(P1) Philosophical, Political, Poetical (whatever)Flash - 12:15 AM Wednesday November 8, 2006
Faith in American Voters, Democracy, Freedom, Intelligence and Sanity Restored!
No text necessary here except perhaps from Sen. Robert Byrd awhile back
"Eventually, the truth will emerge. And when it does, this house of cards, built of deceit, will fall." — Robert C. Byrd
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(P2) Political
Seems Like Only Yesterday
I'll let Sen. Robert Byrd's prophetic words before the war speak for themselves:
2-12-2003 - We are truly "sleepwalking through history." In my heart of hearts I pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not in for a rudest of awakenings.
To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50% children is "in the highest moral traditions of our country".
This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time.
3-19-2003 - ...today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart... We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.
After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe.
The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice.... A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq...
...May God continue to bless the United States of America in the troubled days ahead, and may we somehow recapture the vision which for the present eludes us.
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(P3) Poetical
Gentle Little Pushes
Lying still
in the garden
warfare—
the notion
absurd.
Give everyone
a garden
breeze and swing
especially
executive
owners
of gardens and swings.
Lead them outside,
give them gentle
little pushes
start them all
moving—
forgetting all else,
being alone.
(Edward Coletti 2006)
If you are in the area Friday, please come see and hear Ed read
Coletti Reading - 7PM Friday - November 10th - at Copperfield's Books
hosted by the Word Temple Series
2316 Montgomery Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 578-8938
Comment Here on any of the above or below and read the comments of others too. Log in as "Other" if you like, but please be sure to sign some facsimile of your name. Or email me at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.
9 comments:
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!
Cheers! Whatta night! Americans have finally come to our senses. We still have high hopes of capturing the Va. & Montana Senate seats.
I take (minor) pride in helping "elect" Sherrod Brown in Ohio via my 100 phonecalls with a move-on Santa Rosa house party on Sat! LOL.
P.S. Thanks again, Eddie, for sharing your lovely poem, Gentle Little Pushes. Much luck on your poetry reading. Judy and I will be there in spirit.
P.S. Just heard about Donald Rumsefeld's resignation! And sent a birthday card to my cousin letting her know she got the BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT OF ALL!
There's plenty to cheer about!
Conservative pundits have long argued that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by a radical, ultra-liberal cabal. The Democrats have been handed a Golden opportunity to smash that argument and damage the credibility of the pundits advancing the argument. Regardless of my, or your, opinion about this argument, the argument will be tested in the next two years.
Nancy Pelosi's statements about bipartisanship and civility are encouraging. The real question is whether ordinary Democrats will demand the Democratic Party commit to Pelosi's promises. This remains to be seen.
I offer a cautious congratulations, but remind you blind faith in the Republican Party led this country to today; blind faith in the Democratic Party will be as bad or worse.
Regards,
Paul
Thanks, Ed, for your sweet poem. Here's hoping the Dems will follow through with Nancy Pelosi's
promises. We're also continuing the efforts to make peacemaking a new national art form embraced
by all of us. Do watch Oprah today at 4 on channel 7 to learn about a sister organization to the Peace
Alliance: Challenge Day. This is a local organization (East Bay) that is spreading around the world,
helping teens to break down barriers and "be the change." I've been a Challenge Day volunteer,
myself, and am so impressed at what can be done to open hearts in a one day event that lasts forever.
Ed H.
Go America! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Ed, Sorry I couldn't make the 11/10 reading and hope it went smoothly, as I'm sure it did. (What kind sentence is that?)
The voters of the USA, most of them that is, finally took a stand and made a difference. As Paul said above, it is now up to the Democrats to make good on the voters wishes. On the down side of the election, racism still lives on in Tennessee (and elsewhere) and defeated Harold Ford for the Senate.
In other good news today (11/14) Tony Blair has pulled his long overdue "et tu, Brute" play on Bush and advocated getting Syria and Iran into talks on how to clean up Bush's mess in Iraq. I've also read that members of Bush's select committee on Iraq are saying that the situation there is much worse than anyone had suspected. And the deputy commanding general of Multinational Force West (mostly Sunni populated) says the Shiite government in Baghdad is starving the Sunni security forces. They haven't been paid in months. Futher Maj. Gen. Robert Neller says there are not enough Marines, Iraqi forces or police to cover all the area, the most dangerous in Iraq.
So my question is to Pres. Bush, how is that war thing in Iraq working out for you?
Locally, here in the outback of the country, Nevada, voters did strange things. They elected a Republican governor, US Senator and Congressman. But, they elected a Democrat attorney general, and added several Democrats to the Assembly and Senate. They also passed a minimum wage bill tied to the US wage; banned smoking in all public places; severely restricted the right of eminant domain of governments; and, refused to give the legislature a raise in pay and denied it the right to call or not call extended sessions. The wage, smoking and eminant domain issues were all passed in '04 but the legislature did nothing about them, so now, by passing a second time, they are law.
By the way, Democrats have controlled the Nevada legislature for some time, so the vote was not an anti-Republican message.
Anyway, most analysts are saying the US voters have given the Dems two years to get it right. Let's see if they can.
Ed,
thank you so much for the breath-taking prophecies of Robert Byrd. Too bad he was a "voice in the wilderness" to George W. Bush's international megaphone. Something is seriously awry when the village idiot trumps the sage prophet in matters of liberty, life and death.
Ditto: Bush the coward air national guard deserter prevailing over Kerry the war hero.
Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" comes to mind: up is down, black is white - but "off with their heads" prevails.
The wrong heads, of course. And now the Dems proclamation: "Impeachment is off the table." I was SHOCKED to hear these words from John Conyers, whose impeachment hearings addressed the criminal status of this administration. Of course he is following the lead of a "united" Dem caucus. Let us only hope that Harry Reid's anti-investigative stance does not stand.
If this is strategy, (Reid nothwithstanding), to pursue "tipping point" investigations to enlighten the public - it is justified. If it is cowardice and pandering - it will be fatal to our democracy.
I enjoyed rreading your post
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