis better in blog to summit the mountains and molehills of public discourse or lollygag in the sands of a more personal landscape?
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Thursday, April 15, 2004
Finding more blogs
It's really amazing to me that I'm just getting to know the weblog culture. I've been reading online materials and using resources for 7 or 8 solid years now, but just recently, within the last month, have I begun to realize the extent to which an actual online culture of blogging exists. It's like I've discovered a new world to explore.
This won't be new to most people to read this now, but for me it's an exciting time. Glad to be here.
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This won't be new to most people to read this now, but for me it's an exciting time. Glad to be here.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
So Embarrassing, it was almost fun
The President's press conference last night opened up with 15 minutes of a scripted, rehearsed speech that regurgitated everything we've been hearing from the W.H. for weeks and months. That the country needs to stay on the offensive in the war on terror; that the situation in Iraq, while "tough", is under control and moving forward; that the transfer of sovereignity in Iraq will take place on June 30th.
However, the transcript does not show how the President paused for several seconds at a time, how he stumbled over his words, or how he looked up at the ceiling and down at his shoes as he attepted to come up with intelligible answers.
Anyone watching the conference couldn't miss the fact the reporters kept coming back to the issue of the President taking responsibility for mistakes made.
[Taken from the transcript]
Q. How do you explain to Americans how you got that [WMD] so wrong? And how do you answer your opponents who say that you took this nation to war on the basis of what have turned out to be a series of false premises?
[Another]
Q. Two and a half years later, do you feel any sense of personal responsibility for September 11th?
BUSH: Let me put that quote to Woodward in context, because he had asked me if I was -- something about killing bin Laden. That's what the question was.
(one of my favorites)
And I said, you know, compared to how I felt at the time, after the attack, I didn't have that -- and I also went on to say, my blood wasn't boiling, I think is what the quote said.
I didn't see -- I mean, I didn't have that great sense of outrage that I felt on September the 11th. I was -- on that day, I was angry and sad. Angry that al-Qaida -- I thought at the time al-Qaida, found out shortly thereafter it was al-Qaida -- had unleashed this attack. Sad for those who lost their life.
Your question, do I feel -- yes?
QUESTION: Personal responsibility for September 11th?
BUSH: I feel incredibly grieved when I meet with family members, and I do quite frequently. I grieve for, you know, the incredible loss of life that they feel, the emptiness they feel.
Q. Two weeks ago, a former counterterrorism official at the NSC, Richard Clarke, offered an unequivocal apology to the American people for failing them prior to 9-11. Do you believe the American people deserve a similar apology from you, and would you prepared to give them one?
BUSH: Look, I can understand why people in my administration are anguished over the fact that people lost their life. I feel the same way. I mean, I'm sick when I think about the death that took place on that day. And as I mentioned, I've met with a lot of family members, and I do the best to console them about the loss of their loved one.
[He is so unwilling to admit error that he'll admit stupidity first.]
Q. You've looked back before 9-11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9-11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have learned from it?
BUSH: I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it.
John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could've done it better this way or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet.
[....]
I hope -- I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.
[just one more...hehe.]
Q. Following on both Judy and John's questions, and it comes out of what you just said in some ways, with public support for your policies in Iraq falling off the way they have, quite significantly over the past couple of months, I guess I'd like to know if you feel, in any way, that you have failed as a communicator on this topic.
BUSH: Gosh, I don't know. I mean ...
QUESTION: Well, you deliver a lot of speeches, and a lot of them contain similar phrases and may vary very little from one to the next. And they often include a pretty upbeat assessment of how things are going, with the exception of tonight. It's pretty somber.
BUSH: A pretty somber assessment today, Don, yes.
QUESTION: But I guess I just wonder if you feel that you have failed in any way. You don't have many of these press conferences where you engage in this kind of exchange. Have you failed in any way to really make the case to the American public?
BUSH: You know, that's, I guess, if you put it into a political context, that's buh-blah, buh-blea, buh-blumble...
And so it went.
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However, the transcript does not show how the President paused for several seconds at a time, how he stumbled over his words, or how he looked up at the ceiling and down at his shoes as he attepted to come up with intelligible answers.
Anyone watching the conference couldn't miss the fact the reporters kept coming back to the issue of the President taking responsibility for mistakes made.
[Taken from the transcript]
Q. How do you explain to Americans how you got that [WMD] so wrong? And how do you answer your opponents who say that you took this nation to war on the basis of what have turned out to be a series of false premises?
[Another]
Q. Two and a half years later, do you feel any sense of personal responsibility for September 11th?
BUSH: Let me put that quote to Woodward in context, because he had asked me if I was -- something about killing bin Laden. That's what the question was.
(one of my favorites)
And I said, you know, compared to how I felt at the time, after the attack, I didn't have that -- and I also went on to say, my blood wasn't boiling, I think is what the quote said.
I didn't see -- I mean, I didn't have that great sense of outrage that I felt on September the 11th. I was -- on that day, I was angry and sad. Angry that al-Qaida -- I thought at the time al-Qaida, found out shortly thereafter it was al-Qaida -- had unleashed this attack. Sad for those who lost their life.
Your question, do I feel -- yes?
QUESTION: Personal responsibility for September 11th?
BUSH: I feel incredibly grieved when I meet with family members, and I do quite frequently. I grieve for, you know, the incredible loss of life that they feel, the emptiness they feel.
Q. Two weeks ago, a former counterterrorism official at the NSC, Richard Clarke, offered an unequivocal apology to the American people for failing them prior to 9-11. Do you believe the American people deserve a similar apology from you, and would you prepared to give them one?
BUSH: Look, I can understand why people in my administration are anguished over the fact that people lost their life. I feel the same way. I mean, I'm sick when I think about the death that took place on that day. And as I mentioned, I've met with a lot of family members, and I do the best to console them about the loss of their loved one.
[He is so unwilling to admit error that he'll admit stupidity first.]
Q. You've looked back before 9-11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9-11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have learned from it?
BUSH: I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it.
John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could've done it better this way or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet.
[....]
I hope -- I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.
[just one more...hehe.]
Q. Following on both Judy and John's questions, and it comes out of what you just said in some ways, with public support for your policies in Iraq falling off the way they have, quite significantly over the past couple of months, I guess I'd like to know if you feel, in any way, that you have failed as a communicator on this topic.
BUSH: Gosh, I don't know. I mean ...
QUESTION: Well, you deliver a lot of speeches, and a lot of them contain similar phrases and may vary very little from one to the next. And they often include a pretty upbeat assessment of how things are going, with the exception of tonight. It's pretty somber.
BUSH: A pretty somber assessment today, Don, yes.
QUESTION: But I guess I just wonder if you feel that you have failed in any way. You don't have many of these press conferences where you engage in this kind of exchange. Have you failed in any way to really make the case to the American public?
BUSH: You know, that's, I guess, if you put it into a political context, that's buh-blah, buh-blea, buh-blumble...
And so it went.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
The Shiite Intifada
A well-written article on the new Shiite Intifada and the unification of Sunni and Shiite in Iraq can be found here.
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004
A Dark, Dark Day
I'm not sure what is going on over there. I'm not sure if I'm ready or strong enough to take it.
I have been reading the comments and discussion on Kos blog that SkyNews has reported a possible general public uprising in Iraq that might have already killed 130 US troops today. If this is true, it has not yet been confirmed, then we are not witnessing a Civil War, but a true civil uprising against the occupation, against perceived invaders.
Going into Fallujah to capture or kill the militants who killed the 'contractors' over the weekend might have been a very bad move. It says the US is willing to go after the public. It admits, through intimidation, that our first interest is not their freedom.
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I have been reading the comments and discussion on Kos blog that SkyNews has reported a possible general public uprising in Iraq that might have already killed 130 US troops today. If this is true, it has not yet been confirmed, then we are not witnessing a Civil War, but a true civil uprising against the occupation, against perceived invaders.
Going into Fallujah to capture or kill the militants who killed the 'contractors' over the weekend might have been a very bad move. It says the US is willing to go after the public. It admits, through intimidation, that our first interest is not their freedom.
Monday, April 05, 2004
Follow up on that...
And how scary is the fact that we've surrounded Fallujah with over 1,300 troops + Iraqi security enforcing a curfew starting at 7:00pm. Certainly the killings and mutilations of the 'security' contractors that the world witnessed over the weekend were a horrifying scene. (It is still unclear, however, just what these hired mercinaries were doing in Fallujah at the time).
My skepticism about Operation 'Vigilant Resolve' is the security of the Iraqi civilians that are most likely to perish. How about the untold thousands of civilians that have already died due to American forces ensuring the security of the region. The 'collateral damage' in securing the safety of the oil fields last spring. We don't even count them. Forget taking responsibility; forget giving them a burial. We won't publicly respond to most of the claims that civilians were killed in an operation. If we just pretend like we didn't hear about it, then it didn't really happen.
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My skepticism about Operation 'Vigilant Resolve' is the security of the Iraqi civilians that are most likely to perish. How about the untold thousands of civilians that have already died due to American forces ensuring the security of the region. The 'collateral damage' in securing the safety of the oil fields last spring. We don't even count them. Forget taking responsibility; forget giving them a burial. We won't publicly respond to most of the claims that civilians were killed in an operation. If we just pretend like we didn't hear about it, then it didn't really happen.
Shia protests
I've been reading about the recent Shiite protests occurring in the large Iraqi cities during the last week. It seems strange to me that this group, by far the largest ethnic group in Iraq, is having so much difficulty getting its voice heard. The American administration there has declared that freedom of religion and speech now exists, yet just last Wednesday it shut down a newspaper being published by a Shiite group claiming that it had been inciting violence against US forces.
I understand that the situation there is incredibly complex: many ethnic groups who have long been neglicted now seeking political representation; an economy that is starting from scratch; and a US administration which seems to be acting in its own best interests rather than for the Iraqis.
When, and if, the transfer of power in Iraq occurs at the end of June will be a good report card on how the occupation has handled security issues. Judging from how things stand at the moment, when thousands of US troops pull out, I wouldn't be surprised if the country is plunged into civil war, splitting into 3 ethno-geographic regions: the Kurds in the north, the Sunnis to the west, and the Shia in the east. Should something so drastic take place, I would hope that the American people see it as a failure of the Bush administration to give the Iraqi people the safety they were promised. Not that they are all that safe at the moment.
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I understand that the situation there is incredibly complex: many ethnic groups who have long been neglicted now seeking political representation; an economy that is starting from scratch; and a US administration which seems to be acting in its own best interests rather than for the Iraqis.
When, and if, the transfer of power in Iraq occurs at the end of June will be a good report card on how the occupation has handled security issues. Judging from how things stand at the moment, when thousands of US troops pull out, I wouldn't be surprised if the country is plunged into civil war, splitting into 3 ethno-geographic regions: the Kurds in the north, the Sunnis to the west, and the Shia in the east. Should something so drastic take place, I would hope that the American people see it as a failure of the Bush administration to give the Iraqi people the safety they were promised. Not that they are all that safe at the moment.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
OverExposed
Janet Jackson's newest album "Damita Jo" has been described in Rollling Stone mag. as being the "unsexiest sexy album ever." Could it be that pop culture's loyal subjects are demanding higher standards above sex, sex, sex? How do you make sex sexy without crossing over the line into b(anal) sludge?
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Friday, April 02, 2004
Again the Other Day...
When does dance become a meditation? For me, dance is usually about not thinking at all or at the very most thinking about a specific bodily limb that needs straightening or a double turn that I need to stick. I'll get through a 10 minute piece and not know how I got there, how time passed so quickly. Conscious thoughts are replaced by feeling, by an energy running through your body that radiates every now and then from a fingertip, an upthrust chest, a leg arching through space. I'll sink into a slow drop or lean into the simple raising of an arm without knowing why. The 'why' is danced through, onto the next movement. And you come to the end of the piece with a feeling of accomplishment--for the movement but not the 'why.'
Getting caught up in a phrase is addictive---repetition, the drug. Repeating the same sweeping movement phrase over and over again feels boring, restrictive at first. Then, as it becomes second-nature, unthinking, a muscle memory, the mind opens. It disconnects from the movement and at the same time is released to explore the movement. It's like your brain is soaring above your movement----within in it, next to it, alongside it, below it, cradled against it, holding its hand, holding its dress... And you're free to think of anything and to let that thought flow around the curve of your elbow or down the length of your spine, spiraling with your breathe.
Getting caught up in a phrase is addictive---repetition, the drug. Repeating the same sweeping movement phrase over and over again feels boring, restrictive at first. Then, as it becomes second-nature, unthinking, a muscle memory, the mind opens. It disconnects from the movement and at the same time is released to explore the movement. It's like your brain is soaring above your movement----within in it, next to it, alongside it, below it, cradled against it, holding its hand, holding its dress... And you're free to think of anything and to let that thought flow around the curve of your elbow or down the length of your spine, spiraling with your breathe.
