rootsbag 1005: crunching it: working it like a junkyard dog

SATURDAY


i was thinking

about that bombing in egypt
and how intractable that israeli/palestinian thing
seems to be

you cant help but have more empathy w/israels situation
after 9/11 and the fact that this seems to be an al qaeda attack

but you also know that israel is not going to change its position
or get its jackboots off the necks of the palestinians
their response is going to be more of the oppressive same

most of my commentary on this issue has been designed to either shame the israelis
or convince them this is not the way to deal with this situation, there has to be a better way

they are the power here and they the only ones can substantially change this dynamic
which can only end with the arabs overwhelming them just like they finally did the european
outposts of the crusades

they want to say well we tried with barack and yes they did but that
was then and this is now, the palestinians would accept pretty much
any real deal offered now that they been whupped down

but the longer israel keeps whupping them down the more radicalized they will be
and the more painful the eventual deal

what so deep is that this situation is of blibical import in its potential for destabilizing the world

and i think of other seemingly intractable situations
haiti and the sudan and poverty and hunger and everything
and sometimes you just despair

cause you feel like theres nothing you can do that will really
make a difference

and then im thinking about the kenyan sister who just
got the nobel peace prize for being a dreamer trying
to manifest her dream

and i was talking to this young activist in one of my writing classes
she got skilz and i was trying to get her to value the potential
influence of her work as much as she does her overt activism

i consider myself a serious activist, im always gon be an activist
thats the way i was trained

i was trained by john o killens, addison gayle, fred hudson, bill ford,
louise merriweather, marie brown and john henrik clarke

i was trained to knuck
you name it and ive tried to organize it

but on the real side its my work that i think will really make a significant difference

my activism i do that because im supposed to, thats my understanding of being a
righteous literary man and ideological orchestrator

but its my work that i think will really make a difference in the destiny of humanity
in enhancing the human condition

and as a young writer i had to come to that understanding because my fellow activists
tend to sneer at the artist and thinker as activist

but if you truly understand the power and the magic of art and literature
if you truly understand the power of the word as nommo
the work is primary

my activism, i feel like im spitting in the wind
ima do it but i dont expect it to really change the world
except in the very personal sense

but my work
w/my work i can make a difference
i know i can

i may get discouraged sometime as an activist
but the word is redemptive

i man believe in the power of the word

fundamentalist codependency

probably along those same lines
a comment about the election

we have got to get bush out of there
he does not understand how his actions
contribute to the radicalization of islam and
the arabworld

i think about places like egypt
which would love to be a viable ally in
the war against terror
and other moderate arab states
who cannot fully ally themselves with
america because america has made
itself an international pariah with its policies
in the middleeast

this is more of a disaster than folk realize
we need those moderate states to be a viable
alternative in the islamic world

we desperately need their cooperation in the war
against terror

now they are in a situation where they have to make
common cause with a rouge america
and lose credibility with their own populations
and their own self respect

they are forced into situations like that of algeria
when radical islam was poised to take over
and folk objected to their campaign of repression,
or even earlier, egypts repression of the brotherhood

but if they dont repress radical islam
they will be given over to radical islam
same same pakistan
if radical islam takes pakistan they got the bomb

but then the repression just encourages more radicalization

damn near another one of those intractable situations
but not really because there is still room for game in there
as you can see for instance in turkey

but finessing these dynamics will require a geopolitical sophistication
that is sorely lacking in the bush administration

he doesnt have a clue, hes a fake president and everybody knows it

we cannot afford to let this man and his bushleague advisors
play their neocon games with our lives and the lives of our children

this has boiled down to our fundamentalists against their
and theirs are tougher than ours

we need to lead with our strong points
an america that actually cares for the world

bushs domestic policies are indicative of how little he cares
for anybody who is not already rich and powerful

this man has got to go

FRIDAY

dreams are for dreamers

kenyan environmentalist wangari matthai
wins 2004 nobel peace prize for work with
the kenyan based green belt movement

among its efforts to fight corruption
enhance democracy, empower women
and better the african environment

the green belt movement has planted
something like 30 million trees
in an effort to halt african deforestation

i was concerned that previous post about re foresting
haiti was too much of a dream to really consider

apparently not for a dreamer

republicans idea of a joke

as part of his 'slacker uprising' lecture tour
michael moore encourages 'slackers' in audience
who have never voted to vote in the 2004 election
by having them participate in a jokey quiz show contest
that offers prizes like ramen noodles
and a package of clean underwear

what he calls slacker goodies

i saw it do it in syracuse, its really funny

apparently the michigan republican party does not think so
they have asked michighan prosecuters to arrest and
charge him with "bribing voters"

that man really gets under their skin dont he

and you know he been using it to beat the drum
i tell you those republicans just dont get it
somebody needs to explain to them

THURSDAY

now thats cold

la times editorial says what everybody knows by now
that in so many words bush is damn near an idiot
whats interesting is a mainstream press editorial saying it
title of it is 'is he a dope' and the answer is 'yes'

everybody knows this by now, even his supporters
his inarticulateness
his handlers unwillingness to let him engage unscripted
his unwillingness to adapt to new information
his inability to govern except by slogan

he is clearly out of his league
hes like a little kid with a box of toys

the problem of course is that these are some perilous times
and no time to be subject to a childs games

be very afraid
the emperor is as naked as a jaybird

this is news?

lot of print about final un inspectors report
saying that iraq did not have WMDs

duuhhh

TUESDAY

like i dont have enuf to do
ive decided to start taking students online

there are a couple of folk that i work w/mostly online already

and im always trying to understand how to work the
internet as a contemporary literary instrument

so official notice: i am accepting students online
only folk serious about working on a novel
only folk working on work thats compatible
with my literary vision

preferably folk who want to work in both my traditions
hoodoo and literature

folk who strictly serious cause i aint got no time to waste
on no bullturkey

get in touch w/me if you want to be considered
aflowers@twcny.rr.com

understand that mostly ima be saying no
no no no no no no no so dont take it personal

(and i wont take it personal if no one responds)

in struggle
and the name of babajohn o killens
the great griot master of brooklyn

MONDAY

hello remaining readership
sorry I been out of pocket

been crunching rest for the weary this week
between rest and the schoolhouse
i been working like a junkyard dog

just didnt have no discretionary time

let me see if I can get my groove on again
the trick is to make the initial post then its relatively easy
to maintain it w/some daily commentary

race and identity

this picture accompanied fascinating article
im pretty sure it was the washpost
the sudanese marriage of an arab woman and an african man
second wife to an african first
and talking about the grief she/he/they been getting
from bothsides

uncle a janjaweed commander
family lost everying and living in a refugee camp
senior wife and the neighbors getting a little testy with her
cause it was her tribe that drove them out
and so on, a moving human condition piece

but then they showed what they said was a picture of her
and im looking at this picture thinking where is the arab
when I realized this is what they were calling an arab there

I tell you that race, color and culture thing
is just a little too twisty for me

advice to kerry for next debate

kerry smoked bush so bad on the debate
the republicans couldn’t even spin it

my suggestions to kerry next time
as we all know bush believes in governing by slogan
and apparently debating by slogan too

its like they program him with about 4 slogans and
he answers all questions with one of the above

what kerry should do is note the slogans as soon as they apparent
then say something like, I do not want to debate by slogan
can we have a discussion without the following phrases:

then list the slogans of the month and boom, what can bush say
if he cant say his chosen slogans

also jugg him a little more, make him lose his cool
obviously he does not like being questioned
he has this imperial sense of entitlement

jugg him man

cyoa

oh and by the way

I signed up for my absentee ballot
I aint taking no chances

they aint gon steal my vote
if i can help it

Comments

[sungoddess]

Hey papa, trying to reply to your email and keep getting bounced off your server. What's up with that? Do you have another email address I can use?

[rickydoc]

sungoddess
dont know whats happening w/that
i will check into it

use flowers@rootwork.com
or schoolhouse: aflowers@syr.edu
thats the one i check when
im on the road

be well
my friend

arf