The Debt and Poetry

I read a poem earlier today that I thought reflected a lot of the fears that people felt about the "Debt Crisis" and thought I would share a few bits from it. It's a poem titled "America Was Promises" by Archibald Macleish and can be found in its entirety HERE. So here are a few lines that I thought sounded very good after hearing a few worried senior citizens converse about the future of social security and Medicare. It starts:

Who is the voyager in these leaves?
Who is the traveler in this journey
deciphers the revolving night: receives
The signal from the light returning?

America was promises to whom?

                                                   East were the
Dead kings and the remembered sepulchres:
West was the grass.
                               The groves of the oaks were at evening.

Eastward are the nights where we have slept.

And we move on: we move down:
With the first light we push forward:
We descend from the past as a wandering people from the mountains.

(It goes on...)


America was promises-to whom?

Jefferson knew:
Declared it before God and before history:

(...he delves into a rambling yet insightful flow that glues me to the music of the words)

And the Aristocracy of politic selfishness
Bought the land up: bought the towns: the sites:
The goods: the government: the people. Bled them.
Sold them. Kept the profit. Lost itself.

(down a bit...)


The Aristocracy of Wealth and Talents
Turned its talents into wealth and lost them.
Turned enlightened selfishness to wealth.
Turned self-intrest into bankbooks: balanced them.

(...)

The Aristocracy of Wealth and Talents
Moved out: settled on the Continent:
Sat beside the water at Rapallo:
Died in a rent house: unwept: unhonored.

(and the last passage I really like)

We do not ask for Truth now from John Adams.
We do not ask for Tongues from Thomas Jefferson.
We do not ask for Justice from Tom Paine.
We ask for answers.

And there is an answer.

There is Spain Austria Poland China Bohemia.
There are dead men in the pits in all those countries.
Their mouths are silent but they speak. They say
"The promises are theirs who take them."



I spoke for a while with an older lady this evening and we both shared stories that told me we have nothing to worry about if the US can't reach an agreement on the debt. Humans are humans. We have been through worse and will be through worse. We will continue to eat food, drink water and breathe air.

I think something will work out so that all this fear is eased. If something isn't done, there will be many riots and people jumping off the Golden Gate so fast that it will look like a wall of concrete being poured into the Bay. That won't happen. No responsible head of a government would let a tragedy occur on their watch...right?

Norway: The Other End of the Extremism Spectrum

In the wake of the attacks in Norway there was much speculation as to who would carry out something so brutal and senseless. Of course the usual list of suspects came up in conversations. In a document generated by STRATFORentitled "What the Norway Attack Could Mean for Europe" (22 July 2011) the scenarios included the usual suspects. Jihadist groups based in Europe, far-right or neo-Nazis based in Norway, or even a retaliation sponsored or carried out by Libya.

The scenario that is closest to the facts (and, so far, looks to hit the nail mostly on the head) was limited to these few lines:

"There is also the possibility that the attacks are the work of a skilled but disturbed individual with grievances against the Labor Party. This possibility would have few long-ranging repercussions beyond a reworking of domestic security procedures in Norway."

We live in times where it pays to keep your head on a swivel. Unfortunately, it seems that too often we get tunnel vision looking out on the horizon and forget to glimpse over our own shoulder from time to time. Our world seems to get more and more polarized every day. These polarizations, compounded with fear, lure irrational people out of the dark.

The headlines have been calling this "Norway's 'Oklahoma City.'" I think it looks more like a combination of Oklahoma City and Tuscon.

The worst part is that this guy in Norway thinks that this is justified. That he is saving Norway from the spread of Islam. I think we would all agree that there are better ways to enact change on your society than by taking innocent lives.

Back to my point. The point is that the threat of violence doesn't always come from the usual suspect. It isn't always a jihadist with a suicide vest. It's not always a tattooed up neo-Nazi. Sometimes it's the blonde guy with a sick mind and some guns. The "Lone Wolf" style terrorists are the hardest to defend against.

A nice thought about writers...

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."
-Ernest Hemingway

"Connie!! You Know Where the Bathroom Is!!!"

So, I returned from a trip from Colorado this morning carrying a Holy Fire in my guts. It was a late night with a nearly full moon when a glowing Spirit emerged from the cold river. She ascended the river bank with a message for the Chosen Few that sat starring at the campfire in the rain.

"Go forth!" she said with a voice that sounded like a mix between a Didgeridoo and a chain smoking goose that had been clipped by a speeding Fed Ex truck, "You chosen few shall embark on the task of bringing back the curtsey!"

It was an epic trip. The camping was awesome. The fishing was great. The friendships that have been solidified will be long lasting. I would recommend a trip like this to anyone looking to take a break from the 9-5. Like Hamid Karzai.

Texas versus The TSA

TSA pat downs are still making the news and a discussion I had today made me think about how ignorant people can be about the things that help ensure our safety.

History has shown us that a commercial airliner can be valuable in many different ways. It can be hijacked and ransomed. It can be used as a means of escape for a criminal or terrorist. It can be used as a deadly weapon. It should be a no-brainer that if an aircraft has been used in these capacities it would be wise to defend that aircraft from evil people posing as common passengers. I don't think the TSA should focus solely on people who may look like the stereotypical Islamic extremist. Evil is not limited to a religious sect or ethnicity, and someone looking to do harm is usually smart enough to try to blend in with those he/she is targeting. 

So, here is the fear that creeps into my head everytime I head to the airport. Anyone who has flown knows that standing in the cattle line waiting to go through security is the biggest barrier to getting a beer before boarding. It is also an easy target for people looking to harm others.

This is why I feel that as long as TSA agents aren't brutally raping people as they pass through the checkpoint we should suck it up and realize that a few seconds of discomfort is far better than the possible alternatives. I could accept an engine problem sending my flight nose first into a sewage lagoon, but I could not accept my life being in the hands of a terrorist or criminal because we didn't want to make someone uncomfortable.

Summer in Oklahoma...

makes you realize that 86 degrees at 11:15 p.m. isn't always a bad thing.

A Wedding at the Edge of Insanity, North Carolina.

Wednesday May 25, 2011-
7:45 A.M.- I woke up, finished packing my duffel bag, cleaned my Bersa Thunder, drank a cup of Earl Grey tea and watched the news talk about the previous day's tornado outbreak.

8:10: I checked my course from Tecumseh, Oklahoma to Insanity, North Carolina (somewhere in the central part of the state) on Yahoo! Maps. My final destination was a few miles before that, near the town of Catwba. First, I had to switch cars in Dallas, Texas.

8:30: Threw the bags in the car. Stopped at the Kwick Stop and bought a bottle of water and a bag of sunflower seeds. The mouth has a tendency to get a bit dry when one conquers a long drive with the help of various stimulants.

9:00 A.M. Wednesday-4:30 A.M Thursday: Driving. Made it to Oxford, Alabama before fatigue became too much to battle.

8:45 A.M. Thursday: Back on the road. Drove through Atlanta, Greenville, Gastonia.

Sometime early evening Thursday. Arrived at destination.

Friday 8 A.M.: Left to pick up wedding partiers at airport in Greenvile, then back to the rally point for a few hours.

Late Afternoon: Drove to a rendevous 20 miles from the North Carolina-Virgina line to swap cars and pick up another passenger, then back to the house at midnight.

Mid Night-4:30 A.M. Saturday: Moments of masculine bonding, pissing of women, shots, beers, shots, more pissed off women, acts of unintetional violence, shots.

6:30-8:00: Strange conversations that ranged from God, to politics, to 9/11 conspiracy theories, to The John Birch Society...Oh and something about how marriage is great and every man who is worth a damn should be married.

8:30 A.M.: The Marriage Pusher's wife discovers that he's been up all night and sets off what I call "Slaptober Fest 2011"   

8:34 A.M.: As a nearly full whiskey bottle misses a skull by inches, I decide to give these two some privacy and take a morning stroll down to the lake.

The rest of the day is typical wedding stuff. The kind of tension and insanity that would make you rather smother yourself in Jet-A and jump through a flaming hoop.

Party begins: Shots, beers, shots, beers, pissed off women, more shots, beers, Tatratea, pissed of men, shots beers, fun, fun, fun, pissed of kids, beers, fun, I think someone wrecked a car, drunk white guy says racial slur,beer, shots...

There is so much more, but in the intrest of the Fifth Amendment I will share those with friends on a one-by-one basis.

It was a great trip, but I still can't figure out why the plane didn't crash on my flight home. Maybe the Cosmos is waiting for my sins to pile up and hash it all out at once?