FRIDAY
washerwomen of the world unite
in atlanta 20 years after the civilwar
black washerwomen went on strike to protest
wages and working conditions
in the face of fines, strikebreakers and political repression
they maintained solidarity until atlanta employers were
forced to concede their demands
sisters in soldarity
church and state
the schiavo case is a prime example of why
the coming battles over bushs court nominations
will be so important
the reason the founders decreed a seperation
of church and state is so the rest of us would
not have particular religious beliefs imposed upon us
as the rightwing ascendency would have so quickly done in this case
had not the judiciary shown its independence
the doctrine of church and state is important
in the best of times
and even more surely so in the worst
THURSDAY
living will and testament
living wills are like memoirs
you feel like surely its not time for that yet
surely i got another chapter or two left in me
but with the rightwing ascendency running wild
best not to take no chances
so first let me say that bonnie
makes all decisions
no matter what bush and company
has to say
dont leave me laying there like no vegetable
give me a month or so in case im on
a magic carpet ride in there
then pull the plug
second, i believe im going to join aarp
you talking about somebody dont want to go there
surely im not old enuf yet for that
but it seems i am and i need to support any
institution that is capable of taking on the beast
(sending off my black radical congress dues too)
speaking of testimonies
adam had folk read an excerpt of mojo rising
for his class on liberation rhetoric down at the groove
man you talking about embarassing
aint nothing like sitting there while folk discuss
your old work, i got real defensive over the selection
he chose, mostly about being progressive bougie
and the struggle i had to go thru to be comfortable w/that
(and clearly not comfortable with it yet)
he explained that he chose it precisely because of that
struggle to attain what he called 'synthesis'
between the strategies of liberation
(integration, nationalism and transformation, et al)
to struggle thru to a personal ground that you can stand on
by the time he was thru explaining his interp
i was feelng pretty good about it, i like that class
rope a dope
i see where bush and company begging the democrats
to come in and save them on privitizing social security
starting to say they will consider alternatives if the
demos bring them to the table
first off we cant let them slip off to the side on this one
they gon try to flip the script
the add on option is not really a option
will still have to come up w/benefit cuts and such
to make social security viable
so if we give them add on, that money is going to
come out of social security no matter what they say
kinda like the social security trust fund, supposedly a lock box
a modest proposal would be to spend it strictly on
social security, then we wouldnt be having this problem
instead the government spends the social surplus immediately
on whatever they please
with this add on option, all they have to do is cut the benefits
like they always planned and say it has nothing to do w/the add ons
sooner or later bush is going to see that and start calling for add ons
as a compromise option and the demos who been calling for it will
have to say okay, so that bud needs to be nipped right away
the whole point is that we dont have discretionary money in social security
and we dont have the money for no add ons either
the focus has to be strictly on the solvency of social security
lets take up this ownership society rhetoric somewhere else some other time
anybody want to play with the stock market use their own money
the thing to remember here is that the repubs are not trying to save social security
they trying to kill it
and until they give up their little dream of killing social security and
really sincerely approach this as an effort to strengthen it
then they need to continue to have a conversation amongst themselves
and the democrats need to continue to let them stew in it
i am rickydoc
one of my most treasured colleagues called me a fake hoodoo the other day
whenever that happens it hurts my feelings and i have to take a moment
to convince myself to keep going, to keep on keeping on
my brand of hoodoo is frowned upon in hoodoo circles
im not considered a true hoodoo by many of my colleagues
because im not interesting in many of the conventional hoodoo concerns
i am just not interested in slaverytime spells and magical recipies
i am not interested in making a living off the pain of others
i am not interested in gathering a flock of believers
and i will not abide a thief of souls
i have been trying to open up the understanding of what a hoodoo is
and what a hoodoo do in the 21st century
to encompass high magic with the folk magic traditionally ascribed to hoodoo
and i man have been catching much grief for it
im used to other folk and atr folk dismissing me
its hurts when my fellow hoodoos reject me and my vision of the hoodoo future
but i aspire to be a hoodoo prophet and i assume that comes w/the territory
cause i swear by god and all thats holy
i will bring hoodoo into the 21st century kicking and screaming if i must
and when i am thru the conception of hoodoo will have been opened to include new skills
the ones i am interesting in practicing:
conjuring reality and forcing it to bend to my will
shaping the future of humanity and enhancing its destiny
establishing hoodoo as custodian of the tribal soul and destiny
defining hoodoos as destiny players
i dont question other hoodoos doing what they do
im just trying to forge a little piece of hoodoo ground for me to stand on
because these are the kinds of things im interesting in doing
and im tired of folk telling me that hoodoos cant do this
and still be true hoodoo
cant nobody tell me what i can and cannot do as a hoodooman
my primary instruments of conjuration are my works
(rest for the weary, the hoodoo book of flowers, the hoodoo tales, etc)
but i have to also engage my contempories in dialogue
and some process of hoodoo institutionalization that respects
hoodoo individuality
if my works are my seeds (of future realities)
my ideological orchestrations are preparation of the ground
so i guess ima keep on hammering or rather chipping away
at this thing in my lifetime
i am rickydoc de rootdoctor
and i will not be denied
Arthur, brother.
As always you have inspired me with this writing.
Forge that land, and I will stand on it with you.
You truly are an ispiration.
Keep on...
Adam
Posted by: Adam | March 23, 2005 at 06:22 PM
>>>i dont question other hoodoos doing what they do
im just trying to forge a little piece of hoodoo ground for me to stand on
because these are the kinds of things im interesting in doing
and im tired of folk telling me that hoodoos cant do this
and still be true hoodoo<<<
There is ONLY this life this universe this existence. There is
little I believe to be absolute but I know in my soul that inclusion
is always proper and exclusion always wrong. All roads lead to Rome. Keep fighting the good fight. Hoodoo has a future.
Posted by: Michael | March 23, 2005 at 07:54 PM