Category: politics

Nuclear War

I've told my US History classes that when I was 12 I was convinced nuclear war was imminent. The reason was simple: Ronald Reagan and Prince both said so. In the mid 80s those two people were important to me and agreed about virtually nothing. Except the likelihood of nuclear war.

Yep, I'm a child of the 80s.

FDO

Snowfull Skies

Snowfull Skies

 

There’s a snowfull sky above

Me here tonight standing

Idling in boots and wait

For the winter defining storm

My television told me is coming

 

There’s a snowfull sky above

Though the stars are peeking through

This noncommittal cloudiness

That hints at the light beyond

 

There’s a snowfull sky above

This tin can mansion

For which I’ve mortgaged my finest flag

The soul-stirring banner of revolutionary risks

And revolutionary living

 

There’s a snowfull sky above

So I wander inside

Grateful for security and shelter

From the storm

The light and the revolution

That once defined me

 

There’s a snowfull sky above

 

 

© Gayle
Force Press 2008

 

Strange Fruit

 

 

I am the strange

Forbidden fruit of a country

That takes from the poor

In order to give more to the rich

 

The truly great divides

Are between the poor and the rich

The Cursed and The Blessed

 

Among the worst realities of America

Is this newly recognized truism

The only treason is class warfare

 

Roughly translated

Being poor

And getting mad about it

 

Illegal wars

Stolen elections

Corporate malfeasance

Racist senators

Rigged rebuilding contracts

 

 

These high crimes

These more than misdemeanors

Are all excused and quickly forgotten

As we continue to grease

The always dirty palms

Of America’s master class

 

Why does money always matter

More than the people who need it

Can We the People ever become more

Than the powerful allow

More than we imagine for ourselves

 

 

© Gayle Force Press 2008

 

GatesGate- Part 1



Yes, this is the appropriate name for the Henry Louis Gates Jr.
arrest controversy. It would (might) help us see how ridiculous we are in
denoting everything that interests as a crisis. 

I have been
asked my opinion on this whole fiasco by several folks so here it is. 

First- Yes, I
think there's a racial component to the arrest. Gates was clearly in his own
home and was clearly no physical threat to the officer. Small, crippled, middle-aged folks should not be intimidating to young, armed police officers. I have
not heard any suggestions as to why Sergeant Crowley felt it necessary to arrest
Gates. I know that he chose to do so but I still do not know why he thought it
necessary. 

Here's a simple thought experiment: Replace Skip Gates with Bill Gates at the front door in Cambridge and what do you think happens?

Second- Were I
arrested instead of Skip Gates, the story might make the local news. Maybe.
There would be no hue and cry. I'd tell folks about it and we'd shake our
heads, curse the police and go do the next thing on our list. It is only
because of his stature that this has become a media event. Sad but true.

More below… 

TP 

GatesGate- Part 2

Third- The President's comments were unhelpful but
correct. Arresting someone in his own home even though he has committed no
crime is stupid. Clearly it’s stupid. In the US today though, there is very
little effort to find the right answer in public discourse. Instead the thrust
is to find the angle that helps you gain the most. So instead of asking if the
President were correct, most of the attention has focused on his word choice.

 

Fourth- The police organizations that united
yesterday to loudly complain (basically) that the President has turned his back
on law enforcement looked silly. Calling a stupid arrest stupid should hardly
have broader implications even if you’re the President. Gaining attention,
money and public sympathy was all these groups could have hoped to achieve. There
was no public safety agenda here. The focus was on the word ‘stupidly’ not
thoughtful policing or constructive resolution. Sargeant Crowley seemed stunned
by the whole thing almost as though he were strapped to the lead car of a
roller coaster. I hope he gets more than one beer when he meets with President
Obama and Professor Gates, he's gonna need it. 

 

Finally, do any of us think that this situation will
keep me from getting the 'random' extra security check at the airport? (Yes, my
beard is close to maximum length right now; it's been a challenging summer.)
Will there be fewer groups planning to assassinate President Obama? Will Black
suspects be kinder and gentler to police officers? Will there be a surge in
support for affirmative action? Will there even be a wave of police departments
across the country creating diversity or sensitivity training programs? 

 

I doubt any long-term positives will happen as a
result of this incident. If there be any, I think they will come out of Skip
Gates’ new recognition that his race still counts more than it should. He may
begin to step away from his post-racial analysis a bit and I think that could
be constructive for his work. (Here’s an excellent read on just how post-racial
Gates has been.)

 

No, this seems to me like another media frenzy such as Joe
the Plumber. Lots of sound and fury signifying nothing. See, I knew I’d have to
say a lot. A lot about a little.


TP 

Lilywhite Jesus

One of my faves from Myths.

 

It’s the lilywhite Jesus

I’m supposed to believe in

The evidence of things unseen

That guy in the pictures

Sometimes with a beard, always a mustache

Maybe lambs or a stream next to him

Long pretty robes almost, but never quite,

Obscuring his sandaled, pearl feet

The lilywhite Jesus

Who never lived a day on this,

The only Earth we have

© Gayle Force Press 2006

Steele doesn’t get it…

… in response to a question about bringing diversity into the GOP, Michael Steele responded (with help from someone off camera who shouted something about collard greens) that he'd bring the fried chicken and potato salad. 

Of course, I'm not certain why those foods denote Blackness as opposed to Southerness but if they did not, there would have been no reason for Steele to have mentioned them. 


Where have all the smart Republicans gone? 

TP

What next?

The best quote I've seen about Sarah Palin so far…


"[Sarah Palin] may resurface as a latter-day Hannity or she may
found some Palin-specific Anti-Defamation League dedicated to calling out
obscure bloggers who've written mean things about her. But what very little
shot she had as a future presidential candidate (and it was a much longer shot
than I think many realized) is over. She's done. She's back to what she was —
a small person looking for someone to be angry at."

Josh Marshall