The Book of Cletis

Music Saturday #32 The Band

2012-03-10T00:01:00.009-05:00

I have many musical favorites covering a wide range of genres and artists from Mozart to Hank Williams. The Band is near the very top of my list. Here's why from their now legendary, farewell concert, The Last Waltz, held on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

This shows the incredible versatility of the guys. Amazing!

Hey, It's Friday

2012-03-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

Policing The Police

2012-03-08T00:01:00.024-05:00

About 20 years ago when I was still teaching, I had an unpleasant encounter with a police officer who was obviously suffering from an onset of the John Wayne Syndrome. The next day I told my students about it. They listened quietly as I went over the whole story scene by scene. After I finished, one of the kids looked at me and said in a voice far too weary for his years, “Mr. Stump, that happens around our way all the time.”

About a month later, the same officer and his partner severely beat a fifteen year old boy while investigating a breaking and entering at a Pizza Hut. The kid had no weapons and had surrendered without resistance but the officers laid into him anyway. An investigation was initiated and a third officer who had witnessed the beating eventually broke ranks and told the truth. My students weren’t surprised and, in spite of everything I could say, they maintained their view. “We told you, Mr. Stump, that’s just the way the police are.”

I hope that over the years the kids have learned better but the perceptions young people have of the police run deep. If there are rogue officers who do not understand and recognize the limitations of the power we bestow on them, gaining the respect and support of the community is going to be more than difficult.

Over 2,500 years ago, the Chinese sage Confucius had this to say about maintaining ethical standards. “If the prince is upright, all will go well without orders. If the prince is not upright, no number of orders will suffice.”

Police officers are human and most do a good job under difficult circumstances. Those officers will not be offended by my comments. They know exactly what I’m talking about. They know who the gossips are. They know who sucks up and who doesn't. They know who has been seduced by authority and who struts and swaggers like John Wayne.

Good police officers are among the best of men and women and we would be lost without their valor and sacrifice. I thank them. Rogue officers who sow dissent and mistrust will sooner or later bring the whirlwind down on all of us.

They need to find another line of work.

An Algorithm for Success

2012-03-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

http://educatedtodeath.com/ Here is the blog of this incredible teacher. I have known a few like him and they shoulder the burden of the modern world and climb higher every school day.

Teaching: Love, Science, Foolishness, and Persuasion

Teaching is an action that requires love, science, foolishness, and persuasion all to work in concert. It’s a near impossible task to teach anyone anything, but somehow, through the above formula, people learn. Have you ever tried to teach a small child to blow his nose or to tie his shoe? It’s miraculous anyone ever learns either of those skills.

Reading is no different. There are all these little bits that must be assembled by someone for reading to become meaningful. There is nothing simple about it. The credit cannot go to one person alone. Every experience a child has becomes a tool, a cog, a weight and balance in the odd amalgamation of skills and experience that are eventually referred to as print literacy. It comes with steps forward followed by numerous steps back. Theory has a big role in explaining this process/es, but the role of dogged perseverance is stronger.

Just to teach a simple skill requires the love, science, foolishness, persuasion algorithm. Teachers have to have great love for their students, and perhaps for humanity, to engage in such a daunting task. Without love we would quickly turn away from the deluge of frustration and seek higher more quickly rewarding ground.

The science behind teaching and learning, whether or not it is understood in scientific terms, is vast. First, research based methods are implemented in classrooms daily. There are, of course, basic learning theories, crowd psychology, neuroscience, and so forth. All teachers are not versed in the science of their practice, but undoubtedly implement solid research based strategies, that are recreated and invented over and over again because that is what is required. Teachers are constantly experimenting with different ways of teaching.

Each year, each day, each class period the dynamics of the classroom change. What worked for one group may fail miserably. Teachers adjust, many so fluidly that it isn’t even noticeable to the teacher or observer. It’s a think on your feet kind of job.

Teaching requires a level of foolishness. What is the limit of perseverance? When do people give up? I teach alongside forty year veterans who have day in day out taught the same subject, never ceasing to try and teach basic multiplication to kids who are years behind.

Teachers who patiently help high schoolers sound out words they should be using fluently. These teachers see students grow, struggle, grow some more, experience set backs, and keep going. This can all happen over the course of a day, hour, year, whatever. Teachers don’t quit.

Each year regulations get tighter. Teaching becomes more impossible. We see budgets cut. We dig deep. We become less revered, more hated. Teachers are abused. Abused. Abused. And they/we keep at it. Foolish? Perhaps, but people need to learn. There is no time to hang on a cross. Each generation has needs. Our society needs literate people. We’re trying. It’s difficult, but God knows we’ll find away.

Teachers must be incredibly persuasive. Could anyone learn algebra if they weren’t? Teachers must motivate a group of students to learn to learn. We are perpetually leading people to water, and trying to help them learn to drink. We try to stir hope in hopeless people. We try to help students see their own potential. We stoke the fires of curiosity, when not impeded by test prep. We stoke the fires anyway.

We try to keep learners learning even though learning seems futile. It seems cold and pointless when it all seems to lead to a cold and pointless test. But, we don’t teach for a test. We teach for humanity. Education has a chance to be a great equalizer. It is turning quickly into something different. The great equalizer is not education as a system, but the ability to learn and navigate systems.

We are fighting to give tools to people who can take them and transform their own worlds. We are fighting for our own worlds. We are fighting, hopefully, for humanity. We will continue without regard to blockades on our journey.

We will stick to love, science, foolishness, and persuasion. Say what you want, but we are teachers. We are committed. We enable our neighbors to transform their own worlds as we change ours. Keep at it.

By Brian Cooney

2012-03-06T00:01:00.003-05:00

U.S. Should Step Back from Iranian Precipice

The Obama administration is painting itself into a dangerous corner in response to Iran’s nuclear program. Under pressure from the very powerful Israeli lobby and from GOP presidential candidates, Obama proclaimed in his State of the Union address: "Let there be no doubt, America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal."

He did not say what would count as “preventing,” but it seems to include getting Tehran to agree to a major and verifiable reduction in its nuclear program. Iran rejects this demand, insisting that it is enriching uranium solely for electrical power, which is permissible under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

There are conflicting assessments about Iran’s intentions. According to the New York Times, “Even as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said in a new report Friday [2/24] that Iran had accelerated its uranium enrichment program, American intelligence analysts continue to believe that there is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb.”

Iran may have decided instead to enhance its prestige and influence by letting the world know that it has the capacity to produce an atomic bomb in a short time span. It may not want the trouble and huge expense of actually building a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Obama is saying the U.S. will “prevent” Iran from developing a nuclear weapon one way (sanctions) or another (military force). The latest sanction under consideration would deny Iran access to The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the financial messaging service for most international money transfers.

This would make it difficult for international buyers to pay for Iranian oil, thereby sharply reducing Iran’s revenues. Although that would be a blow to the Iranian economy, it also threatens to reduce the supply of oil to the world market, further driving up fuel prices and stalling economic recovery in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The President knows the military alternative to sanctions could have disastrous consequences. A U.S. attack would take place at the same time as Iran’s neighbor and ally Syria is slipping into a civil war that threatens to destabilize the Middle East.

Israel is threatening to launch its own attack on Iran and is saying it will not warn the U.S. in advance (AP 2/27). If that happens, the U.S. will very likely be drawn into the conflict to protect Israel.

Even the most powerful American or Israeli bombs would be only partially effective against Iran’s widely scattered nuclear facilities, some of which are deep underground or inside mountains. Air strikes would likely result in an even stronger effort by Iran to develop atomic weapons. Its people would put aside their deep political divisions to unite against the “Great Satan.”

The U.S. would be unwilling and unable to invade and occupy Iran. Therefore, the Iranian regime would survive American or Israeli bombing raids and be able to retaliate both in its own region and abroad. There could be a major interruption of the world’s oil supply if the Persian Gulf becomes a war zone.

As the International Crisis Group says in a Feb. 23 report, “There is no evidence that Iran’s leadership has succumbed or will succumb to economic hardship.” So Obama’s ultimatum to Iran—that Iran should yield under pressure of his economic sanctions or he will use force—may back him into a disastrous military conflict. His ultimatum is as much a threat to American national security as it is to Iran’s.

To better understand Iran’s resistance to American pressure, we need to reflect on the last 60 years of our relationship to Iran. In 1953 the CIA partnered with British intelligence to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh, to stop him from nationalizing the holdings of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC, known today as BP).

The coup enabled Shah Reza Pahlavi to rule Iran for 26 years as a brutal police state. The Shah’s security service, the SAVAK, tortured and murdered thousands of Iranians. It also worked closely with the CIA.

The Islamist revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979 was inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini and driven by hatred not only of the Shah but also of the U.S. for its oppressive manipulation of Iranian politics. The current hostility of the Tehran government is blowback for American abuses of power.

Even as the U.S. government is threatening Iran for enriching uranium, it accepts Israel’s arsenal of a hundred or more nuclear warheads which it can deliver by intercontinental ballistic missile, aircraft or submarine. It would be suicidal of Iran to build and then use a nuclear weapon against Israel.

We must hope that President Obama has the wisdom and toughness to resist the efforts of the Israeli government and its allies in Congress to draw us into another military and foreign policy disaster in the Middle East.

Academics Must Be Stressed

2012-03-05T00:01:00.002-05:00

Three cheers for school one of our local school board members. Here’s what he said at the recent school board meeting concerning the lack of emphasis on academics in our community.

“We have been very successful in athletics, FFA, band and choral; all these extracurricular activities. But we need to do the same thing with academics. We’ve got to get the parents involved, and we’ve got to change this culture. What does it take to push these kids? How do we get them fired up? It seems a matter of priority. I’ve been a board member for two years and the education field is both the most rewarding and the most frustrating thing I’ve ever seen. If these kids would spend the time hitting the books that they do on the practice field, we would be lauding their academic achievements.”

I appreciate this man's comments. I’m pretty sure his remarks were partly the result of my recent columns highlighting the extraordinary discrepancy between the county's success on the playing field and success in the classroom. Productive change often begins with an observation and it’s obvious he was paying attention.

Our county high school's new principal also spoke at the board meeting. Here’s his explanation regarding our failure to meet indicators established by the No Child Left Behind testing. “High school reading scores plummet nationally from grade school to high school. We have started direct reading instruction and we have seen increases in test scores because of that. We are now seeing that reading and writing go together.”

It’s true many children who do well in the lower grades don’t fare so well in high school, but we shouldn’t seek refuge in the knowledge that other school systems are also doing a poor job in this regard. Also, I don’t think the fact that student scores improve as a result of “direct reading instruction” or that “reading and writing go together” will surprise most people. If that’s a new insight for school officials, there’s little likelihood we’ll make the cover of Newsweek any time soon.

The board member's comment encouraging kids to hit the books also deserves a special round of applause. There’s a problem though. We have spent millions on beautiful buildings and innovative technology in our community but students must routinely share a class set of textbooks. That’s not smart. Technology education is essential but it should not come at the expense of the traditional curriculum.

Moving our schools forward will indeed require us to define what we deem a worthy cultural value. When our superintendent of schools first came here he asked for approval to issue bonds to build a new high school. (The old one was literally falling apart.)The community soundly rejected the measure. Fortunately, the region's largest employer stepped in and advanced twenty years of taxes enabling us to build a new facility. What does that say about our values?

When a county student became the first student to score a perfect 1600 on the SAT, there were no plans to publicly honor him until I raised the issue. Contrast that with the number of times we have issued resolutions and proclamations to honor athletic achievement. What does that say about our priorities? Sports programs in the county run the gamut from tether ball to nationally recognized high school programs. We have essentially created a farm system to develop athletic talent, but have not created a parallel system dedicated to excellence in academics.

I would like to see the county schools institute the International Baccalaureate Program in our middle schools and at the high school. This renowned academic program, currently used in only five Kentucky high schools, would give us a framework to address the lack of continuity between grade levels and may be just the thing “to push these kids” to a new awareness.

Educating a child takes more than a family and those of us who do not have school age children should not neglect our responsibility to these kids. Paying taxes and going on our way won’t cut it. School systems that are world class are that way because the entire community expects it.

CS # 62 Micropoetry by Cletis

2012-03-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

Music Saturday #31 Tracy Chapman

2012-03-03T00:01:00.003-05:00

There isn't anything to say about this lady that hasn't already been said. I'll only add that I adore her and her music. She is very, very special. Enjoy!

When You Learn Something You Learn It

2012-03-02T00:01:00.051-05:00

Brian Todd Perkins is a very talented writer and a great guy. I love this blog and borrow his work on a regular basis. Here's the link to his place.

http://myblueky.blogspot.com/

"Santorum said what!"

When I think of the average Republican voter in 2012, I think of Barney Fife. The clip below is one of my favorite scenes from the classic "The Andy Griffith Show." Like Barney, the GOP and its voting base think they know the Constitution inside and out. And like Barney, they fail miserably when actually being tested on their knowledge. By the end, Barney, and today's GOP, have slowly descended into madness trying to prove their mastery of the Constitution, looking disheveled and worn out.

What we've seen in the GOP lately is the result of decades of clinging to a perception of a past that never existed. Too bad. The Authors of the Constitution designed it to be loose, so that we may allow for provisions and interpretations of it to fit the needs of our time. That is what we have done up to this point, hence the 27 Amendments added as recently as 1992, with Congressional Pay Limitation.

Thomas Jefferson said, "We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country." Clinging to the ways of the past; desperately grasping at a literal interpretation of the Constitution in modern society, was never its intention by the Authors.

The GOP forgets that. The way they govern suggests that they have never even read the Constitution, have no idea how to apply it to 2012. Virginia's intrusive vaginal screening laws, Santorum's stance against any form of contraception whatsoever, Chris Christie's vetoing of a marriage equality bill--the evidence is everywhere.

All I can do is shake my head.

About the clip below: For some reason, and to its detriment, the laughter has been taken out of this clip. I've said this before but it's worth repeating. Watch The Andy Griffith Show. If you don't like black and white, or you think it may be corny, have a big ol' slice of Humble Pie, get over yourself, and watch it.

This is truly timeless art.

By Cletis Stump

2012-03-01T00:01:00.003-05:00

Note: Please feel free to spread any or all of these around. I would, however, appreciate it if you would attribute these to me. @CletisStump or thebookofcletis.blogspot.com

The GOP Laws of Power

~ The 1^st GOP Law of Power: "The reduction of government services will be met with an equivalent increase of corporate control."

~ The 2nd Law GOP of Power: "Always praise Jesus as your lord and savior when cameras are rolling, otherwise kneel before Mammon."

~ The 3d GOP Law of Power: "When beating the war drum, stress the desire to aid those yearing to be free; never mention their oil."

~ The 4^th GOP Law of Power: "Stress patriotism and at all times brand those who oppose our wars of imperialism as socialist agitators"

~ The 5^th GOP Law of Power: "Never credit President Obama; deflect the praise when it is brought forth and quickly reference his Muslim father."

~ The 6^th GOP Law of Power: "In an election year, back off of any aspect of our agenda the electorate has questioned and change the subject."

~ The 7^th GOP Law of Power: "When caught in a lie and all attempts to ignore the public outcry have failed, speak only to Fox News."

~ The 8th GOP Law of Power: "As the economy improves, and unemployment declines, feign outrage over social issues & re engage the culture wars."

~ The 9^th GOP Law of Power: "When holding a minority of Senate seats, embrace the filibuster and pass no legislation favorable to the President."

~ The 10th GOP Law of Power: "When President Obama shows grace and courage and refuses to engage in Brinkmanship, double down."

Corporate Tax Cut by Manifesto Joe

2012-02-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

http://manifestojoestexasblues.blogspot.com/

The fundamental dishonesty of the Mainstream Media business press tends to come out at times like this, as President Obama is proposing a cut in the U.S. corporate tax rate, down from the stated "35%" down to 28%. Unfortunately, this is when the fundamental dishonesty of many politicians comes out as well.

The MSM business press, while widely reporting that the current U.S. corporate tax rate of 35% is among the highest in the developed world, fails to report that two-thirds of American corporations aren't even paying it -- or anything at all, effectively. They acknowledge that many corporations, because of loopholes, don't pay an effective rate that high. They fail to report how prevalent, and how widespread, that failure to pay is. It's so bad that two-thirds of them basically pay NOTHING.

Don't believe it? Here's a link.

I can provide many others. Suffice it to say that two-thirds of U.S. corporations, according to numerous studies, have been shown to dodge federal income taxes to such an extent that their effective rate is little or nothing.

What Obama proposes, as I understand it, is to cut the nominal rate from 35% to 28%, with the trade-off of closing a lot of the loopholes that have permitted corporate giants in America to get by year after year paying virtually nothing. Sounds like a reasonable trade-off. I'm a political realist. So, on the surface, it sounds quite pragmatic.

But Obama's plan, again, as I understand it, would introduce a new set of loopholes into the mix, after closing some of them. While additional loopholes, for "green technology" companies and such, may seem like a good idea, it's an idea best left for a time when our federal government can actually AFFORD such breaks.

Granted, one of the nastiest pieces of Republican demagoguery is blaming the current accumulation of national debt on Obama. During Reagan's presidency, the national debt TRIPLED, from about $1 trillion to about $3 trillion. During the absurd "presidency" of Il Doofus, the national debt doubled from about $5 trillion to about $10 trillion while this imbecile was busy doing something that was tantamount to -- well, if FDR had decided to invade Argentina after the Pearl Harbor attack. That's about what the Iraq invasion amounted to, in hindsight.

But now is not the time to introduce any new proposals for loopholes. After 20 or so Republican debates, some of us have a general idea of how batshit crazy most of their "hopefuls" are.

(At the most recent debate, Ron Paul was asked to describe himself in one word. His choice: "Consistent." Yeah. Consistently insane.

Some of us are looking desperately to the president for leadership. I like the man, but I've been disappointed. I hope to see MORE of the best stuff from him.

Contrary to what Darth Cheney once said, deficits DO matter. America can't afford to run up too much more. As nice as breaks for "green" companies would be, we've come to a time in which all and everyone must ante up.

I understand that Obama is running for re-election, and that he must "dance with them what brung him," as the saying goes in Texas. But now is the time to see statesmanship from him, not pandering. Everyone must share the sacrifice. And that means everyone. Close the loopholes for all, and please, please, don't introduce any new ones.

Manifesto Joe Is An Underground Writer Living In Texas.

The Lourdes Preyere

2012-02-28T00:01:00.015-05:00

Ever wonder how English once looked on paper? Here's The Lord's Prayer in Old English, Middle English, and a verbatim translation of The Old English text. One can only imagine the changes another 500 years will bring.

(Old English - Anglo-Saxon)

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice

Middle English

Oure fadir that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene.
Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis, as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.

Translation of Old English Text

Father our thou that art in heavens
be thy name hallowed
come thy kingdom
be-done thy will
on earth as in heavens
our daily bread give us today
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those-who-have-sinned-against-us
and not lead thou us into temptation
but deliver us from evil. truly

A Foreign Perspective by Daniel Berry

2012-02-27T00:01:00.006-05:00

I heard something very interesting on the radio the other day. They were interviewing a man who was quite knowledgeable of Japan about the state of that country on the anniversary of last year's tsunami. He was talking about how the Japanese were very much aware of what the rest of the world thought of them and the effect this had on their behavior and political decisions.

He said they had made a point to choose three foreign film companies to develop documentaries about the tsunami recovery. He also mentioned, and this was the interesting part, that the Japanese were so interested in what others thought that if you walked into almost any Japanese bookstore you would find a special section dedicated to foreign books about Japan.

Can you imagine a whole section of an American bookstore dedicated to foreign writers' impressions of the United States? I certainly have never seen one. In fact, you might say this would be a foreign concept here in America.

I don't agree with a lot of people but I am willing, even anxious, to
hear what different people have to say. I enjoy tuning into the BBC evening news on cable and I would love to be able to listen to the English language Aljazeera TV broadcasts to try to understand the Arab world's perspective of world events. What better way to evaluate our own beliefs than to immerse ourselves a bit in an unfamiliar world.

Ironically, it is the views much closer to home, those of the modern GOP, that I am least likely to listen to. Why do I go out of my way to listen to the BBC and avoid Fox News like the plague? I think it is because the BBC, and I suspect Aljazeera, doesn't make my head explode with their sheer stupidity.

Perhaps, if Conservatives would emerge just a bit from their incredibly tiny, little world and try to see things from an outside perspective, their world view would expand enough to let them say something rational. Maybe, we could build them a special section in the library where they could learn the rest of the world scratches their collective head in bewilderment at a nation that is still arguing about universal healthcare and contraception.

CS #61 A Poem by Teresa Evangeline

2012-02-26T00:01:00.022-05:00

"My Husband Never Takes Me Anywhere"

My husband never takes me anywhere
so I sometimes, you understand,
envy my city friends who have
Twyla Tharp,
"Long Day's Journey Into Night,"
and Wynton Marsalis
at their fingertips.
Oh, I know,
we went for a jeep ride
up the Ramsey Road
stopping by the beaver pond
just in time to see
a flock of mergansers settle in.
And we walked the length of Indian
Island last July,
picking Indian paintbrush and wading
in the back cove.
And just this spring
we rode our bikes to Willow Creek
where the fish were running.
So many you could catch them with
your hands.

Another season goes by.
I guess
Grant Wood,
"Moon for the Misbegotten,"
and Baryshnikov
will have to wait again.
You see, it isn't easy
having a husband who never takes you
anywhere.
I have to settle for
bald eagles circling the white pines
across the "second bay,"
bumblebees buzzing the lilacs on the
bank,
and riding with George
as he steers our canoe
through a slice of silver moon
on Whitefish Lake.

~Teresa Claire Coughlin

Teresa's poem was originally published in The Christian Science Monitor back in the 1980's under her married name. We are deeply honored to reprint this and would like to know your thoughts. Teresa's blog is this way...

http://teresaevangeline.blogspot.com/

Music Saturday #30

2012-02-25T00:01:00.044-05:00

Hey, there's far too much unhappiness in the world lately and spring is finally coming so today it's Bubblegum music. Enjoy.

The Archies, who had a smash hit with Sugar Sugar in 1969, were a studio band with lead singer Ron Dante who also sang lead for The Cuff Links who had one hit, Tracy. Dante produced many of Barry Manilow's songs and also later produced the Tony award winning musical, Ain't Misbehavin.

Andy Kim (Youakim), a Canadian of Lebanese ancestry, had a hit in 1969 with Baby I Love You and in 1971 a mega-hit with Rock Me Gently. Kim also co-wrote Sugar Sugar by The Archies.

Cats of Twitter #1

2012-02-24T00:01:00.005-05:00

"I love you, man."
@MotivatedInOhio

"Ohhh, the difficulty of being a member of the kiterati in these days of the Neo-Neanderthal."

http://catsignal.com/

"I really should show more appreciation for my human servants but...I won't."
@LbrlOkie77

"No, Brian, actually this chair isn't big enough for both of us."
@sirbriantodd

"How droll, filet mignon and truffles again."

@LilJimmyCat

"Man, that was some first rate Catnip."
@CamelotK

"Move so you can vacuum? You're kidding, right?"
@kjolson66

"I don't know, maybe I shouldn't have left that dead mouse on her pillow."
@Illiter8

"Good Lord, the neighbor looks like the Hindenburg in that dress."

@felinocity

"All right, already! Snap the picture!"
@ginsengity

"Delivery's late today but life has been so much better since I signed up with Dial-A-Mouse."
@manyko2

"Really, now, does this look like the face of a cat who would trip the postman?"
@maimecat

This advice from @maimecat had me on the floor.

Un-Consitute by Daniel Berry

2012-02-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

I have as much respect for the Constitution and the guidance it provides us in our many difficult public policy decisions as the next guy. Honestly, I do but can we please stop using it as the excuse of first choice in opposing everything we happen to disagree with?

In his recent opinion column, my local conservative pundit once again provides us with a list of all the issues he opposes on Constitutional grounds. With all due respect to our Constitution, I believe that interpreting how an 18th century document, no matter how profound, speaks to public policy issues in 2012 is more of an art than a science. Even the most simple issues can be sliced in more than one way by the words of our well-intentioned founding fathers.

So, let's try to push our Constitutional arguments more toward the end of the debate rather than the beginning. If Mr. Pundit has a compelling, rational argument why he believes health insurance can work if only the folks who feel like it are required to participate, then, by all means, let's hear it.

If he wants to make a reasoned case for why large church-based employers should be allowed to impose their beliefs on their employees while receiving millions in federal funding and tax breaks then he should make that case. If his arguments pass the common sense test, maybe then we can debate Constitutionality.

Mitt Romney: The One Percent's Captain America

2012-02-22T00:01:00.007-05:00

Note: Brian Cooney, professor emeritus of philosophy at Centre College has few peers. We are very grateful he allows us to reprint his insightful commentaries.

On stage at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Feb. 2, Mitt Romney and his wife looked humble as they basked in the endorsement of The Donald, orange-haired birther and billionaire capitalist sage.

Trump sounded as if he were presenting the new Mr. and Mrs. America: “This is a great couple. Look at this couple.” If the Romneys had brought along their four totally handsome sons, Trump might have put in a plug for eugenics.

The scene was an ironic reminder of the financial elite’s success in taming the town-hall invaders, founding-father impersonators, tax haters, raucous Obamaphobes, and flag-waving birthers that had coalesced as the Tea Party. Here was Trump, once the Tea Party’s presidential favorite, now blessing the establishment candidate.

During the primary season, the Tea Party became infatuated with a succession of unelectables—Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain. Happily, for the GOP, all three quickly sank under the weight of their manifest incompetence.

That created an opening for another Tea Party darling: the disgraced former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, with his venomous mouth and great debating skill. This corrupt Washington insider won over South Carolina conservatives by presenting himself as anti-elitist. In a state that still sports the Confederate flag in front of its Capitol, Gingrich scored points by calling Obama a “food stamp President” as well as scolding blacks for lacking a work ethic.

However, Newt’s victory frightened GOP elders. Bob Dole warned that Gingrich would doom the party’s chances in November. Romney’s super-PAC was able to raise enough money to overwhelm Newt in the Florida primary.

Rick Santorum’s Feb. 7 victories in the low-turnout, non-binding caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and in Missouri’s straw poll, and his resulting surge in opinion polls, are unlikely to stop Romney. Santorum, Gingrich, and Ron Paul will continue to divide (and thereby weaken) the anti-Romney conservatives. Romney’s much greater financial and organizational resources will likely prevail in the big primaries to come, as they did in Florida.

After his decisive win in the Nevada caucuses, Romney tweeted triumphantly: “Our message of restoring America’s greatness continues to resonate through the West & across the country.” What is his vision of our greatness?

And what is his message to the millions enduring the psychological and financial stress of unemployment? To the 48% of Americans who are either poor (49.1 million) or low-income (the 97.3 million who scrape by on less than 200% of poverty-level income)?

In a recent CNN interview, Romney admitted he has nothing to say to many of these people: “I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”

Can we believe his promise to care for the safety net? As Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone points out, Romney has already told us how he would “fix” Medicaid: “Romney has endorsed Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal to "block-grant" the federal contribution to Medicaid – and turn the program over to the states.”

As an April 5 report of the Congressional Budget Office explains, under the Ryan plan “federal spending for Medicaid would be 35 percent lower in 2022 and 49 percent lower in 2030.” Romney told Sean Hannity in an Oct. 24 radio interview he would cut even more from Medicaid, by reducing the annual growth cap of the block grants from 3% (in Ryan’s plan) to 1 or 2%. As any governor could tell him, this would be a disaster for millions of families.

In the same CNN interview, Romney added “I’m not concerned about the very rich. They’re doing just fine.” Instead, he says he worries about “middle income Americans, they're the folks that are really struggling right now, and they need someone that can help get this economy going for them."

In fact, his tax proposals suggest the exact opposite. According to Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, “Mitt Romney’s tax plan would cut taxes for millions of households but bestow most of its benefits on those with the highest incomes. At the same time, it would significantly cut corporate taxes and add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit.

In the year 2015, Romney’s tax plan would raise taxes by an average of $157 for the bottom 20% of taxpayers, and $82 for the second quintile. The third (middle) quintile (“the folks that are really struggling”) would receive a whopping $138 tax cut! (Tax Policy Center, “The Romney Plan”)

And what about the “very rich” that Romney says he’s “not concerned about”? The tax cut for those with incomes over $1 million would average $145,568.

In short, Romney’s vision of a restored America comes straight from George W. Bush’s coloring book: prosperity trickling down on the rest of us from super-wealthy “job creators” such as himself.

by Edward Virtually

2012-02-21T00:01:00.002-05:00

I've found another twitter/blogger friend who tells the straight up, unvarnished truth as he sees it. I respect that and also agree with every word he wrote regarding Ron Paul's candidacy. Here's the link.

http://edwardv.livejournal.com/

As I am beyond tired of going over the facts again and again with people who either don't or won't understand why voting 3rd party will not work and will do nothing but repeat 2000 -- that is, handing victory to the republicans, I am going to restate them here one more time and refer to this entry when necessary.

Fact: the Florida vote count went to the scotus because of the extremely small margin of victory of 1784 votes.

Fact: only 2.31% of Florida voters voted 3rd party.

Fact: 48.85% of Florida voters voted republican. 48.84% voted democrat.

Fact: 2.31% of the total Florida vote turnout was 137,666.

Fact: the number of votes wasted on 3rd party voting was *77 times* the margin that caused the scotus to become involved.

Fact: If Nader had given his votes to the Dems, Gore would have won because a margin of 137,666 would not have been disputable.

Fact: the 3rd party vote share for any presidential election in 100 years has been in the single digits. Go look it up.

Fact: 3rd party share in the single digits is not going to become 48.85 or anything even close to it in one election cycle. it is a STATISTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY. Denying this fact is simply stupid.

Fact: voting for Ron Paul or any other 3rd party candidate in 2012 will cause the same thing to happen again.

Fact: 3rd party voting *cannot* cause 3rd party candidate to win. It can and will cause the Dems to lose and the Republicans win because the margin of victory is a hundredth of a percentage point and those 3rd party votes will tip the scales against the dems by 2.31%.

Deal with the facts or don't. but I will be blocking people who continue to ignore them. The country paid a terrible price for Nader's egomania and it cannot afford to pay a similar price for Ron Paul's. I have no more patience for people too stubborn or stupid to keep it from happening.

America's Varied Carols Part 3

2012-02-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a Farm Security Administration cooperative. Vicinity of Natchitoches, Louisiana, August 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

African American's tenant's home beside the Mississippi River levee. Near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

A crossroads store, bar, "juke joint," and gas station in the cotton plantation area. Melrose, Louisiana, June 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Boys fishing in a bayou. Schriever, Louisiana, June 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

A store with live fish for sale. Vicinity of Natchitoches, Louisiana, July 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

African American migratory workers by a "juke joint". Belle Glade, Florida, February 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Children aiming sticks as guns, lined up against a brick building. Washington, D.C.(?), between 1941 and 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photographer Unknown. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Shulman's market, on N at Union Street S.W. Washington, D.C., between 1941 and 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Louise Rosskam. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

House. Washington, D.C.(?), between 1941 and 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Louise Rosskam. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Chapel, Vadito. Near Penasco, New Mexico, Spring 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Collier. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

A welder who works in the round-house at the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company's Proviso yard. Chicago, Illinois, December 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

View in a departure yard at Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company's Proviso yard at twilight. Chicago, Illinois, December 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Switchman throwing a switch at Chicago and Northwest Railway Company's Proviso yard. Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Mike Evans, a welder, at the rip tracks at Proviso yard of the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company. Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Putting the finishing touches on a rebuilt caboose at the rip tracks at Proviso yard. Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Switch engine in yard near Calumet Park stockyards, Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Calumet City, Illinois, January 1943. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

General view of part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad Chicago, Illinois, May 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Mrs. Viola Sievers, one of the wipers at the roundhouse giving a giant "H" class locomotive a bath of live steam. Clinton, Iowa, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, Chicago and Northwest Railway Company. Clinton, Iowa, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

CS # 60 by Bryon Cannon

2012-02-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Bryon astonishes me. His brilliant, short fiction reveals insights into the depths of who we are far beyond the imaginings of a herd of psychologists. Bryon, my friend you are here on loan from another more beautiful place and I am grateful.

http://catsignal.com/

Two roads diverged in the woods, and Warren could not tell which one his errant dog had taken. There had been a frost the previous night; it had hardened the ground against footprints, and the leaves seemed equally trodden upon.

Warren was unconcerned. He often came to these lovely woods with his little dog. They belonged to a friend who lived in town and didn’t mind people stopping by. In the summer, the woods had been filled with monarch butterflies, flitting from one tuft of flowers to the next. With the approach of winter, of course, they could not stay.

He stood and listened to the sound of the trees as the wind flowed gently through their bare branches. His right hand, of old, unvanquished habit, clenched around an invisible mate, and then it tightened into a fist.

Warren had often brought Amy here. They stood in this spot and held hands, admiring the birches and the phoebes and each other.

But Amy had gone back west to care for her ill mother. And across the distance, as so often happens, she had met someone else and never returned to Warren or the woods.

Warren had ambled the city’s streets late into the night after that, beyond the furthest city light, numbly exploring the vast reaches of the growing desert place inside himself. At times his heart burned; other times it was as though ice had taken over. But he eventually returned to the natural world; he had already given up love and the future he had wanted, and even though the birds’ songs would never be the same, he refused to give up his precious walks in the woods.

Never mind that, he told himself with a sigh.

Night began falling fast. Warren whistled once, and then again, as loudly as he could. A bark answered him, and he looked down the left trail. Robert raced into view; he danced upright for a moment before coming to a stop at his master’s feet.

“It looks like it might snow,” Warren told the dog. “I’ll have to take you in tonight.”

Warren led Robert back toward the edge of the woods where the car was parked. They came to the short rock wall that Warren’s friend tried in vain to keep in repair. A squarish rock lay on the ground, and Warren was almost certain it had been on top of the wall when he and Robert first passed by only an hour before.

Warren opened the car door; Robert jumped in and went directly to the passenger seat. Warren slid in behind the wheel and started the car.

Robert looked out the window and yawned. Warren scratched the dog’s ears.

“Only a few miles to go, and then you can sleep.”

Music Saturday #29 Adele

2012-02-18T00:01:00.005-05:00

On his beyond great Graceland album, Paul Simon has an amzing song called, The Boy in the Bubble. In the song there's a great line, "...and music is magical and magical is art and every generation throws a hero up the pop charts." Like many of you who visit our place, I have lived long enough to have seen many of those heroes; many of whom were media creations and a few who were more than worthy of the acclaim. Without further ado, I give you a young woman who falls well within the latter category; one of the most gifted singers I have heard anywhere and at anytime. I give you Adele.

Video below. Here are the lyrics. Enjoy...

"Set Fire To The Rain"

I let it fall, my heart,
And as it fell you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me

My hands, they're strong
But my knees were far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet

But there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew.
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true,
And the games you play
You would always win, always win.

[Chorus:]
But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!

When I lay with you
I could stay there
Close my eyes
Feel you here forever
You and me together
Nothing is better

'Cause there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew,
All the things you'd say,
They were never true, never true,
And the games you play
You would always win, always win.

[Chorus:]
But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!

I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
Where it felt something die
'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time!

Sometimes I wake up by the door,
That heart you caught must be waiting for you
Even now when we're already over
I can't help myself from looking for you.

[Chorus:]
I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name

I set fire to the rain,
And I threw us into the flames
Where it felt something die
'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time, oh, ohhhh!

Oh noooo
Let it burn
Oh oh ohhhh
Let it burn
Oh oh ohhhh
Let it burn
Oh oh ohhhh

Diary of a Mad Pussy

2012-02-17T00:01:00.016-05:00

~ Hat Tip to my beautiful, cat-loving friend, Kathy ~

As seen in a dog's diary:

7am - Oh boy! A walk! My favorite!
8am - Oh boy! Dog food! My favorite!
9am - Oh boy! The kids! My favorite!
Noon - Oh boy! The yard! My favorite!
2pm - Oh boy! A car ride! My favorite!
3pm - Oh boy! The kids! My favorite!
4pm - Oh boy! Playing ball! My favorite!
6pm - Oh boy! Mom! My favorite!
7pm - Oh boy! Dad! My favorite!
8pm - Oh boy! Dog food! My favorite!
11pm - Oh boy! Sleeping in a people bed! My favorite!

As seen in a cat's diary:

Day 183 of my captivity... My captors continued to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from clawing the furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another house plant.

Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded * must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair * must try this on their bed.

Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear in their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was. Hmmm, not working according to plan.

There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the food. More importantly, I overheard that my confinement was due to my powers of inducing "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.

I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured.

But I can wait; it is only a matter of time...

Thanks Again Mitch by Daniel Berry

2012-02-16T00:01:00.002-05:00

I noticed Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell appeared in the paper recently, pretending to be outraged. Faux outrage from the GOP these days is generally in response to something rational the President said. In this case, that something was that employers providing health care insurance under the Affordable Care Act would be required to cover birth control.

McConnell was pretending that this requirement constitutes a blatant assault on Americans' religious liberty and a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution by an out-of-control President. I'm not surprised Senator McConnell's interpretation of the First Amendment seems to include replacing our secular government with one in which a religious group is allowed to impose it's 19th century religious dictates onto it's 21st century employees.

That part is now standard GOP dogma. I am a bit surprised, however, McConnell was so short sighted as to nominate the Catholic church to head up the new Republican theocracy. I would have expected a wise man like McConnell to possess the foresight to anoint the Amish the power to dictate public health policy, thus eliminating the dreaded health care problem altogether, since their beliefs forbid nearly all forms of modern medicine.

Mitch would also have to trade in his limo for a horse and buggy but these are the sacrifices we make for religious freedom.

Peace out, homies, Uncle Mitch knows what's best for your womenfolk.

Dogs of Twitter #2

2012-02-15T00:01:00.015-05:00

This is Part 2 of The Dogs of Twitter. Frankly, these furry friends are the best part of the network.

http://teresaevangeline.blogspot.com/

@ma811

@moldor

@Sara33094

@TobyK9Cohen

@gme11

I've Had Enough by Motivatedinohio

2012-02-14T00:01:00.036-05:00

http://www.motivatedinohio.com/

Some time ago, our politicians (especially the right wing) decided that they would make an informal religious test of candidates. ( A formal test is against our Constitution.) So for the previous decades, our politicians have prayed, talked about Jesus, and held prayer meetings; all the while trying to hurt the poor and aid the wealthy.

Poverty has become a crime in itself and laws are made to incarcerate the poor at a much higher rate than the greater populace. The wealthy themselves seldom have to pay a price for their crimes, even if they have hurt million of people (as with the ongoing financial crisis).

Instead of out praying each other, why don't they take the words of Isaiah to heart?

1. Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, 2. to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 3. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? 4. Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. (Isaiah 10)

Instead of pretending to be people of faith, why don't Republicans help the poor and oppressed? Why are they not content with more than enough?

Most Republicans are not pro-life; they are anti-abortion. Are there too many abortions? Of Course. Are there elderly people who die because of lack of care or food? Definitely! Are they screaming about that? No. Are there children who don't have enough to eat? Yes. Are they screaming about that? NO!

The Religious Right has lobbied for such things as enslavement of people in the Mariana Islands and forced abortions. All in the name of Christ. (Check out Ralph Reed's Christian Coalition) It is about power and control. Force women to get abortions if it furthers your agenda, then say you are pro-life. Most of today's Republicans are the white washed tombs that Jesus talked about.

Click here to read more: Read More about the Right Wing Agenda

Don't Smoke Em

2012-02-13T00:01:00.013-05:00

Second-hand smoke is dangerous. Scientists are clear on this subject. When you enter a place where people are smoking you are breathing hundreds of toxic chemicals. You in effect become a smoker. You are exposing your children to dangerous air, and you are making older family members, whose respiration becomes more sensitive due to aging, struggle for breath.

In children, breathing second-hand smoke causes increased respiratory infections, increased ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. It aggravates sinusitis, rhinitis, cystic fibrosis, coughing, post-nasal drip, colds and sore throats. Not to mention the permanent damage done to their rapidly developing respiratory and central nervous systems.

There’s more. Each year, over 60,000 heart-attack deaths are caused by exposure to second-hand smoke. Those who have heart problems or have suffered a previous heart attack are particularly susceptible. Research now implicates second-hand smoke as a causative agent in the onset of breast cancer, and most incidences of SIDS are triggered by second-hand smoke.

Do you really need this in your life? Even in Kentucky, we have managed to make a great many of our communities smoke-free. Hopefully, someday soon, we will have statewide protection but our legislature is not made up of the brightest lights on the tree. I hope you fare better in your state but, if not, have at it and get that changed. Breathing is still rather important.

Check your state here as of 2010

http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/tobacco-control-advocacy/states-communities/smokefree-airchallenge.html

CS # 59 by Teresa Evangeline

2012-02-12T00:01:00.004-05:00

Chicken Pluckin' Time in Elsie's Kitchen

It was a warm afternoon in late August and my siblings had just gone back to school when my father, who was driving over to the neighbors, asked if I wanted to ride along. I don't recall our business, probably something to do with cows, horses, or hay, but he was going over to see Otto, who lived just off the highway about two miles away.

So, there we were, being neighborly, chatting in the kitchen with Elsie, Otto's wife, and a couple of womenfolk I didn't know, waiting for Otto to come in from the fields. I don't recall the conversation as I hadn't been paying any attention to it. All my senses had been diverted to the ungodly smell invading Elsie's kitchen.

You see, it was getting near suppertime and chickens were being plucked, a job made a whole lot easier by the metal tub full of scalding hot water which sat on the table in front of Elsie. It was a warm day and, despite sitting close to the screen door, the stench of hot, wet chicken feathers, mixed with the heat in that kitchen and what was probably more than a little bit of blood, quickly became unbearable. I was sitting very close to my father, trying not to watch the process of plunging and plucking, plunging and plucking, hoping I could stave off the adverse reaction rising within me. Despite being a farm girl and having been around chickens all my young life, those might well have been the longest minutes I'd ever passed, my own little preview of hell.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Elsie asked my father if we'd like to stay for supper. My heart stopped as I waited for his answer. Possibly sensing that I was quickly reaching the point of no return, he gently nudged my leg with his as he said thanks, but no, we'd be going on home. Perhaps he heard my exhalation of relief as I began breathing again and my heart resumed its beating.

A few minutes later, he opened the screen door and we stepped outside, leaving that kitchen far behind us. I followed him out to the barn where Otto was just coming in on the tractor. You might be thinking, 'Surely a barn can't be an improvement on a kitchen,' but you would be wrong. I was used to barns and actually enjoyed spending time there, watching the little chicks under the heat lamp every spring, building forts among the hay bales, the smell of warm milk, fresh from the cows, as it hit the metal pail. While they talked business, I passed the time playing with a mama cat and her kittens in the grassy shade of the barn door.

Later, when we were safely ensconced in the car, he turned to me with that smile and the slightly conspiratorial tone he used when he wanted me to feel we were in something together, and said, "Were you afraid I might say yes?" I can see myself even now, all these years later, looking down at my hands in my lap, and nodding yes. My father laughed, as I smiled and breathed deeply that sweet summer air coming through the open car window, then we turned onto the highway and headed for home.

Here's a little "Cash" for the trip home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcGpkcOJBA0

Looking back from the vantage point of time and experience, I have deep respect for these people and their way of life. Many are returning to it. Some never left.

And no, those aren't chickens on my sweater. They're ducks.

Top photograph by John Vachon.

Music Saturday #28 Darcy Clay

2012-02-11T00:01:00.010-05:00

I learned about Darcy Clay recently from a New Zealand twitter friend and I was knocked out by his enormous energy and talent. Also, I was deeply saddened by his suicide. This form of death is perhaps the most hurtful way to lose someone and evokes, even more poignantly than normal, the words of John Donne, "Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls/It tolls for thee."

I have included the lyrics. If you don't think this guy is your cup of tea, please give it a chance. Sometimes, our comfort zones can become our tombs long before we're dead.

From Wikipedia

Darcy Clay (b. Daniel Robert Bolton, 12 December 1972 – 15 March 1998) was an Auckland, New Zealand singer/songwriter, who was made famous in 1997 for his minor hit "Jesus I Was Evil", in which he recorded all instruments in his bedroom on a 4-track recorder.

Darcy Clay committed suicide at his girlfriend's Grey Lynn area house on 15 March 1998.^[1] At the time of his suicide Clay was scheduled to perform on 9 April 1998 at the Levi's Life Festival, a suicide prevention and awareness event.^[2]

Jesus I was Evil by Darcy Clay

I used to do lots of things

I used to do things
and say things
and Jesus I was evil
Say things and break things
and Jesus I was evil
I never shook babies
I never beat no ladies

I used to crash parties
and Mazerattis
and
I was evil
Go places
and blow faces
and Jesus I was evil
I never shook babies
I never beat no ladies

But Jesus I was evil
Jesus I was evil

*He never shook babies
He never beat no ladies*

Now I help old ladies cross the street and I
Now I shine my shoes upon my feet and I
Now I grow the food that feeds the homeless in the streets and I
Comb my hair one million times a week and I
Say my prayers before I go to sleep at night

Jolene by Dolly Parton

Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Im begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Please don't take him just because you can
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, jolene

He talks about you in his sleep
There's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, jolene

And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me, jolene

Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Im begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
Hes the only one for me, jolene

I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, jolene

Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Im begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
Please don't take him even though you can
Jolene, jolene

Church or State by Grey Parker

2012-02-10T00:01:00.056-05:00

We borrowed this from Grey Parker and, as always, we are very grateful he let's us reprint his provocative, insightful work. http://handthatfeedsyou.blogspot.com/

The GOP War On The Separation Clause

Feb 8th, 2012
by F. Grey Parker

I regard myself as a Christian. I believe in the Gospels. I generally keep it to myself and out of my writing because I have the right to do so. In America, no one may tell me what, how, when or where to worship.

I am protected from litmus tests or societal demands to prove my faith by the Constitution. That's what the separation clause provides for.

What I am not guaranteed is special status to impose my religion when I participate in public markets. I am also (supposed to be) Constitutionally disallowed access to taxpayer monies while simultaneously demanding the right to implement policies driven by a theological agenda in those markets.

Period.

Contrary to popular GOP propaganda, there is no war on religion in the United States. That is absurd. What we do have currently is a coordinated effort to attack the bedrock principle of separation. Nothing illustrates this more than the current brouhaha over the Obama Administration's new birth control guidelines.

No one is forcing anyone to violate the terms of their faith. This is because no one is forcing anyone to run a business. You don't like it? Close. You can't abide by it? Shutter your establishment. The vacuum created by any such move will be met by the entrepreneurial spirit.

That's America.

There is something else quite important here; A majority of "contraceptives" prescribed in the United States are not used for "family planning." They are specifically used to target other women's health issues.

It worth noting that a majority of Catholics, the group singled out by so many "social conservatives" as being under siege or in need of defense from this... support the policy.

Two Things by Daniel Berry

2012-02-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

Note from Cletis: Daniel's back and that's never good for the idiots of the world.

Two things happened last week that reminded me of how incredibly stupid Republicans are these days. I know two must seem a bit low, given all that's been going on in the Republican primaries lately, but I guess I've sort of become immune to all of that.

The first thing was that I purchased a new, old pickup truck and had to set the preset channels on my radio. I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover the wonderful, informative, intelligent news segments on my local NPR network affiliate. I had somehow lost touch with them in recent months and remembered what I had been missing. What a pleasure to once again be able to learn more about the top stories of the day through nonpartisan, objective interviews with knowledgeable people on both sides of an issue. The interviewers really do a wonderful job and I was, of course, reminded of the fact that this programming is what the Republicans branded as left wing propaganda when they tried to defund NPR awhile back.

It always seems to come down the the same question with these guys. Are they really so stupid as to actually believe the things they say or do they think people are so stupid as to believe them when they say it? I can never decide which is the most frightening answer. The sad thing is that all they would have to do to get rational people to listen to them is to say something rational. If they had said that NPR is a nice thing but we really can no longer afford for the government to fund it, I would have listened to what they had to say.

Even if they had said that, as a matter of principle, the government has no business funding the arts at all, they may have had a valid argument. But, they never seem to say anything like that. Instead, they always jump over all the potential reasonable positions and go straight to something totally stupid like, "NPR is radical left wing propaganda."

The second thing that happened was the dust up with the Komen Foundation defunding Planned Parenthood. This fiasco was, of course, a continuation of the right wing attack on Planned Parenthood that happened at about the same time as the NPR business. Republicans said Planned Parenthood, an organization that serves as the only health care provider for millions of women, is nothing more than an evil abortion mill and should therefore lose all government support. Nothing could be more absurd and nothing could make Republicans look more stupid. Fortunately, Komen appears to be backing off of this one due to the huge public backlash but I seriously doubt Republicans are smart enough to have learned anything from the experience.

Finally, here's a tip for the GOP. Try saying something smart and maybe somebody will say something smart back. Keep saying stupid things and the only people who will pay any attention to you are other stupid people. The rest of us can only hope there will be a limited supply of them.

Momma said Republicans ain't real bright.

Beyond Testing by Educatedtodeath

2012-02-08T00:01:00.003-05:00

Note: Believe me, a lifetime teacher, Educatedtodeath has things to say that need to be widely read. Spread the word...

http://educatedtodeath.com/

Two girls in my class got into an argument yesterday. They both have a tendency toward violence. Both have been arrested for fighting, and neither of them like to back down. I witnessed an amazing thing yesterday. Just before blows they simultaneously looked at me then back at each other and stopped. Brianna moved across the room. Gabby said we’re ready for class now. I complimented and thanked each for their restraint and told them that I understood the strength that took. We had class.

This would not have been, and in fact was not, the case at the beginning of the year. Tests don’t measure this kind of growth. Tests don’t measure humanity.

I got your Education Reform Right Here

Dear Ms. Rhee and Other Corporate Reformers ~

I notice you’ve taken an interest in the education of the students I teach. Their test scores aren’t great so you have offered a package of solutions. I’m glad someone is taking an interest. As you collect more money on the behalf of my students I ask that you donate a little bit to Terry, who has kidney stones and an infection Medicaid won’t pay and, even if they would, his parents don’t have a car. The nearest clinic is ten miles away. Eudora has an abscessed tooth, it hurts they can’t afford to get into the dentist, another healthcare issue.

There are other kids in the house with more pressing medical issues. So I bought her some orajel, and showed her how to use saltwater to kill the pain a little. Laneka’s mom is working three jobs, and is tired. She takes care of her brothers and sisters. After she’s done helping them with their homework, she’s too tired to do what I assigned. Donovan’s dad lost his job. Will you get him a job? Janeice got raped by her mom’s boyfriend. Kiki watched her brother get shot in the chest a month ago. Jeremy sleeps in a different house every night, and only eats at school. You get the point, right?

I’m glad you’re taking an interest in education. Use your power to help my kids, please. For the price of a lobbyist, a few corporate donations, and your salaries, you could make a few communities better, move them up Maslow’s hierarchy, and then the kids could focus more in class, and add some value, as it’s called. Their scores would improve drastically. I’ll even give you the credit. Then you’ll be the hero. You will have transformed a life or two. You will then be a real education reformer.

Thanks for your concern, but I’ve got your education reform right here.

Yours very truly, Educatedtodeath

Photography by Heidi Ayala

2012-02-07T00:01:00.024-05:00

Heidi is a remarkable twitter friend who has kindly allowed me to write captions for her stunning photography. Follow her @Heidi_Ayala

The breath of memory fills my heart

Even eternity pauses to consider the soft light of dawn

Soft scented breezes and creature clouds drifting through a pale blue sky.

Again I am reborn ~ a child of sky and sea

Cat morning ~ stretches ~ and curls around ~ the forest

The chill of winter will soon give way to scented blossoms

Celebrations All Around by Christa Tintelnot

2012-02-06T00:01:00.006-05:00

It is well established here that I love Christsa. She just knocks me out. Here's her latest post ~

http://confessionsgirl-blog.blogspot.com/

~ Before I even start this post, my sweet (or bad...depending on your view point) dog Chloe is featured on a very special post written by my dear friend and confidant Cletis Stump. Check it out if you like dogs: Dogs of Twitter #1

This is the story of two celebrations...

It seems like it is a time of celebration in my life...hopefully you have something to celebrate as well. One of these celebrations I have been counting down the days for...another was sprung upon me via a surprise text message.

Let's be real though...just because something should be celebrated, doesn't mean I want to hear about it.

Let's start with that first....ever since my parents "Sarah" and "Todd" have learned to text, I have enjoyed a new way to communicate with them. It is great that I can just text Todd and say "I need new windshield wipers"....3 months later, like magic....they appear. (Of course I have to drive an hour to get them, but I am not complaining...just stating a fact) Texting with them is great...really...

I know a lot of people make fun of their parents texting, but I will not be one of them. (They have had their moments, don't get me wrong!)

I enjoy texts. I feel like it is the easiest way to say what you need to say when you need to say it. I think I am probably pretty no-nonsense and just want to get to the point in most situations. I don't like a lot of dribble, drama or drawn out stories. Get to the point. (This reminds me of my friend Cher...who never gets to the point. Don't be a Cher...get to the point and lets go get a drink)

So back to my parents texting..."Todd" sent me a text on January 26th...just a few days ago...it said this...

"happy birthday today is the day you were conceived"

Yes....you read that correctly....my DAD...sent me a TEXT...telling me that it was the anniversary of my CONCEPTION. Let me just walk you through the thoughts that went through my head...

"What does that say?"

"No...."

"Is that really what is says?"

"Wait....what?"

"Conception? No...."

"Oh shit...."

At that point I started laughing uncontrollably. It took everything I had to pick up my phone and hit "Send".

Of course, he picked up with a chuckle...and I could hear "Sarah" cackling in the background. They thought it was hilarious.

Through my extreme laughter I told them to NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER mention this to me again. I believe I said something like "I did NOT need to know about that nastinest"

They brought it up a few days later when I went to do laundry...still chuckling...still bringing the awkwardness upon me...still insuring embarrassing and awkward moments after all these years...

So yes...the first thing we are celebrating is my conception. Hurrah for the Blizzard of 78....Let's just move on to the real celebration...

Today, February 1st, is my 1 year anniversary....of no smoking. No nicotine....no cigarettes. The last cigarette I had was the morning of February 1st, 2011. I can't believe it has been that long. Let's rewind for a bit...

I won't get into a long, inspirational story....you either believe it, or you don't. You think I am crazy or you don't.

I had a dream and my dream became a prophetic dream. The stranger in my dream became the stranger in front of my very real eyes that said "Don't smoke". I listened to a stranger. The stranger inspired me and inspires me to this day. I thank God for the stranger every day and I pray for the stranger every day. I consider the stranger a sort of hero or dare I say friend, though it's certainly not mutual.

Every time I feel weak and feel like I want to smoke, I think of the stranger. I love the stranger for this. The stranger has no idea what they did for me. Perhaps someday I can say thank you in person. If nothing else, we will share a love of music, politics, news and damn...we both have the most amazing eyes you have ever seen...

Like I said...believe the story or don't...judge if you like. I don't care. I don't smoke anymore and it shouldn't matter why or how I quit.

What matters is I don't smoke...and I gained 20 pounds because I don't smoke.

I think I blocked those first weeks out. They were a swirl of sleeping pills, Dum Dums and Peanut Butter M and Ms. When you sleep, you don't have cravings and when you are awake and have cravings, candy makes it dandy...not really...it only makes it a bit less like hell...like you are standing in the fires of hell, but you have candy, so it's better.Make sense?

Semi-Sustainable Food

Candy...especially M and Ms...are not fat free. when you are sustained and living on chocolate, fake peanut butter and a candy shell that melts in your mouth and not your hands, you gain weight.

I would say I probably put on 20 pounds....I have, over the year, lost about 5, but I am still 15 pounds heavier than I was before and it sucks the big one.

As I told "Sarah" the other night, I could probably lose more if I laid off the wine a bit, but hey, a girl has to have some vices in life, right? I cannot live without some substance running through my veins. Luckily my hours at the gym each week burns the same amount of calories that I consume from wine.

I eat very well (healthy), I fry nothing, I don't eat fast food...

I drink wine and I love every drop. I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I don't have addictions (music doesn't count). None of that helps me lose these 15-20 pounds though. Sometimes I honestly consider picking up the cigarettes again. I know what you are going to say...don't do it. I know the stranger would haunt me, but I know the weight would come off.

Why can't I just go on the 1990's Gwyneth Paltrow diet of a bottle of gin and 2 packs a day? (For the record, I didn't smoke 2 packs a day...EVER). It seems very easy...

It is just my mind...it's playing tricks on me. It has played tricks on me every day since February 1st, 2011. It tells me that I should smoke...

Every day I tell it "No".

It may be a fleeting thought, but it is always there.

I can pick out smokers easily...I track them like a bloodhound.

I breathe a little bit deeper around them..I want to just smell the smoke. Some ex-smokers can't stomach the smell...me? I love it...but only the fresh smoke smell...not the stale smell. There is a difference. Think I'm gross? Maybe...

If you have never smoked and think I am gross, I honestly don't care for your opinion. If you are someone else...like Kellie Jones, who was a HUGE help during this process, and for the record gone through the same thing, I may be more inclined to hear you talk about my grossness or my fatness.

For anyone reading this who smokes. No, I will never, ever judge you. I will never hound you to quit. I won't think anything different about you. I will love you, cigarette and all. (I may ask to just smell your hair) I know how sucky it is to be constantly hounded and reminded that cigarettes are bad. Do people think we don't know that? Do people think we don't know what they do? Do people honestly think propping up a diseased lung is going to stop the cravings? Hell, I used to smoke and look at diseased lungs at the same time.

The addiction is strong...it is gnarly...it holds on with an iron grip. I don't know how I pulled it away. I don't know how I stopped.

I don't think I did it alone.

Think? No, I know I didn't do it alone. I had something I can't explain. Something more powerful than me.

It has been a year.

CS #58 Sister and Her Granddaughter

2012-02-05T00:01:00.003-05:00

This beautiful woman is my sister and the glorious newborn baby in her hands is her new granddaughter, Julianne. This astonishing photo was taken by my brother-in-law and it has shaken me; it has also exalted my spirit. My sister has battled ALS for five years and has inspired everyone who knows her with the courage and dignity she continues to display.

I've thought for days about what to say in this post about my sister, about birth and death, and about what all of this means. No problem, the coincidence coordinators showed up in my e-mail courtesy of my friend, Doc Arnett, and distilled my thoughts for me.

Ann, my amazing sister, I deeply love and admire you. Continue to have faith; there is a far greater power at work than we sometimes realize and, as the Bible teaches, all things are possible with God.

Stormy Morning

Something in the sound of strong wind

and thunder

could make a Kansas man wonder

what happened to the calendar;

this is not the stuff of February,

not here on the cusp of the plains

and the Dakotas so close.

The two inches of rain

they say is on its way here

is not the sort of storm

we normally expect

the day after Groundhog Day.

But, we know,

if we endure the temporary

of something other than expectation,

life has its way of turning back

to the ways that need less explanation.

And in those other situations,

like tornadoes and cancer,

we sometimes learn that our strength

is greater than we thought

and comes closer to what we believed.

H. Arnett

Music Saturday #27 The Animals

2012-02-04T00:01:00.003-05:00

Eric Burdon and The Animals grew up in the gritty North East of England and their music reflects the often difficult life they saw around them. They were heavily influenced by black American artists and, unlike The Beatles and other British Invasion groups, they stayed true to the raw energy found in Rhythm and Blues. Eric Burdon could flat out sing and he epitomized cool.

Here are four selections. Stay awhile or pick just one on the jukebox. I had trouble choosing and could have easily added many more selections. Their version of House of the Rising Sun is very important in the development of rock music and had a great effect on Bob Dylan and many other artists.

Enjoy!

Daisy Ad From 1964

2012-02-03T00:01:00.052-05:00

Monique Corzilius The Daisy Girl Then and Later

This is the granddaddy of all attack ads. It ran one time and was immediately pulled by the Johnson campaign after a barrage of criticism was leveled at the Democrats. Nonetheless, it forever branded Barry Goldwater as a total nut job who would unleash Armageddon if ever elected president. LBJ crushed hin in the upcoming election and within months staged the Gulf of Tonkin incident which he used to justify increased involvement in Vietnam.

The ad appeared on Monday night September 7, 1964. I was 16 that year and happened to see it when it appeared. I remember standing in the living room with my family. We were stunned and, to this day, it still sickens me.

Note: There has always been a great deal of mystery surrounding this little girl. Here's a link that explains it all. You will enjoy this site.

http://conelrad.blogspot.com/2010/09/meet-real-daisy-girl-monique-corzilius.html

GOP Code Words by Billjryan from Twitter

2012-02-02T00:01:00.007-05:00

I follow Bill Ryan on Twitter and really enjoy his straight up truth attitude. This post exposes the code words the GOP candidates have brought out once more. They aren't fooling many people these days and, with people like Bill around, they won't be fooling anyone very long.

The New GOP Slavery Plan for the USA

(FREE MARKET) = NO MINIMUM WAGE, NO OVERTIME PAY, NO BENEFITS, NO UNIONS, NO WORKER PROTECTIONS, LIMITED RIGHT TO EDUCATION, LIMITED RIGHT TO VOTE, UNLIMITED IMMIGRATION, UNLIMITED JOB EXPORTING, HIGH TAXES ON THE POOR & WORKING CLASS, HIGH RENTS, HIGH FOOD PRICES, POLLUTED AIR, WATER, AND EARTH, CLEAN WATER BOUGHT BY BILLIONAIRES AND SOLD FOR TOP DOLLAR TO EVERYONE ELSE, ETC. ETC.

(FLAT TAX) = RAISE THE TAX ON THE WORKING CLASS AND POOR, LOWER THE TAX ON THE WEALTHY, LEAVE AND CREATE NEW LOOPNOLES FOR THE WEALTHY TO FURTHER STEALTH REDUCE THE TAXES ON THE WEALTHY!

(RESTORE FREEDOM TO AMERICA) = FINISH GIVING SUPER PERSONHOOD TO THE SUPER WEALTHY CORPORATIONS. INCREASE POLICE STATE TACTICS AGAINST WORKING CLASS AND POOR PROTESTERS TO CRUSH DISSENT! INCREASE USE OF THE ELECTORIAL COLLEGE TO OVERIDE POPULAR VOTES TO INSTALL PUPPET PRESIDENTS! INCREASE THE PRINTING OF NEW DOLLARS TO DEVALUE DOLLAR FURTHER!

@billjryan

Ten Suggestions by Appaljoel

2012-02-01T00:01:00.005-05:00

I have no idea who Appaljoel is but I know I like his thoughts and appreciate his insights. Each of us struggles and each of us searches for a path to get us through this "veil of tears" in a manner whereby we can look beyond the struggle and see the great beauty of life. Guideposts, like these, offer an opportunity for reflection and we deeply appreciate permission to share them with you.

Visit Appaljoel here... http://appaljoel.blogspot.com/

1. Recognize human frailty...we are all guessing about God

2. Resist religious intolerance....an insecure god is a menace.

3. Refrain from cruel and vulgar speech... words can indeed hurt you.

4. Rest on a regular basis... our bodies need a physical and mental recharge

5. Revere your ancestry... you did not get here by yourself.

6. Renounce violence of word and deed... assault and battery drains the world of energy.

7. Reach for empathy in all your encounters…. consensus can bless us.

8. Respect the person and property of others... stealing impoverishes thief and victim.

9. Regard honesty as the best policy... trust is a source of tremendous power.

10. Rejoice in what you have.... every day of life is an opportunity and an act of grace.

A Monumental Mistake by R. J. Taylor Hahn

2012-01-31T00:01:00.032-05:00

I borrowed this post from R.J. He is a great writer who probes more deeply into current issues than most internet bloggers do. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to reprint his provocative, insightful commentary on this vital and complex issue. Visit his place here.

http://somewhereinthemiddle2011.blogspot.com/

IRAN: War Would Be Monumental Mistake

By R.J. Taylor-Hahn
The Press

Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a grave threat to world stability and possibly an existential threat to this country's Middle Eastern ally, Israel. But how far can one go in efforts to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambition before going too far? Economic sanctions are one thing, but what about launching viruses to ravage Iranian computers? And how about the targeted assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists?

Indeed, two things are becoming quite clear. First, the chances are much greater that we might witness an unintended misstep that triggers an armed confrontation, a regional Armageddon-type conflict, and a global energy and economic catastrophe. And second, those same reasons suggest that the many elements in the political arena could easily provide entry into some kind of negotiated agreement that calms things down for many years to come.

Events are moving in overdrive speed, as Israel-America leads a political drive to choke off the Iranian economy by preventing other countries from buying Iranian oil, while increasing sanctions and constantly hinting at a future military strike against Iran.

The Iranians have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian oil exports are choked off by Israel-America’s sanctions or if Iran is attacked.

This would create massive global dislocation because 20 percent of all traded oil passes through the straits.

Other forms of Iranian retaliation would be expected, and wider Iranian-Israeli and Iranian-Arab conflicts could erupt, if only at the level of exchanging missiles. That’s not to mention regional conflagrations related to Iranian-Arab or Sunni-Shiite tensions.

This is not your usual Middle Eastern flare-up or local war that the region has experienced and survived for so many decades.

Saudi Arabia now leads those Arab governments and people who see Iran as a serious strategic threat that must be fought in every way possible, while many people in the region side with Iran in its insistence on developing a full nuclear energy capability for peaceful purposes.

It is possible that Iran’s government will prove to be of the same ilk as those of Saddam Hussein, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Moammar Gadhafi, Hosni Mubarak, Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Bashar Assad – in other words that it is militant in its rhetoric and steadfast in its positions, but ultimately weak and vulnerable when seriously challenged by its own people or foreign coalitions. Or, Iran might prove to be something very different – a real nation-state that is durable and strong, given its size, human and technical capabilities, and strength of character and confidence.

Iran – like Turkey and Israel – represents a very different brand of nationalism, where power reflects real national assets. Rising tensions with Iran run the risk of catastrophic regional and global conflict – because it has the capability to stand up to and, if needed, respond to the threats and pressures against it and retaliate in case it is attacked.

Given the nature and history of the principal militant and resolute drivers of this situation – Iran, Israel and the United States – the chances of brinksmanship and miscalculation leading to large-scale death and destruction happening are increasing daily.

Yet like all issues related to Arab, Israeli, Iranian and American interests, there is no agreement on the real causes of the tensions.

The Israeli-American led group of actors fears that Iran clandestinely wants to develop the capability to make nuclear weapons and dominate the Middle East. Iran and its friends accuse Israel-America of acting in a hegemonic manner by opposing any power in the region that might stand up to them or offer a different strategic vision for the region. Well, guess what. Both accusations are probably true to a large extent. The difference between the Iranian and American positions is that Iran is a major regional power in the Middle East and has been for at least 5,000 years; the United States, in turn, is using its power to try to continue shaping a regional order that suits its own inclinations and the strategic perceptions of its Israeli diplomatic taskmaster that tends to drive most American policies in the region.

The fact is that Iran has mastered key technical elements of the nuclear industry it seeks and says it is willing to comply with international safeguards that prevent it from making weapons, which it says it does not want to make. The U.S. says it accepts Iranian nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes, with the appropriate international safeguards through the legitimate institutions of the United Nations system. A speedy return to a serious negotiation to achieve these goals – not the fake and insincere meetings under the aegis of Israeli-American-led threats that have been held previously – seems both necessary and feasible, especially with available credible mediators like the Turks.

That kind of rational approach to this issue has been available for years, but both sides have always rejected it.

Meanwhile, all eyes remain on the fanatical right-wing Israeli government to see whether it will attack Iran in a desperate attempt to slow Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

If the issue is and always has been forcing Iran to comply with international law and norms on nuclear capabilities, the question that looms large once again is this: Aren’t Israel and its American errand boy also required to remain within the bounds of the law, rather than attack any country they wish merely on the basis of suspicions about what that target country might do one day in the future.

As we are still mired in an aimless war in Afghanistan, the same instigators and warmongers are clamoring to repeat the same disaster by advocating another war in Iran. Most of the Republican candidates, ridiculously, declare that if Iran acquired an atomic bomb it will destroy Israel and the U.S. (recently stated by Rick Perry), ignoring the fact that Israel has more than 200 nuclear bombs and we have an unlimited number which would obliterate Iran, as announced by Hillary Clinton, who on April 22, 2008 declared that “if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear bomb we will totally obliterate it.”

This war hysteria is threatening our timid economic recovery. The jitter in the oil market is keeping the prices at more than $100 a barrel. Any military hostilities in the Persian Gulf would raise the oil price to more than $200 a barrel, and the gallon of a gas to more than $7, thus plunging us into another recession and spreading havoc in the world economy.

Getting into a war with Iran would be more devastating than the Iraq war giving the fact that Iran is more populous and stronger and more cohesive than the Iraqi people. The two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which lasted for 10 years and are still going on should teach us that no matter how mighty we are, the asymmetric wars could drag on indefinitely, which sap our strength and resources as attested by the increased deficit by $8 trillion in the last 10 years.

It is not very difficult for Iran to close the Hormuz strait (with repeated mining), where the passable channel for navigation of the large oil tankers is merely two miles wide. This would block the flow of about 30 percent of the world oil, thus crippling the world economy.

To illustrate the nervousness of the countries with large economies, the Japanese chief cabinet secretary Osamu Fujimura was quoted in the New York Times on Jan. 7, as saying that “Japan had expressed concern to the USA about the dangers to the Japanese and global economy from limits or Iran’s oil exports.” Also the Chinese foreign ministry “expressed China’s broad objection to all sanctions that have not been approved by the United Nations and expressing hope that no military action of any sort will take place and that peace and stability would be maintained in the Gulf region.”

One wonders if our politicians are aware of the ensuing devastation on our economy if they pursue another risky adventure to go to another war in the Middle East. Just to satisfy the whims of the supporters of the Likud party in Israel who are irrationally screaming about imaginary existential survival danger because of the possibility of Iranians acquiring a crude nuclear bomb which could be met with an arsenal of 200 Israeli nuclear bombs and USA’s obliterating retaliation?

Our priority should be protecting and defending our own security and interests before foreign ones.

Economic sanctions don't appear to be doing much to slow Iran's nuclear progress, and that is worrisome. But slaughtering scientists on the streets of Tehran isn't the answer. It is as inefficient as it is morally bankrupt, because killing a handful of experts won't erase the country's institutional nuclear knowledge. If Israel is involved, it's a shameful and foolish policy.

Put a 'Hell Bent' right wing conservative in the White House, and we might just be looking at WWIII.

Dogs of Twitter #1

2012-01-30T00:01:00.008-05:00

"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." Mark Twain

I found these guys and gals on Twitter where I now spend some time thrashing fascists. I sometimes despair at the state of the world but then my heart is lifted when I realize that love is just a bark and a muzzle away.

CS # 57 And I Knew by Cletis

2012-01-29T00:01:00.005-05:00

When I was teaching there were some tough days; days when I would rather have worked in the coal mines of Kentucky with my father and brothers. Then, there were days where I felt God had chosen my path and I was doing exactly what I was intended to do. Here's the story of one of those days.

It was an early Monday morning and I was in my room girding my loins for battle when down the hallway I heard the kids on the move. Within minutes, Angela burst through the door of my room with several of her girlfriends in tow.

"Mr. Stump," she gasped, flying into the room. "Mr. Stump! Mr. Stump!"

Angela was a hyper kid, who also dealt with severe asthma, so I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Slow down, honey. Take a deep breath. Get your breath and tell me what's going on."

"But.. but....but ..." she sputtered, "I heard it. I heard it, and I knew!"

I got her seated and she slowly caught her breath.

"Angela, honey," I asked, "what did you hear?" "What did you know?"

"The poem," she gasped, "the poem." "Langston Hughes. Ise still climbing honey. Ise still goin...and life for me ain't been no crystal stair. I heard it Mr. Stump. My mother took me to her reunion and an old friend came over and he said it...and he said it. My mom said, "How you been, honey...how you been?" and he said it. He said, "Ise still goin honey. Ise still goin. And life for me ain't been no crystal stair." And I knew, Mr. Stump. And I knew."

Angela most likely has no clue how much she lifted my heart that long ago Monday morning. I had spent the previous week working with the kids on the poetry of Langston Hughes and, just as Angela knew, on days like that one, I also knew.

Here's the poem ~

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Langston Hughes

Music Saturday #26 Bobby Fuller

2012-01-28T00:01:00.015-05:00

Bobby Fuller, like his idol Buddy Holly, was dead at 23; that, my music loving friends, was way too young. Fuller was a good looking guy and it's probable that he was murdered by a mobster over a woman both were seeing at the time. Apparently, there was never a proper investigation into his death.

When you listen to these songs, you can hear the greatness that was growing in this young man. I Fought the Law was originally done by the Crickets in May of 1959 three months after the death of Buddy Holly and was written by band member Sonny Curtis. It was covered most famously by The Bobby Fuller Four in 1966 and later by the Clash in 1979.

I love this grainy video and I believe this was from Hullalaboo or, perhaps, Shindig, or Shivaree. Lord, you've sure got to love the choreography. Enjoy the music and, hell, get up and dance with somebody.

This next song, Oh Boy, is a cover of the great Buddy Holly and, man, does that take nerve; Bobby and the guys paying homage to a Founding Father of Rock and Roll. These videos from Youtube are often raw and broken up but, for me, that is a lot of the charm of looking back to my days of being quite insane.

SOPA Blackout by Educated to Death

2012-01-27T00:01:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Educated to Death for allowing us to reprint his/her work. It is an honor to post such insightful and well-crafted writing.

http://educatedtodeath.com/

0081: SOPA Blackout, #Occupy, and #Anonymous Taught My Class the Value of #Democracy and Protest

We’ve been discussing social movements, protests, and democracy in my fine arts classes of all places. We’ve been learning songs from social movements, protest songs and all. Our learning has been aided by the occupy movement, anonymous, and the Blackouts against SOPA and PIPA. Yesterday, during the blackout my class and I called the representatives from our area, and asked via speaker phone that they vote to keep information free for everyone.

The passage of this type of legislation would have a huge impact on us as a class. We rely heavily on the internet and our ability to pull from and add to it, not just in class, but in our daily lives. Today we discussed the impact of the blackout, and our class call. Several heard this morning that some senators were backing down from SOPA and PIPA. We confirmed this, but understand that this isn’t final.

My learners were elated to have been a part of something so monumental. They wrote reflections. I’ll post those separately. I witnessed new students today. They were more human than yesterday. They were somehow older. Wiser. They were not children; rather, they were powerful citizens who had just discovered their voices. Is this how revolutionaries are born?

0082: 7th Grade Student reflections on participating in SOPA Blackout and Calling U.S. Reps

These are a few of the responses my students wrote regarding their participation in their democracy. Keep in mind they are in the seventh grade. Additionally, the school is nearly 100% free lunch, and we are at risk of being taken over by the state for test scores. Does testing assess this?

K.W. wrote ~ "I felt surprised and excited at the same time. I felt those ways because asking someone to vote against SOPA and PIPA was the first time I been a part of helping. I was surprised because I had never associated with anyone from Washington D.C. before. I was excited because the next day they started changing their mind."

S.P. wrote ~ "Yesterday, by calling the National Senate to vote against SOPA and PIPA, I felt like I did something extremely historical and important. I had this feeling because I felt that I did something that would’ve helped everyone later in life. By keeping this a law or enforcing it will lower our intelligence and cause a lot of problems later on in life. Being a part of this moment of history will be remembered. No free Internet is just like having a school with no children. Going against this, I know made history."

J.B. wrote ~ "What I did yesterday was amazing. I did something that could change history. I told someone to vote against SOPA and PIPA. It’s a blackout. We called Washington DC and ask if they could go against SOPA and PIPA because we need the Internet for school and so we can do projects. And now they’re going to vote on it on January 24 2012"

M.J. wrote ~ "I felt so important asking them to vote against SOPA and PIPA. It made me feel good about myself of what I did. I was happy about calling the senators. That was the best thing I did that day. When I got home I wanted to call them again, I wanted to tell my whole family about it."

T.T. wrote ~ "So yesterday we protested and I feel good because we helped someone. Most of the people I helped were my very own school mates. We need the Internet and its websites. We should vote against PIPA because it affect information and free rights to download things and post things so just vote against it for the sake of every child’s learning."

A Newt Smorgasbord

2012-01-26T00:01:00.062-05:00

"Look, John, my affairs are off limits. Now, can we get back to discussing the decine of Christian family values in this country?"

"Holy shit, there's that married woman I hit on last week. That's not Hulk Hogan she's with, is it?"

"And so, therefore, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what your country can do for me."

"That's right, kid, better get some rest while you can. Your shift at the mill begins in 45 minutes."

"David, if you're going to keep asking me to explain my lack of moral judgment, how am I going to lay out my plans for bringing this country back to a more Godly nation?"

"I could wile away the hours/Conferrin' with the flowers/Consultin' with the rain/And my head I'd be scratchin'/While my thoughts were busy hatchin'/If I only had a brain."

Note from Cletis: There will be no attempt to be lighthearted with this photo. This one speaks for itself and captures the essence of Newt Gingrich, pure evil.

Letter from Ludwig von Mises to Ayn Rand

2012-01-25T00:01:00.039-05:00

Note from Cletis: The following is an interesting letter from Ludwig von Mises to Ayn Rand dated January 23, 1958 shortly after the publication of Atlas Shrugged. Von Mises was an Austrian economist whose free-market, libertarian views influenced many of those who promote the supply-side gibberish that has damn near created a feudal state in America.

Dear Mrs. Rand:

I am not a professional critic and I feel no call to judge the merits of a novel. So I do not want to detain you with the information that I enjoyed very much reading Atlas Shrugged and that I am full of admiration for your masterful construction of the plot.

But Atlas Shrugged is not merely a novel. It is also (or may I say: first of all) a cogent analysis of the evils that plague our society, a substantiated rejection of the ideology of our self-styled "intellectuals" and a pitiless unmasking of the insincerity of the policies adopted by governments and political parties. It is a devastating exposure of the "moral cannibals," the "gigolos of science" and of the "academic prattle" of the makers of the "anti-industrial revolution." You have the courage to tell the masses what no politician told them: you are inferior and all the improvements in your conditions which you simply take for granted you owe to the efforts of men who are better than you.

If this be arrogance, as some of your critics observed, it still is the truth that had to be said in this age of the Welfare State.

I warmly congratulate you and I am looking forward with great expectations to your future work.

Sincerely, Ludwig von Mises

Also, here is a letter Alan Greenspan, former long-time chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of Rand's early disciples, wrote to the New York Times in 1958 defending Atlas Shrugged. Please note Greenspan's use of the term "parasites"; that's me and you, folks.

To the editor:

"Atlas Shrugged is a celebration of life and happiness. Justice is unrelenting. Creative individuals and undeviating purpose and rationality achieve joy and fulfillment. Parasites who persistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should"

Alan Greenspan ~ New York

Note from Cletis: Personally, the guy who's quoted here is my personal hero and favorite economist.

Hitler Reacts to SOPA

2012-01-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

I saw this video at Underground's place and thought I would share it. There are some incredibly clever people in the world and I greatly appreciate their contributions to our lives. I haven't seen this movie but the SOPA debate will never be the same.

Visit Underground ~ http://undergroundpolitictimes.blogspot.com/

The Classroom by Fred Ceely

2012-01-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

Note from Cletis: When I read this post at Fred's place in Thailand, I was astonished by the literary merit of the piece. I seldom see that on blog posts and, when I do, I snag it for my readers. Fred is a flat out good writer and we are honored to reprint his thoughts and observation. Here's the link to his place.

http://spineasytime.blogspot.com/

Why think of these things today? I don’t know, but somehow I found myself thinking of my first year in high school. Just a function of my age, perhaps, bits of memory floating in and out, attempts at finally understanding something or other in the shrinking remainder of one’s time on earth.

It was neither a particularly bad time, nor especially good. The only remarkable thing about it was that my little world became slightly less so, I had to take two buses to get there and I met a new bunch of teachers and fellows from other parts of the city. It was a Catholic school, as my grammar school had been. My disadvantage was that I was too young, more than a year younger than almost all of the other boys. I had turned thirteen one month before classes started, and at that age one year was a great difference. I didn’t realize it then, but the fact that the other boys were bigger, stronger and more aware than I was had a powerful effect on me at the time, and on my future development.

Most of the details elude me, but I can remember two of my classrooms very well. One was my Algebra class. I remember the teacher, one of the Holy Cross Brothers who made up most of the teaching staff, a serious young man with glasses, I forget his name. I can recall him clearly because of his deep devotion to our salvation, as men and souls, which was sorely threatened by the curse of masturbation.

The entire faculty knew that we were all doing it, I mean, thirteen and fourteen year old boys, they didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out. Guessing that we did was almost always a safe bet. This brother had a habit of asking one of us at a time to remain after class so he could cross-examine us about it. “Algebra requires concentration,” he’d say, “and masturbation destroys the ability to concentrate.” He’d ask us if we were doing it, and of course we’d say no. One day during such an inquisition he asked me how frequently I had wet dreams, I’m sure he used the term “nocturnal emission,” but really I had never heard any of these words before. I answered, oh, no, I don’t have those either, thinking that was the preferred answer. “That proves that you’re masturbating!” It’s a sin, etc, it will make you crazy, etc, etc, what a bunch of Johnny-One-Notes they were, and you know that they were all at it too.

My clearest memories of that year are of my Latin class. My memories of those lessons stand out in clarity and detail among any other memories from my childhood. Latin, the subject itself, seemed like such an imposition, such a useless exercise, I thought the whole thing was arbitrary and punitive. My teachers were less than helpful.

We started off the term with Brother Juan Capistrano. He was man whose cheerfulness bordered on the giddy. He was not a frightening figure by any means, and he knew his Latin, but we noticed early on that his behavior was a little bit bizarre. One Friday there was a “pep-rally” scheduled for after school, attendance was not mandatory but it was strongly suggested. Before our lesson, he started talking about the pep-rally, drawing on the board as he did. He spoke lovingly about the wonders of school spirit, and how much fun the rally would be, and the songs and cheers, and why didn’t we all stick around for the basketball game too? He went on and on, and on the board he was drawing the school and a detailed rendering of hundreds of young men flocking to the door, you could see every smiling face in the crowd, I see it in my mind as though it were yesterday. He turned to face us, clasping his hands together in a moment of final, ecstatic salesmanship. We had, I assure you, no idea of how to react to this display.

By week six of the semester he was gone, a crazy man, a relapse evidently, sent off for a rest cure. His replacement, we thought, was even crazier, and not in such a nice way either.

Brother John was in charge of the school library, and in that capacity he was a serious but not unfriendly man who we all found non-threatening. In the Latin class, however, he underwent a complete metamorphosis. When the bell rang he would announce, “please arrange your seats.” He had rules about the placement of the individual student desks, the forward left castor had to be centered with great precision on a certain intersection of the floor tiles. After we had all shuffled our desks a bit he would take a tour of the room, and every time he did this he would discover that about half of the desks were not, in fact, placed with sufficient precision. By the time he had worked his way around the room he was in a tizzy of profound disappointment. And this is even before our recitation of the Our Father and the Hail Mary in Latin!

Once these preliminaries were disposed of, the lesson would start in earnest. “Open to page 46,” he would solemnly say, “Cavanaugh, begin reading.” It always seemed that he would pick one of us who had a particularly terrible Latin accent. As the student began to read, Brother John would follow along with his finger in his own book. At some point he would withdraw his finger and close his eyes. He would then place his head on his desk; often he’d begin to cry, real sobbing tears, bitter tears. Poor Cavanaugh would still be reading, wishing that he was capable of a better job of it. All of us became quite anxious at this point, because the crying was frequently followed by a sudden explosion and maybe a little corporal punishment too. That was still allowed.

No surprise that I remember that classroom so well, what a den of insanity. That classroom! It just comes back to me this second! It was two years later, in that same classroom, being tormented with another useless subject (Religion), where I listened to the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot! Oh, the memory is a strange thing, and terrible, in its way.

CS #56 by Bryon Cannon

2012-01-22T00:01:00.008-05:00

Angels We Have Heard While High

Erik knocked lightly on Craig’s front door and walked in.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi. How was Christmas dinner with the family?”

“About like always. Lots of food. My sister’s kids running around like maniacs. Everyone asking me when I’m going to get married and have kids. When I’m going to get a better job, a better place to live, some get up and go.”

“Grim,” Craig said. “I just got off work. People sure can be bitchy on Christmas. Want a beer?”

“Sure.”

Craig provided each of them with a bottle of beer.

“And,” he said, “I’ve got something else that will put the mellow back into the holiday for both of us.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“I got a nice little Christmas present in the mail yesterday from my brother.”

“Your brother the big-city cop? What is it?”

Craig opened the refrigerator again and took out a large beef stick.

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s nice.”

“Not the meat.” Craig removed the top quarter of the beef stick and held the lower part toward Erik, who could see that it had been hollowed out.

“What’s in there?”

Craig grinned and took a plastic bag from the hole. “Two huge doobies of most excellent weed. Tommy snagged three of these from a guy on the street. He tried one – says it’s really strong stuff – and sent these here where he knew they would be properly appreciated.”

“You’ve got a good brother, man,” Erik said solemnly.

“Sit,” Craig offered. “Let’s enjoy one.”

They went into the living room where they sat on the carpeted floor and leaned back against the sofa, as they often did to watch TV.

“Merry Christmas, man,” Craig said.

“Merry Christmas,” Erik repeated. “And to your brother, too.”

Craig lit the joint and the two began to enjoy their pot in blissful silence. The occasional nod sufficed to indicate a mutual understanding that this was really good marijuana and life had just gotten better by several orders of magnitude.

It wasn’t long before the music began.

It had started softly, like carolers strolling down the sidewalk. Then it grew, as though the carolers were at the door. Finally, it seemed that a 10,000-person choir stood in the room.

“Glory to God in the highest,” the choir sang. “And on Earth peace among those of good will.”

It was heavenly. The young men had never heard anything so wonderful. No earthly performers were this good, and no playback system on Earth could have reproduced it faithfully.

Erik and Craig continued to smoke.

“Hallelujah!” the choir invisible sang and then offered up a final, prolonged, triumphant “Amen.”

The men sighed.

“Man,” Erik said, “you would not believe the music I just heard in my head.”

“I would, man, I would. I heard it, too.”

“This is amazing weed. I kiss your brother’s badge.”

And an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared before them, and they were mildly interested.

“You know what I’m seeing, man?” Erik asked.

“Yeah. An angel. And not an angel like Connie Preston,” Craig clarified. “You know, one of those church-type angels.”

“Yeah.” Erik thought a moment. “Man, Connie Preston is an angel, though.”

“She is a total angel. So beautiful. So kind.”

“So amazingly built. And, man, when she wears that red silk blouse –”

“Shut up,” the angel said.

The men looked at each other and then eyed the joint critically.

“Man, why would stuff this good turn on us like that?” Erik wondered.

“I dunno. That was harsh.”

“Shut … up,” the angel repeated.

Humans and angel regarded each other.

“Way harsh,” Erik declared.

The angel sighed. “It is impossible for me to get a headache, but between the smoke and your stupidity, we may just achieve a Christmas anti-miracle.”

“Let’s keep going,” Craig suggested. “Maybe we can get the music back.”

“Oh, so you liked the music,” the angel said.

Craig nodded. “Sure. It was good.”

“ Good... Mm-hm. That was the Heavenly Host singing its number one hit from the first Christmas.”

“Can we download it?” Erik asked.

The angel stared at him a moment before replying. “No.”

“Oh, too bad.”

The angel looked upward and gestured at the men on the floor.

“Them? Really? Okay, fine. Anything you want. It’s your birthday.” The angel looked at Erik and Craig again. “Although a train set is always nice.”

The guys kept taking drags on the joint and evidenced no surprise when the angel folded its legs underneath itself and sat in midair.

“Look,” the angel said sternly. Then it decided to begin again with a gentler approach. “Guys, listen: is this really any way to spend Christmas?”

The guys looked at each other and nodded in unison.

“Yep.”

“Sure is.”

The angel’s shoulders slumped.

“Oh!” Craig said. “But Christmas is about sharing.”

The angel took note of this development.

“I mean,” Craig continued, “I’m sharing with Erik, but I haven’t offered you any. Sorry.” And he held out the doobie for the angel to take and toke.

“Um … thanks, but no thanks,” the angel said. “Very thoughtful, though. Really.”

“Sure. Don’t want to be rude on Christmas.”

“No,” the angel agreed, “that would be bad. Guys, I hate to sound like your parents – who gave you life and raised you in comfortable surroundings and love and care about you – but have you ever thought that there’s more to life than dead-end jobs and getting high?”

Craig frowned. “In today’s economy? With a handful of rich people pulling all the strings? Lawmakers who say they love your boss and then pass laws that hurt people? No. That’s your answer.”

“My boss once said that the poor will always be around. He could also have said that rich people and liars – not a mutually exclusive set – will always be around, too.”

“Yeah, but we’re nobodies,” Craig said. “There’s nothing we can do about anything. No one would listen to us.”

“Think about what my boss went through in his life.”

“What do you mean?” Erik asked.

“Take his birthday,” the angel began. “Born to an unwed teenage girl who was telling people, ‘The Holy Spirit is the father.’ How well do you suppose that went over?”

“Not too good?” Craig suggested.

“Not too good is right. But her fiancé stuck with her and Mary had her baby.”

“ ‘And laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn.’”

“Very good, Erik. And where are mangers found?”

“Umm…” Dredging up the quotation had pretty well drained him.

“In a barn, Erik. A stinking barn, filled with stinking barnyard animals and their food and their waste products.”

Erik looked puzzled.

“The animals crapped in the barn and it reeked.”

“Oh. Ew.”

“Yeah. And my boss’ crib was the feed trough that the cows were trying to eat from. After that, he grew up dirt poor, and he lived in a country that had been conquered by the Romans. Soldiers all over the place, being as rude and nasty as they cared to be to people who couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Like the cops here,” Erik said. “Oh, except for your brother, man.”

“Nah,” Craig said. “He’s good to me, but you better not look at him crosswise if you’re not related to him. He’ll break you, man.”

“And when he began his ministry,” the angel soldiered on, “he walked everywhere he went and slept outdoors most of the time. Occasionally he could use a cave or someone would invite him into their home, but not often.”

“So he was sort of homeless,” Craig said.

“Right. He often didn’t know where his next meal was coming from or whether the people in the next town would be friendly. But he had an important job, an important message to share, and he did it.”

“Yeah, but that didn’t end so well, huh?” Erik said.

The angel looked a little uncomfortable. “We try not to mention that on his birthday. But even after he was executed, he got a new life and his message spread all around the world.” The angel thought a moment. “He still gets good play and good press, I mean. Two thousand years later people are still quoting him and trying to live up to his ideals of love and peace.”

“That is pretty amazing,” Craig admitted. “But what’s it got to do with us?”

“I’m saying you two could do something to help yourselves and to help other people. That’s what my boss’ story is all about. It’s radical, you know? That a pauper from an occupied country could achieve what he did should be an example to others. You can make a difference if you just work at it. You’ve got it easier than he did, right? Cars. Homes. More money than he had. The Internet.”

“Well … yeah,” Craig said slowly. “But there’s still all the hard work and that bit that you don’t want to talk about on his birthday. Like what happened to Gandhi and King.”

“You have to love other people enough to suffer a little and to risk a lot for them.”

The angel’s words dropped heavily and dispelled some of the boys’ buzz. The moment stretched before the angel continued.

“For what it’s worth, my boss thinks you two could do a lot of good things.”

“Like what?” Craig asked.

The angel shrugged. “He didn’t tell me. People who are called to do something generally figure it out, though. And, you know, not all that many people are called on to be martyrs. Usually you just don’t get invited to certain parties and your opponents say unkind things about you. That already happens, doesn’t it?”

The guys nodded.

“So why not miss parties and hear unkind things about you for a good cause? Why not make life mean something for yourselves and for others?”

Erik and Craig looked at each other again, thinking harder than they had for a long time. Erik turned back to the angel.

“He really thinks we can do good?” he asked quietly.

The angel smiled gently. “I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t. And you wouldn’t have heard that great music. Think of it as your soundtrack for a new part of your lives.”

Erik looked back at Craig. “We’re gonna need help.”

“You’ll get it,” the angel said. “You’ll find it. People will find you.”

“Okay. I’m in.”

“Me, too,” Craig said.

The angel and the men shared a warm moment.

Erik looked at the doobie, presently in his hand.

“Um … maybe we could just finish this and then get started?”

The angel sighed. “There’s that Christmas anti-miracle. Fine. Take the rest of the day off.” The angel unfolded and stood upright. “But tomorrow, get to it!”

“Yes, sir. Or ma’am.”

“First thing.”

“Oh,” Erik said, “and tell your boss we said happy birthday.”

“Will do,” the angel said, and disappeared.

“Dude, life just got more complicated,” Craig said.

“Sure did. But maybe it’ll be more interesting.”

Erik took another hit and passed the roach to Craig. After a few minutes, Erik had an idea.

“Maybe if we dress like that angel, you know, people will listen to us … whatever it is we do.”

Craig exhaled and carefully regarded the smoke. “Just finish the doob quietly, man. And then let’s get on that beef stick. I’m getting hungry.”

Please visit Brian at http://catsignal.com/

Music Saturday #25 Lightnin Hopkins

2012-01-21T00:01:00.008-05:00

Note from Cletis: Musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick helped bring many great performers out of obscurity; none better than Lightnin Hopkins about whom he so accurately wrote ~ "Hopkins is the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act".

Enjoy the concert...

Down with SOPA by Brian Todd Perkins

2012-01-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

Note from Cletis: Brian was gracious enough to allow me to reprint this wonderful commentary regarding the pending destruction of the internet and subsequent censorship imposed by those who, under the guise of protecting intellectual property, wish to strangle the First Amendment. Here is the link to his wonderful blog. Please visit his place and read for a bit.

http://myblueky.blogspot.com/

Up With Hopa Down With SOPA

Today, in what is the most awesomely geeky protest of all time, content-sharing websites such as Wikipedia, Reddit, TwitPic, WordPress, and other progressive websites such as MoveOn.org, are blacking out their content to raise public support against the Stop Online Piracy Act/Protect IP Act (SOPA/PIPA). This legislation was sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas.

SOPA/PIPA is legislation, bankrolled by the Motion Picture Association of America (big Hollywood movie studios), worming through the US House of Representatives and US Senate. SOPA's intention is worthy: to stop the theft of intellectual property via the internet and other new technologies. SOPA authorizes the US Justice Department to punish any content providers for not regulating the content on their websites.

My first question about this legislations was: What has Congressman Smith, being from Texas, have to do with the specifically Californian (Hollywood producers vs. San Francisco tech companies) issue of intellectual property? A bit of research led me to opensecrets.org to discover that Congressman Smith accepted a total of $60,800, $26,800 in personal contributions and $34,000 to Smith's PAC, from the Television/Movie/Music Industry. SOPA is also being heralded by former Senator Chris Dodd (D), who is not the CEO of the MPAA. Clearly, there are personal agendas being forced down our throats here.

The ability for me to look this information up and repost it for you would be impossible should SOPA pass. When people can face prosecution for legally sourcing and reposting content, who is to stop people from copyrighting every piece of information produced in order to keep it secret?

The wording of the legislation insists that only "foreign" companies will be prosecuted for committing copyright infringement, but Reddit and Google claim otherwise. Their argument is that the Justice Department could make a case that any internet based company could be deemed "foreign" because it can be accessed and operated from anywhere in the world. Anyone who uploads anything on the internet is, in essence, contributing to global file sharing. "Foreign" is a contextual term.

If SOPA passes, websites like "The Pirate Bay," and other download sites, would be punishable by law, along with any companies, such as Visa and MasterCard, who accommodate transactions with them. There is nothing that I see that is unjust there. Downloading illegally is stealing, and people who participate in those illegal transactions should be punished. We can all agree there, I think.

However, this blog, for example, along with every other blog, could and would begin to be policed for copyright infringement. Not only would I not be able to reference news stories, news clips, television programs or films, I wouldn't even be able to provide a link to them so you could look them up yourself. SOPA would effectively shut down what I, and millions of others, do.

As someone who produces intellectual property on a daily basis, I am all for strict laws against copyright infringement. But, once again, it seems as if the US Congress is using the legislation to pervert it into well-intentioned stripping of the 1st Amendment, our right to free speech. This legislation will inflict a mortal blow to the proliferation of knowledge. It renders the internet as nothing more than a tool for shopping and porn.

The Global Intellectual Property Center reports that there are currently 19 million jobs in the United States that are currently producing or working with internet-based intellectual property, with a contribution of 7.7 billion dollars to the economy. These are all legal, American jobs whcich will be in jeopardy if this legislation passes.

If this law were active at the advent of Facebook, it would have been impossible for the fledgling company to remain profitable. Mark Zuckerberg would have had to employ a massive army of people to patrol each post, each status update, each pic or link or vid anyone uploaded for copyrighted information. If he didn't, he would have faced prosecution from the US Justice Department.

If this law is passed, Facebook and Google and other companies will be responsible for content. You wanted to upload the video of you singing "Happy Birthday" to your cat? Sorry, copyrighted. You wanted to share that amazing, game-winning, Tebow touchdown? Nope, copyrighted. Sarah Palin said something crazy on Fox News and you were just dying to repost it? Think again, you don't own that video.

I am optimistic. I don't see this legislation passing through both houses of Congress in its current form. But make no mistake, I do this blog because I believe with every cell in my body in the causes I write about, and I'll be damned if some silly paper document Washington, DC produces tries to stop me. If the Government really wants to start a war with the American people, go ahead and pass SOPA.

Fly Over Country by Motivated In Ohio

2012-01-19T00:01:00.014-05:00

Note: Motivatedinohio recently posted this at her place and I was deeply touched by her sincerity. The disintergration of our industrial base she references is the result of decisions made entirely with the aim of enhancing the old bottom line. No consideration was given to the long term effects on our culture or individual lives.

I have added the brilliant but terribly misleading "Morning in America" video from 1984 used so successfully by Ronald Reagan. Of course, Reagan and his disciples didn't bother telling us the morning would turn cold and dark and last for thirty years and counting.

Here's Mio ~

"I live in a town that used to be prosperous; there was manufacturing and people worked at making things. What station a person worked in the manufacturing sector depended on their education, initiative, and understanding of the business. People who were unable to continue their education could still make a wage where they could build a good life for themselves and their families.

Those times are gone. Businesses have been outsourced for the last 30 years and there are tons of empty factories. The retail sector, not having enough business since their customers no longer had money to purchase, closed down also. The area mall is a shell with a few businesses still struggling to remain open but, one by one, they die a slow death. There are a few grocery stores in the area, along with several stores with the name Dollar in their title, and a big box superstore.

This is what 30 years of Reaganomics has gotten this country. This is the new normal. Vulture capitalists break up businesses, rob pensions, and leave the now shattered companies on the brink of bankruptcy. This is what we are fighting. Is it any wonder people are protesting?"

Late Summer 2011

2012-01-18T00:01:00.013-05:00

Old Blue

Earistotle

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 by Harold Arnett

2012-01-17T00:01:00.022-05:00

^"To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

For the second time in a week, we reached sixty degrees yesterday. At the time of year when our normal high temperatures are in the teens, we're looking at another week of the forties. The day started out with ominous omens.

I discovered Randa wielding a fly swatter in the kitchen before breakfast. "It's been so warm the darn flies are hatching out," she remarked, whacking at one that kept bumping against the window and then taking cover in a corner. Eventually, the fly blundered and we then turned our attention to breakfast.

Toast finished and bowl rinsed, I headed out to the garage and made yet another discovery of untimely development. There on the concrete floor, flat on its back and completely immobile, lay a freshly hatched stinkbug. It was as green as a lime. I picked it up and carried it into the house. "Look at this," I invited, holding the specimen out for Randa's inspection, which didn't take long. "Stinkbug hatched out and then froze last night." I dropped the critter into the wastebasket under the sink and returned to my garage project.

A couple hours later, I came back into the house. The stinkbug was crawling across the kitchen floor. I picked it up on a piece of paper this time; figured if it was mobile it was also capable of living up to its name. I took it outside and thumped it about fifteen feet out into the grass. I'm fifty-eight years old and I've never seen a freshly hatched stinkbug in January. What I'm more worried about, though, is that I'm soon going to be seeing my little fruit trees budding out right before the month returns to its traditional habits.

I'm a bit ashamed to be apprehensive about such remarkably pleasant weather but I have seen whole orchards ruined. I've also seen lives ruined when people forget that every season has its purpose and that even enjoyable things can happen at the wrong time.

Harold (Doc) Arnett

America's Varied Carols Part 2

2012-01-16T00:01:00.003-05:00

Orchestra at square dance. McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Children asleep on bed during square dance. McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Jack Whinery, homesteader, and his family. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

The Faro Caudill family eating dinner in their dugout. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the New Mexico Fair. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Homesteader and his children eating barbeque at the New Mexico Fair. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

School children singing. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Garden adjacent to the dugout home of Jack Whinery, homesteader. Pie Town, New Mexico, September 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Mill at the Camp Bird Mine. Ouray County, Colorado, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Distributing surplus commodities. St. Johns, Arizona, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Hauling crates of peaches from the orchard to the shipping shed. Delta County, Colorado, September 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Hay stack and automobile of peach pickers. Delta County, Colorado, 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

On main street of Cascade. Cascade, Idaho, July 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Road cut into the barren hills which lead into Emmett. Emmett, Idaho, July 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Shasta dam under construction. California, June 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Boy building a model airplane as girl watches. Robstown, Texas, January 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Grand Grocery Company. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Young African American boy. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1942 or 1943. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Wisdom, Montana, April 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by John Vachon. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

A Fourth of July celebration. St. Helena Island, South Carolina, 1939. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Planting corn along a river. Northeastern Tennessee, May 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

African Americans fishing in creek near cotton plantations. Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

If you missed Part 1, link here
http://thebookofcletis.blogspot.com/2012/01/america-her-varied-carols.html

CS # 55 The Truth of Dr. King by Doc Arnett

2012-01-15T00:01:00.015-05:00

"Suddenly, in a few seconds of radio time, it was over. My first son, whose birth had brought me such joy that I jumped up in the hall outside the room where he was born and touched the ceiling -- the child, the scholar, the preacher, the boy singing and smiling, the son -- all of it was gone." ~ Martin Luther King Sr.

Note from Cletis: The following, brief essay is, perhaps, the finest example I have had the privilige to read regarding Dr. King and his vision of brotherhood for all men. Doc Arnett's long-ago actions on the playground of a small, rural elementary school in Trenton, Kentucky will resonate through the ages. The real task of loving our brothers, per the dictates of Jesus Christ as voiced by Dr. King, usually don't make the evening news.

"I grew up in southwestern Kentucky in the Fifties and Sixties. Although integration was not completed in Columbus, Ohio, until 1984, it was done eighteen years earlier where I lived. Toward the end of the school year in 1966, the principal of our tiny elementary school in Trenton made an announcement: “Todd County Schools will be integrating this fall. That will include us.” Neither Mr. Tribble nor any of the teachers voiced any complaints, threats, or warnings to us students. I’ve never investigated what private conversations may have taken place.

In spite of living in the land of Jim Crow, I’d missed out on most of the harsh realities of minority life in that place. I will not claim that my parents were not prejudiced but they were certainly not typical of other landowners of their era. We were taught to use the term “colored folks” instead of the contemptuous term in common use in that place and time. When Dad hired black men to help with harvesting hay and tobacco, they came inside and sat at the table with us at meal times. In addition to those examples and trainings, and perhaps even more importantly, Mom and Dad stressed to us that God had not only created all people, he had made us all one in Jesus Christ. “There is never any excuse for you to mistreat anyone; it doesn’t matter what color they are. God made them the same as he made you and being white doesn’t make you any better than them.”

I’m guessing it was that particular background that led me to my brief and admittedly quite small contribution to the Civil Rights movement in Todd County, Kentucky. At recess the day of the announcement, I called all of the boys in the seventh grade together. Knowing that we would be the big dogs next year I somehow sensed that there was something that I could do at that point that would make a difference. “Fellas,” I said soberly, “We’re not going to have any trouble here. We’re not going to be calling these kids names. We’re going to treat them the way we want to be treated.”

Maybe it was the wisdom of the words I spoke, the superior moral plane of acceptance and respect. It might have been nothing more than the fact that they all remembered I had bloodied Lewis Peterson’s nose twice in the past four years. Whatever it was, the integration of Trenton Elementary School took place that fall without a single fight, argument, or racial incident of any kind. At least among the children, it did."

Doc is a friend of ours and we stand in awe of his many gifts.

Music Saturday #24 Robert Gordon

2012-01-14T00:01:00.002-05:00

If you don't like today's Music Saturday, I'll be surprised. "Fire" was written by Bruce Springsteen for Elvis Presley who didn't initially want it but later, came to his senses and recorded it. Too late, the Robert Gordon version set the standard.

The second video starts with a nice sketch from Second City TV from 1984 and when the music fires up you'll notice Danny Gatton on guitar. Yes, dear, there is a Santa Claus and what a present.

The third video (yes, I love Robert Gordon) is the Conway Twitty classic, "It's Only Make Believe." "Pssst, I like Robert's version better." Enjoy!

Prospects for Palestinians Dwindling

2012-01-13T00:01:00.006-05:00

This insightful essay by Brian Cooney appeared recently in The Lexington Herald-Leader. Brian is a thoughtful person who writes with uncommon eloquence. To read the rest of this important look at the Israeli/Palestinian conflict just click the link below.

Is there any hope for Palestine?

At a Dec. 7 meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, GOP presidential candidates once again accused President Barack Obama of endangering Israel's security by his support for Palestinian "hardliners."

Their repeated attacks are an attempt to whittle away at Jewish support for Obama. They're also appealing to evangelical Christians, many of whom believe Israeli annexation of the West Bank (part of the biblical Holy Land) is a necessary prelude to the return of Jesus.

Obama, in a May 19 speech on Middle East policy, said that "the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps." He was referring to the border that existed before Israel occupied the west bank of the Jordan River in the Six Day War of 1967.

The "swaps" would be compensation to the Palestinians for land now occupied by large Israeli settlements. There are about 500,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including about 200,000 in East Jerusalem.

The Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories are viewed by the rest of the world as illegal, as violations of international law. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that an "Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."

Read the rest of Brian's provocative comments here:

http://www.kentucky.com/2012/01/09/2021318/prospects-for-palestinians-dwindling.html#storylink=cpy

The President Has It Right

2012-01-12T00:01:00.021-05:00

President Obama is right about having a smaller, leaner military and a significantly reduced defense budget. He alluded to the end of the Iraq War and the future plans to leave Afghanistan. Despite budget cuts and cuts in the number of ground troops our military will still be a vastly superior force, more agile, flexible and able to handle contingencies. The budget cuts can be used to provide for our own homeland security, development needs and deficit reductions at home.

It is important that the U. S. minimizes the use of our military throughout the world. Our recent adventures were mistakes and cost us dearly in lives and treasure. In order to minimize our use of military in Iraq and Afghanistan type ventures our congress and president need to establish a draft and a war tax.

The draft and war tax would be implemented anytime we use our troops in combat for more than six months or so. At that time qualified Americans would be drafted and would pay a war tax. This would be shared sacrifice something we have not had in the last ten years. It would make Americans more involved and considerate when it comes to us going to war.

Perhaps after ten long years of unnecessary war and excessive defense spending we are on the right track. This track will provide better opportunity for an improved economy, higher employment, better infrastructure, better education, and more research and development. Our homeland security will be truly increased.

Harold Trainer, USAF RET

What a waste!

U.S. Army Sgt. Omar Sprott, from Brooklyn, New York, of the 115th Brigade Support Battalion carries his luggage in preparation for leaving Camp Kalsu near Hillla, Iraq December 6, 2011. (Credit: © Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)

An Open Letter To Haters

2012-01-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

Note from Cletis: I almost never link to another commentary but you have to read the rest of this at The Daily KOS. Just click the link below the excerpt.

"I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and spending and the Government. You hate.

You like war. You like torture. You like Jesus. I don't know how in the hell any of that is compatible, but no one ever accused you haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency. You like people who look like you or at least hate most of the things that you hate. You hate everything else."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/1/9/1053088/-an-open-letter-to-the-people-who-hate-obama-more-than-they-love-america

Time To Choose

2012-01-10T00:01:00.013-05:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the, apparently, never-ending debates to define the philosophical differences between liberals and conservatives. For me, the obvious and essential difference is that liberals generally want a government that focuses on living things. (People, animals, and plants, are of primary importance when they are considering legislation and implementing policy.) Conservatives generally want a government that focuses solely on wealth creation and are quite willing to sacrifice children, elderly people, endangered species, rain forests, or any other living thing that stands in the way of their efforts to create and maintain that wealth for themselves.

This difference is at the heart of the struggle for the collective soul of our nation and the 2012 elections will move us farther down one path or the other. I am deeply concerned about the well-being of others and will do what I can to elect empathetic individuals who are committed to an egalitarian, just society. In short, I'll be voting for progressive liberals.

"Liberalism, above all, means emancipation - emancipation from one's fears, his inadequacies, from prejudice, from discrimination, from poverty." Hubert Humphrey

The Spark That Lit A Fire

2012-01-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

I think often about connections and how seemingly small events often produce cataclysmic change. When Mohammed Bouazizi, a struggling fruit vendor in Tunisia, set himself ablaze on December 17, 2010 in response to the confiscication of his wares and humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides, little did the ruling dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, realize his rule was at an end.

The Arab Spring had arrived and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Muammar Qadaffi of Libya were the next to fall. As Frost said, Way does lead unto way and the people of Yemen and Syria are now in the streets as well. I'm not sure of many things but I know for certainty that there are no isolated events. What we think, say, and do affects everything else. Knowing that, each of us needs to be gentle and compassionate in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

There's a great Buddhist parable where a small child had been killed by a tiger outside the village. "This is horrible," lamented a villager to the aged Buddhist master, "isn't it wise one?" The old man looked at the grieving villager, considered the possibilities, and replied softly, "We'll see," he said. "We'll see."

CS# 53 Edward Hopper by Teresa Evangeline

2012-01-08T00:01:00.007-05:00

Note from Cletis: By now, the regular readers of this blog know I am an enormous fan of Teresa Evangeline. For as long as she allows, I will repost her brilliant commentaries. Here's the link to her place where you will find a smorgasbord of creativity.

http://teresaevangeline.blogspot.com/

Shedding More Light on Mr. Hopper

Since posting my Edward Hopper piece, I've been doing some thinking, mostly due to a few comments that forced the issue. I talked in the post about how my topic was light, as well as the passing of summer, but I lost some sleep last night because I felt a nagging sense that something was amiss in this post. I woke up early this morning, very early, trying to get to the bottom of that twinge of unknowing. Then, I realized I'd given the wrong title to one of the paintings. So, I got out of bed, went to the computer, and made the correction (just a little OCD). Since I was there, I read and published the newly posted comments. Then I went back to bed.

And then, I really couldn't sleep. A comment left by Cletis, who talked about how he found the Hopper paintings "terrifying" and "upsetting," left me unsettled. Maybe, just maybe, I needed to take a look at this.

Mmmmm....

Well, I have to admit, a part of me certainly understands that someone could, indeed, find them unsettling. It's not an emotion I'm entirely unfamiliar with as it relates to these paintings.

And then there is George's comment, which arrived this afternoon, in which he talks about Hopper's characters, who seem to have a propensity for, "wondering...endlessly wondering what is out there, how one person, so seemingly insignificant, fits into the larger scheme of things," noting that he found it reassuring that others are also wondering.... And that got me wondering, mainly because I could relate to it.

So then I had to ask myself, why did I focus on the light? Am I unwilling to look at the shadow? I know the shadow has no power except that which I assign to it, but am I choosing to simply ignore even the idea of a shadow? And if so, at what price?

When I was working in the art gallery , one of my favorite clients came in and we somehow started talking about Edward Hopper. He had just finished reading a biography about him, and he told me that Hopper and his wife, Jo, according to the biographer, fought like cats and dogs, regular knock down, drag outs. If this is true (I'm not entirely convinced biographers can remain objective about their subjects), then it goes a long way towards explaining the sense of isolation he seems to have felt. And, although his paintings appear to be about light and shadow, the shadow seems to be the real subject of his work.

Anyway, I may or may not ponder further. My inclination is to just keep moving. All will be revealed. In the meantime, here is a Louis Jenkins prose poem that seems rather apropos. If you recall, he's the poet from Duluth whom Mark Rylance quoted in two Tony acceptance speeches. I've discussed my fondness for Mr. Rylance previously.

Here's Mr. Jenkins:

"Diner"

The time has come to say goodbye, our plates empty except for our greasy napkins. Comrades, you on my left, balding, middle-aged guy with a ponytail, and you, Lefty, there on my right, though we barely spoke I feel our kinship. You were steadfast in passing the ketchup, the salt and pepper, no man could ask for better companions. Lunch is over, the cheese-burgers and fries, the Denver sandwich, the counter nearly empty. Now we must go our separate ways. Not a fond embrace, but perhaps a hearty handshake. No? Well then, farewell. It is unlikely I'll pass this way again. Unlikely we will all meet again on this earth, to sit together beneath the neon and fluorescent calmly sipping our coffee, like the sages sipping their tea underneath the willow, sitting quietly, saying nothing.

~ Louis Jenkins

Images: "Compartment," "Empty Room," "New York Movie" "Room in Brooklyn," and "Nighthawks."

Music Saturday #23 Danny Gatton

2012-01-07T00:01:00.004-05:00

Danny lived in Maryland and played in clubs throughout the region. He was really, really good and acknowledged by his peers but never made the big time and killed himself in 1994.

From Wiki: Danny Gatton (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography. Gatton was ranked 63rd on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003.^[1] On May 26, 2010, Gibson.com ranked Gatton as the 27th best guitarist of all time.^[2]

^{Note from Cletis: The sax player will also blow your socks into next week.}

Danny was runner up for the Grammy for this album.

America & Her Varied Carols

2012-01-06T00:01:00.008-05:00

These photos are from the Lbrary of Congress and are all from the late 30's to early 40's. I have stared at the photos for hours wondering where these people are and what became of them. The children in many of these are surely still alive. Are they even awware the photos exist? I grew up in harsh economic poverty but I'll take that any day over the spiritual poverty that grips our country today. I will post more of this series in a few days.

Note:The photos have not been colorized.

Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Connecticut town on the sea. Stonington, Connecticut, November 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Farm auction. Derby, Connecticut, September 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Children gathering potatoes on a large farm. Vicinity of Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Trucks outside of a starch factory. Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, October 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Headlines posted in street-corner window of newspaper office (Brockton Enterprise). Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Children in the tenement district. Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Going to town on Saturday afternoon. Greene County, Georgia, May 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Chopping cotton on rented land near White Plains. White Plains, Greene County, Georgia, June 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Barker at the grounds at the state fair. Rutland, Vermont, September 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Backstage at the "girlie" show at the state fair. Rutland, Vermont, September 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

At the Vermont state fair. Rutland, Vermont, September 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Couples at square dance. McIntosh County, Oklahoma, 1939 or 1940, Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

You Screwed Up Lord

2012-01-05T00:01:00.003-05:00

Hallelujah, I have seen the error of my progressive ways. After carefully watching the Republican debates and considering the brilliant and enlightening analysis provided by the candidates regarding the overly burdensome regulations that are thwarting business endeavors in the United States and throughout the world, I am ready to concede.

With that in mind, I hereby propose we hale and hardy fellows set aside our philosophical differences and get rid of the ten most egregious of those stifling regulations which are literally interfering with every aspect of our economic, political, and cultural lives. So, Jehovah, I'm sorry to have to tell you but those Ten Regulations which you gave to Moses long ago on Mt. Sinai have to go.

Did you really think we were going to put up with your meddling in the market forever? The very idea you would feel the need to inscribe these regulations in stone is, to this newly enlightened man, shocking. Are you telling us we are somehow intrinsically flawed? Surely, God, you are well aware we are fully capable of steering the ethical course without your quaint efforts to provide us with a few rules to hold our lesser angels at bay. Don’t we always make the right decisions, rules or no rules, in a moral manner?

Lord, how can I possibly conduct a successful business without lying to my competitors and my customers? And, what about that pesky, little rule where you told us not to kill? What were you thinking? How do you expect us to rid the world of those evil Muslims if we can't kill them?

While I'm on the subject, Lord, let me also ask you about the regulation that I am to love my brother and that all men are my brothers. How can they be my brother if they aren't Christians? Surely you didn’t mean I should love Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Jews, and even liberals, did you? When your devout followers George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Colin Powell lied to the American people in order to precipitate the invasion of Iraq where they could kill their fellow man with impunity, was I supposed to object to that Lord? Come on, You, better than anyone, know there's great profit in war and that, business being business, what's really important is the old bottom line.

In summary, Lord, because you're perfect in every way, I’m sure you'll readily admit that the burdensome regulations you gave to Moses are getting in the way of job creation. If men, for example, can’t covet their neighbor's wife, there's a good chance more than a few lawyers will have to take down their shingles. We can't have that, Lord, but I'll tell you what I'll do. I’ll leave that and six others alone if you’ll just let me and my new found friends get rid of three of the ten. Strike down "Thou shalt not kill", (By the way, Lord, did you know they’ve changed that to “Thou shalt not murder” while you were tied up helping football players score touchdowns?) Cut lose "Thou shalt not steal", and "Thou shalt not lie" as well and I believe that would satisfy the Tea Party and what's left of the Republican Party as well.

I know this stings a bit but just fess up, Lord. You made a mistake by cluttering up the bible in the first place with these restrictive, job-killing rules but I believe, since our group has now publicly called out your wrong-headed effort to govern man's wicked nature, we will not hear very much in the future about the need to post your Ten Regulations.

Yep, we’re sorry, Lord, but those of us who have seen the light have had enough of your burdensome interventions into our affairs. You’ve been replaced in the hearts of dedicated conservatives by free-market guru, Milton Friedman, and that paragon of individualism, Ayn Rand.

Now, Ron, Mitt, Newt, & Rick can I get an amen?

The Illness Industry by Old Blue

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

All over the media you hear the lamentations that the United States is a country without industry. That we don't produce anything or make anything. That all over our jobs are service jobs or information jobs that are devoid of substance and long-term growth and opportunities.

That's just not true. America has a huge, thriving industry that generates billions of dollars and is growing exponentially every year. It is one of the few areas of the U.S. economy that is brimming with growth and opportunity. It is the Illness Industry.

This industry exploits a resource in America that is plentiful and growing abundantly daily: People in poor health. A subset of the PIPH (People In Poor Health) is the People Who Sit Around and Don't Do Anything (PWSADDA), but we will discuss them in more detail later.

The Illness Industry is a national concerted effort by government and corporations to create an entire multi-billion dollar economy by being sick. It is far-reaching and works on many levels.

A few hours in front of the television will reveal the mechanisms. Have you noticed how many hospitals are advertising these days? On television, radio and newspaper local hospitals are promoting their facilities, their doctors and their compassion. When you have chest pains come here, we care about you! Having a baby? We can give you the most wonderful birthing experience you can have with decorator rooms and gourmet food. We have the most expensive equipment, the most loving doctors, and valet parking as well. Have cancer? We'll make it into a life-changing experience where our expert, attentive staff will guide you through the most profound epic battle of your lifetime. Together we will prevail. You will win this one!

Unless of course you don't have insurance. In that case, you're on your own, baby.

Then there is the pharmaceutical industry, another branch of the Illness Industry. Ever notice how many commercials there are for drugs? There's big money in pharmaceuticals and the drug companies figured out it's better to bypass the physician and go right to the consumer. Do you have high blood pressure? Ask your doctor about this. Do you have a little trouble in the bedroom? We have things to help you. Are you depressed? We've got you covered. Irritable bladder..... no problem. Have high cholesterol? You could change your diet and exercise but why when a couple of pills will take care of the problem.

Another branch of the industry is the electronics industry. People are being sucked into sedentary, quasi addictive pastimes that insure a steady supply of unhealthy people. What are you "doing" when you watch television? You are eating and sitting on your butt. What are you "doing" when you spend hours on the internet? You are eating and sitting on your butt. What are you "doing" at work? You are at a desk with your computer and eating and sitting on your butt. We have several generations of kids who think "play" is video games and socializing is texting. You don't actually have to play sports to get the thrill; you can pay other people do it and get the great feeling. You can pay them lots and lots of money to run around throwing balls while you stay in the comfort of your own home eating and sitting on your butt.

The food industry is a major player. Fast food is a good-tasting non-nutritive disease causing product designed to make corporations lots of money while creating generations of ill people. It's a double header. The corporation makes lots of money and creates production jobs at minimum wage while simultaneously creating a host of ailments which spawn other industries. Like hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and heart disease. That means more doctors, medicines and equipment. A "Happy Meal" is not a meal. A "meal" is a collection of foods designed to provide calories and nutrients to an organism to keep them alive, long-term. A Happy Meal is designed to kill you ..... eventually. Pizza is not a meal. It is simple carbohydrates and fat. Sure they show a family eating it with a healthy salad, but really, how many of you eat the salad? It takes up too much room that you're saving for another piece of pizza.

Food stores are into the industry also. With the exception of the fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and meat, the offerings are designed to make you sick. If you buy anything in a box, plastic bag or a can, chances are it is augmented heavily with salt, fat and sugar. Convenience foods are designed to make food preparation fast and easy so your family has more time to sit on their butt. And watch TV or surf the internet. Actually, the food industry has made itself into the entertainment industry. How many products link to movies? How many products make eating into a life-enhancing experience instead of a way to get calories to stay alive? More and more corporations and the media have trained us to think of food as a path toward fulfillment and happiness. And, maybe it was at one time when Mom was in the kitchen and you could spend hours there talking to her and helping her make meals. Now the conversation and the human bonding are gone and all that remains are the calories. No wonder more and more people overeat... they're trying to fill a hole with food that can only be filled with human interaction.

But, to get back to the Illness Industry. When I was young my family rarely went to the doctor ....and we rarely needed to. When we did go there was a waiting room where you signed in --- no scheduled appointments-- and you waited your turn. Sometimes there was someone at the desk and sometimes there was not. The doctor called you back and tried to find out was wrong with you, gave you some medicine or advice, and sent you home. It may have taken hours to see the physician but if you really felt bad you stayed. If you didn't feel THAT bad, you left. There is nothing like spending hour on hour on a worn plastic seat in a crowded, shabby waiting room full of very sick people to help you determine just how serious your condition is. Suddenly you don't feel all that bad. Maybe you just need an aspirin and a bowl of soup and some rest.

Now when you go into a doctor's office there is an army of scrub-attired personnel waiting. The receptionist greets you and gets your information, an aide takes your vital signs and weight, a nurse asks preliminary questions, the doctor sees you, you go to get labs drawn, you take care of the billing and then you make a follow up appointment. Who pays all these people? You do. Who pays for all the high tech equipment? You do? Who pays for the impressive furniture and artwork on the walls? You do. If you pay taxes, if you pay for health insurance, or if you ever get healthcare, you do.

When you go to a hospital and the grounds are immaculately groomed and landscaped, who pays for it? You do. When you see a full page ad in the newspaper bragging that a certain hospital was ranked in the top ten for hospital excellency and you should come here, who pays for it? You do.

Who has created this monster called the Illness Industry? You have. I have. We have.

Brass Balls by Fred Ceely

2012-01-03T00:01:00.017-05:00

Note from Cletis: Fred Ceely knocks me out. He currently lives in Thailand where he turns a penetrating eye on the world. I highly recommend a visit to his place. http://spineasytime.blogspot.com/

Asked at a campaign stop in New Hampshire why young people should mobilize behind Mitt Romney for 2012, the candidate had a simple but comically pandering answer. Romney promised 21-year-old Kallie Durkit that he will deliver jobs to college graduates if he’s elected president — that as a businessman he knows “what it takes” to [...]/p

Romney: If I’m President, All College Grads Will Have A Job; If Obama Wins, They Won’t

Can you believe the BRASS BALLS on this guy. Well, since you asked me, said Willard, if you are in college now, and I am elected, you will have a job when you graduate; if Mr. Obama is re-elected, you will not have a job when you graduate. Me? 100% Him? 0% And they say these things with a straight face. And if you call them on something you are being a bitch somehow; not getting the big picture; being a deluded Liberal traitor; drinking the Obama Kool Aid. Remarks like this one are just plum stupid, there's no dressing it up, there's nothing political about calling them the spades that they are.

This guy, and all of the sorry-ass useless eaters that he's running with, are beneath our contempt, and yet, they draw air and blow hard in a presidential race, no less. Albeit a Republican race, but still.

And they're not the only one trying our patience these days. Pope Benedict the however many was explaining to us in this jolly season that we should look past the glitter of modern Christmas and return to the simple, straightforward meaning of the holiday. The SIMPLICITY. He said this from his pope's perch, dripping with gold and jewels, surrounded by opulence and oozing luxury from every pore, the decadent MF, pardon my French, or not.

People let them get away with it too, that's the truly amazing part. It seems to be true, most people really do love Big Brother.

A Man of Reason by Daniel Berry

2012-01-02T00:01:00.004-05:00

In this age of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and the Tea Party, it seems like everybody I disagree with is an idiot. That's why I was so saddened by the recent passing of British writer Christopher Hitchens.

I often disagreed with Mr. Hitchens and yet I always found myself sitting up and paying attention whenever he was on TV simply because I knew I would probably learn something. I knew that whatever opinion he held, it would be a thoughtful and informed one. Whether he was defending the Iraq war or condemning Mother Teresa, it was clear that he had at least thought about it for the requisite fifteen minutes rather than the ten seconds or less allotted by the average right (or left) wing pundit. I always felt a little better informed and a little more objective after listening to what he had to say.

It is sad that Mr. Hitchens was so much the exception rather than the rule. His rational, intelligent approach to issues could serve as a useful model for folks on all sides of the political spectrum. He showed that it never hurts to think before you speak, regardless of what you end up saying. I will miss being able to disagree with someone without my head exploding.

Chris Hitchens 1949-2011

CS #52 The Death of the Dauphin

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Note from Cletis: I first read this astonishing story many years ago and it left an impression. Next time you bump into someone who is taken with their own importance, you might want to recommend this.

The Death of the Dauphin by Alphonse Daudet

The little Dauphin is sick; the little Dauphin is going to die. In all the churces of the realm the Blessed Sacreament is exposed night and day, and tall candles are burning for the recovery of the royal child. The streets in the old residence are sad and silent, the bells no longer ring, the carriages go at a foot-pace. About the palace curious citizens watch through the iron grills the porters with gilt panauches talking in the courtyards with an air of importance.

The whole chateau is in commotion. Chamberlains, majordomos, run hastily up and down the marble staircases. The galleries are full of pages and of courtiers in silk garments, who go from group to group asking news in undertones. On the broad steps weeping maids of honor greet one another with low courtesies, wiping their eyes with pretty embroidered handkerchiefs.

In the orangery there is a great assemblage of long-robed doctors. Through the windows they can be seen flourishing their long black sleeves and bending majestically their hammerlike wigs. The little Dauphin's governor and equerry walk back and forth before the door, awaiting the decision of the faculty. Scallions pass them without saluting them. The equerry swears like a heathen, the governor recites lines from Horace. And meanwhile, in the direction of the stables one hears a long, plaintive neigh. It is the little Dauphin's horse, calling sadly from his empty manger.

And the king? Where is monseigneur the king? The king is all alone in a room at the end of the chateau. Majesties do not like to be seen weeping. As for the queen, that is a different matter. Seated at the little Dauphin's pillow, her lovely face is bathed in tears, and she sobs aloud before them all, as a linen-draper's wife might do.

In his lace-bedecked crib the little Dauphin, whiter than the cushions upon which he lies, is resting now with closed eyes. They think that he sleeps; but no. The little Dauphin is not asleep. He turns to his mother, and seeing that she is weeping, he says to her:

"Madame queen, why do you weep? Is it because you really believe I am going to die?"

The queen tries to reply. Sobs prevent her from speaking.

"Pray do not weep, madame queen; you forget that I am the Dauphin, and that dauphins cannot die like this."

The queen sobs more bitterly than ever, and the little Dauphin begins to be alarmed.

"I say," he says, "I don't want Death to come and take me, and I will find a way to prevent his coming here. Let them send at once forty very strong troopers to stand guard around our bed! Let a hundred big guns watch night and day, and matches lighted, under our windows! And woe to Death if he dares approach us!"

To please the royal child the queen makes a sign. In a moment they hear the big guns rumbling through the courtyard; and forty tall troopers, halberds in hand, take their places about the room. They are all old soldiers with gray mustaches. The little Dauphin claps his hands when he sees them. He recognizes one of them and calls him:

"Lorrain! Lorrain!"

The soldier steps forward toward the bed.

"I love you dearly, my old Lorrain. Let me see your big sword. If Death tries to take me you must kill him, won't you?"

"Yes, monseigneur," Lorrain replies. And two great tears roll down his bronzed cheeks.

At that moment the chaplain approaches the little Dauphin and talks with him for a long time in a low voice, showing him the crucifix. The little Dauphin listens with an expression of great surprise, then, abruptly interrupting him, he says:

"I understand what you say, monsieur l'abbe; but tell me, couldn't my little friend Beppo die in my place, if I gave him a lot of money?"

The chaplain continues to speak in a low voice, and the little Dauphin's expression becomes more and more astonished.

When the chaplain has finished, the little Dauphin replies with a deep sigh:

"All this that you tell me is very sad, monsieur l'abbe; but one thing consoles me, and that is that up yonder, in the paradise of the stars, I shall still be the Dauphin. I know that the good Lord is my cousin, and that He cannot fail to treat me according to my rank."

Then he adds, turning to his mother:

"Let them bring me my riches clothes, my doublet of white ermine and my velvet slippers! I wish to make myself handsome for the angels, and to enter paradise in the costume of a Dauphin."

At third time, the chaplain leans toward the little Dauphin and talks to him for a long time in a low voice. In the midst of this harangue, the royal child angrily interrupts:

"Why then, to be Dauphin is to be nothing at all!"

And, refusing to listen to anything more, the little Dauphin turns toward the wall and weeps bitterly.

Music Saturday #22 Bob Marley

2011-12-31T00:01:00.048-05:00

I am moved by words and emotion manifested in music and nobody combined the two better than the great Bob Marley. His album, Legend, is a masterpiece of melody and lyric and Redemption Song is a prime example. The possibility of redemption, a yearning to go home that we bring with us from the Source, is ever present in our lives and quietly defines our path. Marley captures that need in his evocative voice which is, truly, the voice of all men and all women.

Sadly, Bob Marley died of cancer at 36 but my guess is he "fulfilled the book" and was redeemed and made anew. Here are a few of his words for your considereration.

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind, or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting, and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.” Bob Marley

Redemption Song lyrics
Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
'Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look? Ooh
Some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fullfil the book
[- From :http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bob-marley-lyrics/redemption-song-lyrics.html -]
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our mind
Woh, have no fear for atomic energy
'Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fullfill the book
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever had
Redemption songs
All I ever had
Redemption songs
These songs of freedom
Songs of freedom