Monday, August 25, 2008

Another Fairy Tale/My Confession/Silence


(P1) Poetical


(by Eddie C.)












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(P2) Political

Proud To Be Working Class & My Confession

I have a little confession to make. Coming from a working class background (my father was a New York City fireman and my mother an elementary school teacher) I, for quite awhile, attempted to put that all behind me. You see, my parents, stretching their budget considerably, sacrificed and sent me to Georgetown University.

I arrived wearing a lime green poncho shirt and was immediately schooled by my patrician classmates in how to dress (blue blazer, blue button-down Gant shirt, khakis, and brown Bass Weejun loafers). Once in awhile, I'd be invited to stay over at friends' houses ("mansions" to my way of thinking) in Scarsdale, Boston's North Shore, etc. Ultimately, I felt the need to reciprocate, and my friends came to stay over at our exceptionally modest house in Queens. I was very nervous about this, but they always loved the Italian food, openness, good humor and warmth of my folks. Still, for a long time, I felt that I had been "found out."

Later in life, I did vocational rehabilitation counseling with industrially disabled workers under California's Workers Compensation system. In this capacity, I developed a new affinity for the salt of the earth, blue collar workers. It brought me back to my roots and a respect for those who the patricians in our government, but for their platitudes, sadly neglect.

So, at this time, with Barack Obama and Joe Biden leading the way (and let's also hold their feet to the fire), let's join in proclaiming anew and with feeling, "All power to the people of this great nation!"

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Most Hypocritical List


I was going to refer to this quotation as "The Most Hypocritical Quotation of All Time" when I reigned myself in, "Whoa! There's a lot of competition out there!" How about us all compiling a "Top 10" list of hypocritical quotes. Here's my first nominee.

From David Bonior, former Michigan congressman, after the Edwards revelation:


"You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."

But, David, something like a mind-numbing fifty percent of the population still believe Cheney's big lie that Iraq was involved on Sept. 11!

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(P3) Philosophical

Noise Drenched Lives
by William Edelen - August 3, 2008

The distinguished anthropologist Loren Eiseley wrote that, "Never in the entire history of our species, homo sapiens, has one generation been subjected to so much chaotic noise." He writes that , "We will not know the damage it is doing for years."
(press this link to continue reading)

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Friday, August 01, 2008

RaceCardFever/Dept of Peace/BushResume/Poem


(P1) Political

What Race Card?

Instead of just playing the press's game, why doesn't Barack just come out swinging with:

"What race card. I'm the black guy, not McCain. I'm the guy who had to overcome race to get where I am, and I've done a marvelous job of that. Where the hell are you guys coming from acting like you've been victimized by me. Yes, last time I looked in the mirror, I had fairly dark skin, perhaps not dark enough to satisfy you when you were saying I wasn't black enough! So this is what I mean when I say I look different from all those other guys on the dollar bill! I do! I'm black! And I'm proud! Were there one thing that might keep me from winning a landslide victory in the age of Bush, it would be what the polls cannot show us, namely how voters will feel when they enter the booth and decide whether or not they want to vote for a black man (spell that B-L-A-C-K). Otherwise, there's really no other choice in this election. I'm smart, informed, attractive, not Republican, certainly not Bush or McCain. Oh, and, not so incidentally, I'm black!"

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George Bush's Professional Resume


As stated by the friend who sent this to me, "It's nice to see all of this in one place."

This person needs a job, an executive position, will be available in January 2009, and is willing to relocate.


RESUME-GEORGE W. BUSH

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

(continue here)





(P2) Philosophical


Response to Those Against Department of Peace

Interestingly, the majority of my responses to support for a U.S. Department of Peace have focussed not upon the positive goals but rather reasons to say no to another bureaucracy. I'd really be interested in your observations. Hit "comments" below. In the meantime, hear is typical correspondence:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Has anyone actually read Kucinish's bill? While it is an interesting idea in theory, it is totally unworkable from a practical standpoint. The governmental department turf wars alone would render the "Secretary of Peace" impotent.

4:35 PM

Delete
Blogger Ed Coletti said...

Dear Anonymous,

In the future, please add your name or nickname. That would add more moral force to the comment. My support of a Dept. of Peace is not so much based upon it's bureaucratic workings as upon the transformative nature of the words "Secretary of Peace." Regardless of how it works out, a Dept. of Peace gets people talking about Peace. What's a Dept of Defense? When was the last time troops were used to defend this country? Don't you think that focusing upon family serenity, gang neutralization, an Academy of Peace (paralleling the 4 "service" Academies), etc, might have a more positive effect? Tell me, Anonymous, why do you focus merely on the negative? So there would be "turf wars." I suspect the war turf might gain the advantage over the peace turf. But then, what do we have now? War turf and No Turf.

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(P3) Poetical

In Silence
by
Thomas Merton

Be still.
Listen to the stones of the wall.
Be silent, they try
to speak your

name.
Listen
to the living walls.

Who are you?
Who
are you? Whose
silence are you?

Who (be quiet)
are you (as these stones
are quiet). Do not
think of what you are
still less of
what you may one day be.

Rather
be what you are (but who?)
be the unthinkable one
you do not know.

O be still, while
you are still alive,
and all things live around you

speaking (I do not hear)
to your own being,
speaking by the unknown
that is in you and in themselves.

“I will try, like them
to be my own silence:
and this is difficult. The whole
world is secretly on fire. The stones
burn, even the stones they burn me.
How can a man be still or
listen to all things burning?
How can he dare to sit with them
when all their silence is on fire?”




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