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...

Fast Blast: News 2.10.11

From fashion and art to dictators, school boys and whales, it's a helluva day around the world.

Mubarak hangs on: Egyptian president Mubarak gave a speech this evening in front of a packed Tahrir square, surprising his constituents and the world by proclaiming that he wasn't going to step down. The crowds had already been cheering and celebrating all day in preparation for the official word. Needless to say, they were disappointed and angry. Mubarak announced that he will be handing over certain powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman. This didn't do much to quench the anger in the masses. Suleiman is a military man, head of intelligence gathering and widely regarded as a heartless extension of Mubarak.Major opposition leader, Mohamed ElBardei warned that things will rapidly turn violent if Mubarak does not step down. "Egypt will explode," he tweeted. After Mubarak's speech, crowds chanted "Get out, Get out!" The latest development reports masses of more than 1,000 encircling the presidential palace where heavy security guards the building and others nearby. This will be a long night.

The soldier's side: Reports show that for the second year in a row, the US military has lost more soldiers to suicide than in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year, over 468 troops committed suicide. If everyone bitches so much about supporting the troops, shouldn't we support them enough to bring them home and pay for adequate physical and mental healthcare...? Nah, that's not as fun as moving little green men around on a board.

A billion pounds of flesh: House Appropriations Committe Chairman Hal Rogers announced today that he intends to cut $100bn from Obama's budget this year. "Our intent is to make deep but manageable cuts in nearly every area of government, leaving no stone unturned and allowing no agency or program to be held sacred," Some Democrats feel, like Rep. Schumer, that the Republicans are "blindly swinging a meat ax to the budget when they should be using a smart, sharp scalpel." He said that they need to pay special attention to what areas of government spending will benefit job growth and the economy and what areas won't, as opposed to just throwing a blanket over the whole thing and slicing $100bn. However, it seems that even some of Rogers' co-workers are unsure of exactly what's being cut: "We will make $100 billion in discretionary cuts while making common sense exceptions for our troops and veterans. " House Appropriations Committee Communications Director Hing said (that by the way, is the most made up job ever). Ummmm...oh right, that's a bullshit patriotic way of saying you won't cut military funding, but everything else, from schools to health care to jobs and public works will be bent over the House podium and royally raped - while you have that image in your head, imagine Obama's speech to corporate America the other day where he vowed to try and slash corporate taxes to make free trade easier. You're welcome America.

Saving the whales: Thanks to less pollution and international bans on whaling, whales have returned to the waters of New York Harbor, just beyond the Verrazano-Narrows bridge which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn. An estimated 50 fin whales now live in the area. Guess that campaign really did work...save the whales!

School boy bomber: A man dressed in a school boy uniform blew himself up, along with Pakistani troops at an army training camp in Northwest Pakistan this morning. There seems to be some discrepency as to the age and identity of the suicide bomber: army and police claim it was a teenager in a school uniform, the Pakistani taliban said it was a soldier on the base who had volunteered, and Reuters claims it was a boy as young as 12. This comes as a sharp reminder of the strong Al-Qaida and Taliban operations along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite years of attacks against the groups. Not to beat a dead horse, or a dead ideology, but at what point did we decide that we could conquer what essentially is an entire continent deeply rooted in faith - with nothing more than firepower and arrogance? It was all about Bush in his flight jacket on the aircraft carrier wasn't it? Congrats USA - no mission accomplished, missing a conscience.

The fashionable apple: Mercedes Benz fashion week kicks off today in the Big Apple with BCBG stealing the show in throwback 70s style on Auschwitz survivor thin models...I dunno, seems a little retro for my taste.

Art Walk: If you live in LA, check out the Art Walk downtown. In the center of the city (Spring-Broadway between 3rd and 8th), galleries will showcase their pride and joy along with live music, alcohol and free swag like condoms and fashion magazines.

Fast Blast: News 2.8.11

From alien tumors to dwindling rights, today is one helluva day for news stories. Here's your ADD news blast. Enjoy.

We come with cancer: A man underwent several hours of surgery to have a large tumor removed from his back, that apparently had tentacles, something doctors have never seen before, prompting the name "alien tumor." Scully, Moulder...we need you. (More on CNN.com)

Less rights, more patriotic: The House will vote today on extensions to the PATRIOT ACT, including allowing the FBI more leeway in wiretapping, access to library and other records (would really like to know what "other records" are), and drumroll please! Surveillance of "lone wolfs," i.e. people who have no connection with any terrorist organization...for example, me...I thought I felt like I'd lost something when I woke up this morning...huh, just more rights, par for the course. (More on democracynow.org)

Obama Inc.: Obama reached out to corporations today expressing his wishes to assist them in knocking down some irritating government barriers to their success...
"Now, another barrier government can remove—and I hear a lot about this from many of you—is a burdensome corporate tax code...
Which brings me to the last barriers we’re trying to remove, and those are outdated and unnecessary regulations. "
Yeah, fuck government regulations. Things work out so much better when we let corporations run rabid, inflate prices, knock down trade legislation...oh wait, no...that didn't work. For fuck's sake Obama, are you fucking kidding me?! I'm literally speechless. I'm sitting here staring at my keyboard wondering if there is any word in our vernacular that could express how fucking pissed I am...there isn't, so I'll move on. (More on democracynow.org)

Google power: Egyptian Google marketing executive, Wael Ghonim was released from a 12 day detention today, re-joining protestors at Tahrir square in Cairo. He is hailed as a key organizer in the online campaign against Mubarak that began the protests on January 25th. The internet has power, if wielded for things other than Farmville, porn and celebrity gossip. But fuck it, wacking off to the acquisition of a cyber farm is much more fun than starting a revolution...well, according to us Americans. (More on USAToday.com)

Paranoid DC: Washington DC lifted a 2 1/2 year ban on handguns, prompting more than 1,400 new registrations. The interesting fact: 90% of these new registrations were in the affluent neighbourhoods where crime is at an ALL TIME LOW. One man, who admitted he had never been a victim of a crime, said simply "You gotta be prepared." As a retired military man, he is. He now owns 2 revolvers, 2 semiautomatic pistols and a 12-gauge "combat assault shotgun." Hmmmm...are there fucking Zombies attacking Georgetown?! Did I miss that breaking news? Do the people living nearby him not also have the right to not live by a heavily armed loony tune claiming you gotta sleep with your eyes open? You're in fucking Georgetown. Since the handgun ban, crime has gone significantly down in the capital...oh, that's just a coincidence. Sargeant psycho will be ready and willing when those zombies come sneaking through his azaleas. Fucking christ. (More on Washingtonpost.com)

War-crafter: Chechen Warlord, Doku Umarov has claimed responsibility for the Moscow airport bombings, threatening more violence due to the "Russian crimes in the Caucasus." Caucasus and more specifically North Caucasus is a mountainous steppe region on the southern border of Russia whose history is marked with feuding clans and warring relations with Russia's government since Tsarist times. The region is mostly Muslim and Umarov has vowed "blood and tears" if Russia does not abandon and retreat from the North Caucasus region. His Jihad has two primary goals: to expel non-Muslims and implement sharia law, and to expand the jihad beyond the Caucasus. (More on Reuters.com)

Palin™: Sarah Palin is trying to trademark her name and that of her daughter, Bristol Palin. She was unfortunately denied due to the fact that she didn't sign her oh so special name on the forms. In her defense, I think it's still up for grabs whether she can read and write...maybe she could just sign an "X"...or hell, just put a target and crosshairs, that seems to be a trademark of hers already. (More on NYTimes.com)

Gluten free: China is experiencing and will continue to experience, a severe drought in the upcoming months, threatening not only drinking water for inhabitants and their livestock but also the wheat crop. China is the largest producer in the world of wheat - so grab some rolls while you can and start looking into some gluten-free options. You may need them. Also, while you're at it, build a bomb shelter and store some water - this fucked up international weather pattern can't bode well for any country or crop. (More on Washingtonpost.com)