Politics and Poetry 2

• The Cradle will fall: The mayhem in Syria reached epic heights over the weekend. A massacre in the town of Houla left 109 victims dead, mostly women and children - 49 under the age of 10 hacked to death with axes and knives. The men of the town were demonstrating at the town mosque and claim that while they were away, government forces ambushed the town, killing innocent civilians. The government has claimed that this is the act of rogue terrorists. Kofi Annan of the UN sat down with President al-Assad today to make clear the international weight of these decisions. Several countries, including the US, also expelled Syrian diplomats in protest to the weekends events. All this to say...well, just to say, really. According to Annan, he "appealed to him [Mr Assad] for bold steps now - not tomorrow, now - to create momentum for the implementation of the plan."
So he spoke to him sternly about having spoken to him about at some point doing what he had spoken to him about originally.
Meanwhile, people in Houla fear another attack: "Military reinforcements have been brought in, and artillery, and we are afraid that the massacre will happen again," Mahmoud Al Houli told CNN reporters. "Four checkpoints have been set up around the town, and nothing can enter -- no food or medical supplies can come in. The electricity has been cut off. Things are desperate."
He closed with this piercing remark: "You have seen the bodies on television, on the computer, but we see them in real life."
So true. And yet, we discuss these images, these lives as if no one had to see them in real life.
If we're going to take an interest in the slaughtering of humans in other countries, we have to take a real interest. Hanging a carrot in front of desperate people's eyes is cruel and superfluous.
If we are going to stay out of it, stay out of it. This half ass bullshit is about as useful and philanthropic as standing in front of a homeless man, waxing poetic about the ills of poverty while counting your money. Come the fuck on!

Fear, fear, fear: While many of us reflected on the meaning of Memorial Day, perhaps remembering family members or saying a silent thank you to those who felt our country was worth a fight...Mitt Romney was enjoying a heaping bowl of fear with his BBQ.
At a speech in San Diego, CA, his message was clear: "The world is not safe."
"We can follow in the footsteps of Europe and shrink our military smaller and smaller to pay for our social needs...and they of course rely on the strength of America and hope for the best. Were we to follow that kind of course, there would be no one that could stand to protect us. The other is to commit to preserve America as the strongest military in the world, second to none with no comparable power anywhere in the world. We choose that course - not so we just win wars but so we prevent wars, because a strong America is the biggest deterrent to war that has ever been invented."
Let me just attempt to wrap my head around this one...military is more important than our social needs? What is your damage?! I'd like to see him give this speech at the WTC memorial - or how about to a bunch of school kids who don't know how to read but already know to hate Muslims.
And Europe relies on us?! You've got to be fucking kidding me. Even with the teetering Eurozone, there are only 4 European countries that have worse national debt than the US...guess ole Mitt was too busy polishing his gun to study up on some fucking common sense and hard facts. Good lord.
I'm no fan of Obama, but the more I hear this jack noodle talk, the more I'd like to see him pushing pens at a dead end Pentagon job - love the military so much? Go serve 'em. They deserve it.
Meanwhile, this pro-military spending loony tune is the same guy who recently said:

"You have to have a government that doesn't get too big."

What's bigger than the biggest military in the world?...


Call or Draw:
 

We crawl here on our knees and fear

Gagged and tied

lady liberty has died

call or draw

And in this mess you

wave the flag and bless

all the ones who

rape your rights for fun

call or draw

coming round that roulette wheel

coming round that roulette wheel

kill your innocence and ignorance

you can’t use them now

build your common sense,

intelligence

they won’t show you how

give it up like

virgins in a truck

all your rights in your country’s name

call or draw

are you blind?!

freedom ain’t a right you know

and those who lead

spin these lies for bribes

call or draw

coming round that roulette wheel

coming round that roulette wheel

kill your innocence and ignorance

you can’t use them now

build your common sense,

intelligence

they won’t show you how

Politics and Poetry 1

Hey Revolutionaries,

Reading these posts, you may think I suffer from extreme indecision and wavering dedication. Although those are both sometimes true, I have been trying to figure out the best way to use this blog, and now have a new idea: Politics and Poetry.
Without getting too into specifics, suffice it to say, that those two things are the meat of my writing.
Now, instead of writing whole posts dedicated to one political topic, I'm going to do bullet points of a few - the news, my take, etc. At the end, I'll have a poem to close it out. Without further adue...politics and poetry, entry 1:

• Birthers: Members of the extreme right, aka, much of the right, just won't let go of Obama's eligibility as president. Although his birth certificate was released by the White House last year, that's just not good enough, it seems. Some harp on the fact that because Obama's father was Kenyan and not a US citizen, it negates his citizenship...um...since when? My mother didn't become a citizen until I was 20 but I'm sure as shit an American citizen. Go back far enough and even the guy holding a "President Jihad" sign is no more American than Kim Jong Il. Still others are convinced that the certificate was a fake. Needless to say, this isn't doing wonders for candidate Romney's campaign. While he tries to focus on the economy and the shortfalls of Obama's term, many of his constituents pull the spotlight towards the entirely superfluous and ridiculous subject of citizenship. It's working on convincing many swing voters that the right is ripe with extremist nut jobs that care more about conspiracy theories than fixing this country. Well...judging by Romney's comment on our wonderful "safety net" for the very poor, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say he's out of touch. However, if you know anything about me, you know I feel that both sides are out of touch with anything but corporate bottom lines and career politics. But I digress...Iowa Republicans have now written into their party platform that all presidential candidates, starting this year, must "show proof of being a natural-born citizen."
In Arizona, Secretary of State Ken Bennett announced that he may keep Obama's name off of the ballots if he does not receive valid proof from Hawaii on Obama's citizenship.
I wonder if anyone has noticed the tumbling world market or the drone controversy...

• European Ties: We may not give much thought to the fact that Europe's economy is faltering, but we should. We are linked inextricably to the fate of the Eurozone. We may not have much stock in Greece but if Italy, Spain and Ireland follow suit, many of our exports would falter, thus hitting our domestic economy hard. Not to mention the slowdown in China - all in all, it is a dangerous time in the global economy and while we focus our energies here, it is vitally important to stay up to snuff on the goings on outside of our own borders.

• Egypt Election: Today was election day in Egypt. A 70 year old woman remarked in joy at this being the first time in her life that she has ever voted. The polling will take place over two days and tens of thousands of monitors are patrolling to make sure that the election is fair. It is the first time Egyptians will not know the outcome of a presidential election until the ballots are cast. This is a huge step for Egypt - being that they are the largest and arguably most powerful nation in the Arab world, this election will set the tone for others in the region. By wednesday afternoon, monitors mentioned only minor violations such as voters trying to convince others before heading in to vote. On the ballot are 13 candidates, including a representative from the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Morsi, Amre Moussa, who served as foreign minister under Mubarak and headed the Arab League; Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, a moderate Islamist running as a respected independent; Ahmed Shafik, who was Mubarak's last prime minister; and Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist dark-horse contender.
While tension rides high that the interim military government will try to hijack the elections, loudspeakers atop tanks broadcast to the contrary, assuring voters that as soon as elections are over, power will be handed over to the president-elect.
Having followed the uprisings last year, and watching the 16 month interim, where reform was slow but dedication was unwavering, I hope for the best.
We could learn much from Egypt and the Arab Spring.
I'll leave you with this thought: if the people of a dictatorship can create, in 16 months, the first democratic presidential election in the history of that nation, why can we not find our way back to it?


Fool's Oasis:

How many men have you heard lying
as they dropped the ball?

And how many flags did you see flying
when the bombs fall?

How many friends would you hear dying
before you hit the wall?

Is it strange that they despise?

Oh this fool’s oasis...
this
fool’s
oasis.

Ever seen your hands stained red?
How does it feel when you go to bed?
A baby dies, a soldier cries -
we look with apathetic eyes...

Is is strange that they despise?

Oh this fool’s oasis...
this
fool’s
oasis.

Into the bomb,
into the bomb,
into the bomb
shelter.
Into the bomb,
into the bomb,
into the bomb
shelter...