rootwork the rootsblog: a cyberhoodoo webspace

aids in south africa, hiphop griots in senegal: welcome to the 21st century

SUNDAY

hello world, i been writing like a fiend
in the zone and clocking pages

finally caught up w/schoolhouse work
and got discretionary hours again

got a new voice struggling thru too
influenced by the voice i use in rootsblog

can only hope it actually works as fiction
its so diff from conventional i cannot judge it

may work, may not
somefolk probably like it, some wont

friday i felt like i was the greatest writer in all the world
saturday i read over what i did friday and wondered if i was still in the game

sunday im still crunching
ignoring both elation and despair

take an act of god
to stop this party

leaving for sls kenya dec 15th,
i want to take a new draft w/me

got a lot of work done last time
hanging out on the rooftops of lamu

its showtime

rdoc

newwork by bobgates

FRIDAY

about time

new deputy minister transforming south african
eccentric aids policies

recap:

south africa possibly highest aids rate in the world
minister of health been a joke, been pushing beets
and lemonjuice instead of treatment

samesame mbeki, a bad joke denying hiv connection
searching for an 'authentic cure' while his people dying

at recent aids conference south africa displayed
beets, garlic and lemon juice instead of drugs

worldwide scorn finally moves them
deptuy minister mlambo-ngcuka given aids portfolio

aids activists wary but have come to accept
mlambo-ngcukas sincerity and determination

there is hope that south africa ready for primetime

that south africa has finally gotten act together
and assumed rightful leadership role in region

getting rough up in here

13 days and counting

repubs running scared and pulling out everything
but the kitchen sink

most clueless dirty trick is
white businessman patrick rooney of indianapolis
running ads claim democrats want to abort black babies

a voice says

"If you make a little mistake with one of your hos, you'll want
to dispose of that problem tout de suite, no questions asked."

well that pretty much says it all
whats deep is that he expects this to fly

hiphop griots

article in washpost

about young griots in senegal breaking free
of griot tradition and into griot hiphop

what took you so long

the older griots concerned that breaking
tradition will break the griot lineages

but the young griots have embraced
the urban challenges

or in the lyrics of one hihphop griot:

change but stay proud
want the nice clothes and the computers?

but remember to be real
grow but remember

represent Senegal. represent the ancestors
always.

so say one so say we all
rdoc

gettting my conjure on: social justice and effective radicalism in the 21st century

 ive become the go to guy among certain circles on campus

behind that convocation speech
been asked to do presentations one after the other

first i was gratified but i soon got over that

in my youth i did it for the fun/function of it
and i enjoyed dazzling people, made an art of it

its no longer fun, its a distraction from my novel work
specially when im not getting paid

i had 4 requests for october, more coming in for other months
would have burned away all my discretionary time

plus these all come from faculty and administration
thats gratifying of course but its students i want to want me

the caribbean student association used to have me do a
witchdoctor/libation thing to open their big annual show

now that i enjoyed doing, that was fun
they would write a witchdoctor routine into the scriptline

but that leadership group graduated and new folk
know not flowers (or do not appreciate what flowers do)

best i stay focused

been making an effort to attend meetings/happenings of black student groups lately -
low profile, finger on pulse mode - ive decided its my responsibility to reach
out to them - strictly lowprofile observer mode, itching to provide guidance and

determined to restrain myself - cause i dont have time for more tribal responsibilities

and they dont deal in the strategic matters which are my forte, shows take up a lot of their time but their hearts are right and they do good service programs - ima keep an eye on them

shoulda made more of an effort to be an integral part of the caribbean group community
rather than just show up at showtime - true witchdoctor is the instrument of tribal/community consciousness - i was just acting the role instead of being it - live and learn

so i owe the multiculti people one, will say no to others
until people move on to next sensation

this one however i could not resist
social justice and radicalism in the 21st century

brown bag 10 minutes or so, told them i wasnt doing anything
that required research, a personal riff is all im willing to do

and that only because the subject matter interests me
social justice and radicalism in the 21st century

reason this one interests me so is because i am very conscious
of being an aging radical and somewhat out of step with everybody

im no longer a radical in the classic sense of the word and many of
my radical peers consider me an apostate

but to my way of thinking im more effective a radical than ive ever been
ive learned to work within the system and w/the evolving instruments of the 21st century

im comfortable working w/both hands

the most salient point of being a mature radical
is that i dont mind defying radical dogma when necessary

thats why so many folk consider me apostate these days
for instance i think reparations is the biggest joke ever played on the struggle

how did we ever get back to
begging whitefolk to save us

again

my focus is on empowering blackfolk and fixing their souls, mending their spirits
racism and whitefolk just aint my primary focus these days, im a devotee of self determination

determined to use my little time and energy
to cause fundamental change

the tribal soul is the hoodoo field of play
fix the soul and the rest will take care of itself

and i pick and choose my battles, got to use my energy wisely these days
i dont sign up for every campaign and i am not susceptible to activist guilttrips

i do my part but im systematic about it, i got game in play
and no need to prove nothing to nobody

except the people - and i will defy them if i have to
in order to manifest the game

there are times though when i wonder if i have unduly compromised myself
am i truly a viable force, or just an unwitting instrument of the powers that be

or even worse, a deluded dreamer
and not even in the game

i consider my own comfort, my own power, and that of my family, important
cant do much in this world if you yourself weak and poor, im a shameless social climber

now im cool about it, aint no panderer, but i do keep my eyes open
i will adjust to the terrain

i aspire to be a man of power
so i got to look at class issues

at the observational distance of the artist and the intellectual,
the obligatory strategic callousness of the wouldbe leader

in my bid to live a socially productive life
to achieve my artistic dreams and be a leader of my people

a hero

i watch young writers/intellectuals get caught up in the activist charge of being marginal to struggle
and i tell them that means you dont understand the power of art, the power of ideas,

you do not understand the power of the word

i do my community service because its whats expected of me and you always do what you can
to alleviate the human condition, but i dont expect that service to cause fundamental change

it might help an individual -  or a community
but it wont cause fundamental change in the human condition

my only real shot at causing fundamental change is through my words
my work

as an artist (or a visionary) you try to use your craft (words, ideas, media, etc) to create a vision
that so excites the human imagination that folk try to live its principles in the realworld

so that, no matter how neglibly, reality adjusts itself to your vision
producing a destinic body of work

is a dynamic that has been studied and processed
if you have the power, the gift of craft, you can be a cultural instrument

keep your priorities straight young hoodoo
get your Work done -  get your conjure on

conduct yourself as you aspire to be and you shall
it is the essence of conjuration

(note: was doing basic audience, switched into prophetic mode, wondering now if thats the dazzle factor - play with some and see, if it dont work can always extract it)

i am interested in what constitutes effective change in this world
and what is merely diversionary sidegame

keyword is effective, my mode is moderate, my aims are radical change
empowering the people, trying to ensure that the people are not abused by the powerful

power institutions and overachievers like myself

as a wouldbe leader and man of power
i am systematically concerned w/the ethics of power

i am interested in exploring just what effective activismr in the 21st century entails
i consider it in fact a critical and essential speculation

just how does this work out
on the hoodoo board of destiny

so i said yes to that one
supposed to do it 12/4

as you can see im already digging into it
this gon be messy

cause as you know dear surfer one of my imperatives as
a master of the oral tradition

is that when i do a performance/presentation it must be exemplary, paid or not i live to shine
i always come on strong cause my rep is at stake - every time

i long ago decided i would establish a public reputation as a man of power
this is my response to what i perceive as disrespect from cultural establishments

so when i speak i speak in words of power
like the conjureman should

these rootsblog posts, i strive to make them exercises in profundity
sometimes i hit it sometimes i miss
but whenever i generate words i strive to ensure that they are words of power

words of significance

now im feeling even more pressure to show
that convocation was no different from any other of my presentations

but it reached a wider campus audience - one friend said your anonymity
is gone - i prefer the low profile, maintains privacy and open options

but now folk expecting me to throwdown

to be enlightening, empowering and entertaining - thats the way i roll
folk expect me to dazzle them - to put them in the hoodoo hand

and i do not like to disappoint people expect me to throwdown
to take them to higher ground - best i get started on that one right away

work it out here on rootsblog
thats what i been doing lately, so as to free up noveltime

discretionary ideological/magical work i do on rootsblog cause that
blesses two birds with one prayer - gets Work done and provides
rootsblog wordage on issues of substance

ima fiddle with this piece till its a decent 1st draft
clean it up a couple of times over november and be good to go

another work of significance
in the collected works of rickydoc

once i get the text, start working the music
(if it fit and feed instead than distract)

i hate for you dear surfer to see me sweating out works in progress
but that has teaching value too - its all about showing the young hoodoos

of the future how i get my conjure on

how i go about shaping reality
and the destiny of all humanity

destinywork by rickydoc

ive withdrawn from hoodoo forums and dialogues
for the moment

i am so tired of folk magic i dont know what to do
im tired of love potions and reversing candles

i Work with my head not my hands, and apparently
i do not Work on the same plane other folk do

for awhile i tried to fake interest so as to retain
my standing in contemporary hoodoo circles

but a faking hoodooman aint worth the time of day

gon spend my little time left on the planet doing
what need to be done, get my Work done

i will let future generations
decide who got they conjure on

hoodoo magic in the 21st century
gon be of a much higher order than

the folk magic of the 19th

tired of talking about it
gon show you how i roll

im outta here

schoolhouse holiday today and bonnie out of town
im in a barbarian mode today, i plan to clock pages

word
by rickydoc trickmaster

wouldbe prophet
of the hoodoo way

steel driving man by scott nelson: mythwork and the legend of john henry

hammer in both my hands

as many of you know, john henry was my boy
one of the great mythic characters of american lore

a steel driving man who refused to let a steam drill beat him down
and he died with his hammer in his hand

recent academic work has come out called 'steel driving man'
by this guy scott reynolds nelson, oxford university press

attempts to account for the mytholization of the prototype john henry
one john william henry, a leased convict working on the C&O railroad tunnel
back in the mid 1870s

a relatively little man who in legend because the legendary big man, john henry
i have not read the work yet so i cant testify to the quality of his speculations

but as a working mythmaker myself and a devotee of big john henry
i find the opportunity to consider the evolution of the john henry myth fascinating

according to recent nytime book review, nelson

claims john henry ballards, which started about 1870s refer
to john william henry, black union soldier imprisoned for theft

10 dollars of food from a grocery store bought him 10 years hard labor

leased out with other inmates to drive the lewis tunnel through
allegheny mountains for the cheseapeak & ohio railway

during this dig new steam drills were tested against men
and men generally won against the cranky drills

many of these convicts died of silicosis
and were buried surreptitiously

over 300 skeletons were found buried under the main building
of the virginia state penitentiary when it was dug up 1990s

around 1874, john henry williams dissappears from the penitentiary rolls
but no death, pardon or release is recorded, he just disappears

deaths on grounds were recorded, no records implies that he died
off grounds, as did many leased convicts speculates mr nelson

then mr nelson traces the evolution of the legends that have grown
around john henry and how different types of workers have always

made him their personal representative - coalminers made him a miner,
white railroad workers thought he was white -

black power advocates made him a rebel - thats where i come in

id read dubose heywards charming mythwork and
ive read many john henry tropes in african american lit

ive heard innumerous renditions of the john henry ballards
from elder bluesman to hiphop remixes to johnny cash

but i think i really got turned on to john henry when cannonball adderly
did a folk opera that ran one time just when i happened to be in new york

where big joe williams played john henry and randy crawford debut as
pollyanne, though they called her something else, that big john henry fascinated me

ive since hunted down the rare album and transferred it to cd
and worked a john henry character into rest for the weary

ive got a whole neighborhood of folk built on mythic characters, highjohn the conqueror
john henry and pollyanne, frankie and johnny, staggerlee, bruh rabbit, etc etc in rest for the weary

in rootsblog and otherwork, i often use imagery and tropes drawn from john henry mythwork
recently used rainbows around my shoulders here - used shine like silver, ring like gold

which all come from hammer songs, used to help keep the rhythm right, keep the teamwork smooth

back then a well drilled human team used to working with each other
could always beat a steamdrill, which tended to break down under pressure

i see the indestructability of the human spirit in it
triumphant even in sacrifice

what im trying to do with this neighborhood of mythic characters in rest
and playing with modern interpretations of their myths is try to engage

the mythic tropes of african american culture/destiny and update/recast
them in a 21st century mode, one pertinent to our lives and struggles

as cultural myths should be

i dont want our primary myths to be cultural curiosities divorced from our lives
i want our cultural myths to be vibrant, living instruments providing essential guidance and

rest for the weary souls

let me recap the legend for those who dont know it
as told it in a post i did june of last year

i like adding pollyanne, supposed to have been his wife
and who according to legend 'drove steel like a man'

cause couplizing our myths is pertinent to rest for the wearys vision
and i want to encourage love and commitment in the culture

the legend of john henry and pollyanne,
as told by rickydoc flowers

brother john henry was working on a tunnel being driven through the big bend mountain
when they told him he was being replaced by a steam drill

john henry laughed bigman loud and said before i let a steam drill beat me down
i will die with this hammer in my hand lord, i will die with this hammer in my hand

so john henry he picked up a hammer in each hand and he commence
to driving steel with those hammers swinging so sweet folk that was there
say he had rainbows over his shoulders, ring like silver shine like gold

and then that steam drill commence to driving steel like a natural man
and you never seen nothing like it, they moved through that mountain
like a boll weevil through cotton

and when folk felt the earth a shaking john henry told them not to worry
thats just the sound of my hammer sucking wind lord, just the sound
of my hammer sucking wind

and before i let this power driver beat me down i will die with this hammer in my hand
lord i will die with this hammer in my hand

now as most folk know, thats exactly what happen, john henry beat that steam drill
but he died with his hammer in his hand lord, yes he died with his hammer in his hand

what folk generally dont know is that john henry had a wife name was pollyanne
just a little bit of a thing but pollyanne drove steel like a man lord, pollyanne
drove steel like a man

so when she seen her man falter and she seen the lefthand hammer fall from his hand
she scooped that hammer up before it hit the ground and didnt miss a lick, 

and both hammers swinging, they drove that tunnel right through big bend mountain
and they beat that steam drill too lord, they beat that steam drill down

of course john henry was a dead man walking by then, but that righthand hammer didnt get
the news, it kept on following pollyanne, right thru big bend mountain

and to this day when folk going through the big bend tunnel they commence to listening
cause when they so deep under that mountain that the sun dont shine
you can feel that vibration up in there some folk say thats what a train sound like when its buried under a mountain of stone

but folk that know these things say thats the sound of those hammers sucking wind lord lord, thats the sound of those hammers sucking wind

those same folk say if you listen real good you can hear two hammers, hitting like a heart beat
and right in the middle of that heartbeat you can hear john henry and pollyanne singing

aint nothing we cant do lord, aint nothing we cant do, with a hammer in each and every hand
lord lord, with a hammer in each and every hand

okay, thats the way i tell it

word
according to rickydoc trickmaster

After Pat's Birthday by Pat Tilman

hello world

i feel so fake when i post entire posts
feel like its lazy blogging

so i try to avoid it
but there are times when i do so

when i want to tag along on the hits of some current event
thats dear to me - become part of its world

more than just a link
actual words that

i feel worth recording in rootsblogs world
im feeling this one

brother of pat tilman

football player killed by friendly fire in afghanistan
bush and crew ran a pr scam instead of telling family

offering narrative instead of reality, a bush mode

jeremiad by pats brother and fellow ranger, kevin tilman
im feeling it, its a good piece

he took a shot at the brass ring, i agree w/the politics
he got a couple of good licks in, and even the corn

is endearing
ima post it whole

im outta here

gotta clock some pages, cause aint no rest for the weary
and im in a page clocking state of mind

im feeling real real focused

also gotta move rootsblog into a campaign mode
whatever that mean - gotta do my part, however neglible,  for

truth justice and the american way

im outta here,
im all the way outta here . . .

On Pats Birthday by Kevin Tilman
on Truthdig.com

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after.  It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military.  He spoke about the risks with signing the papers.  How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people.  How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition.  How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out. 

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is.  Something like that.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them.  Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.
 
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet.  It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes. 

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground. 

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.   

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense. 

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people.  So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites. 

Luckily this country is still a democracy.  People still have a voice. People still can take action.  It can start after Pat’s birthday. 

 

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,

Kevin Tillman

knowledge leads to honor: imogunla alakoye 1947 - 2006: rest in peace

o ye generations

watched a buddy die sunday
martin simmons aka imogunla alakoye

massive stroke wiped out brain function
donna pulled the plug

i was there w/the family - doctor said
it was time, folk couldnt take it should go
donna said we could stay

and so i did
and i watched his spirit leave his body

supposed to do remarks at the funeral saturday
i will work them out here maybe

had to cancel a big schoolhouse presentation im supposed to do saturday
for the multicultural folk - that was a bummer, i dont miss gigs but
i had no choice - donna needs me to be there

imogunla was my literary running buddy and i was his
part of the new renaissance writers guild crew (long story)

god we had such dreams back in the day

when we were young and immortal and
destined for literary greatness

with visions too tall to be strong

but i just googled him and didnt get but one hit
and it wasnt legit (another long story)

watching him die was like the end of an era
the difference between being 30 and gods chosen

and in our 50s having to accept the reality that
we are just basic garden variety humans after all

here but for the briefest moment

in a desperate bid for literary greatness
and immortality

alakoye was a true visionary and only i
am left to tell the story

dorisjean, safiya, davidearl, and now alakoye
my generation has begun to check out

thats very sobering

the fickle finger of fate is just so ruthless
one literary buddy has had two strokes and lost a limb to diabetes

and working all the more ruthlessly on his big novel
if anything it seems to have improved his work, lent it an air of intensity

imogunla had one stroke and it wiped out his brain
(if this dont reinforce my own determination to get my work done nothing will)

i can hear that clock ticking
a little louder every year

when you working on a big project at our age - projects you
know will take years and years - its such a gamble

you constantly negotiating: just let me finish this one god
then we can talk about the next one, okay?  just give me this one

but alakoye was nothing if not a gambler on the
hoodoo board of destiny

he was the wallace thurman of our generation
crotchety and fragile and brilliant

he had sickle cell and every couple of years
had complete blood transfusions

he never expected to live past 30

donna gave him another 30, she gave
him another lifetime

really? she said when i told her that
you dont think i aggravated him to death

she so sweet and he so lucky to have found her
she the only one who could have put up with him

much less loved him

i remember when he first met her
came to me all excited over this woman he had met at hunter
shes perfect he told me, shes all i ever wanted in a woman
im going to marry her

and so he did - twice

and i remember all the ups and downs

i remember once during his exile, donna cut off
access to the boys - so he went to court and came to
me talking about i need you to take this summons to donna

i said what, oh no no no, - not me you dont, im not doing that
he said who else will i get to do it

so here i am trekking to queens and donna was so happy
to see me - until i pulled out that summons

god that was an awful moment, and donna refused  to
take it - but her mama said no take it, ohyeah, take it
he want to go to court we will go to court, we will show him
what time it is - i barely escaped there w/my life and dignity intact

and i will always remember me and fred hudson best manning at
the wedding, i think it was the 2nd one - im not sure

i remember the first time i met alakoye at freds one little workshop
in the basement of a church up in harlem - when fred doug creative arts center
was more dream than reality - just a baby - and so were we

and i remember the harlem writers guild days and the new renaissance writers guild, talk
about trauma, that one like to broke me, but imogunla always kept my back covered

and i remember williams christening and not having the faintest idea
what a godfather was supposed to be or do - and still dont, but ima try, i figure
it meant i was imogunlas backup, just like always - im his wingman

and i remember all the time and quarters we spent on 42nd st when video games
first came out, playing hours and hours of pong, and missile command, and xaxxon
and elevator spy

while talking literature and history and politics, the future, women and
everything under the sun in our fevered plans to rule the world and

be great literary men

and i remember all the times i fell off the edge of the earth
and ended up in imogunla and donnas basement out in queens

i remember when they bought that house, how much it meant to them
how much they struggled to hold on to it

when i heard he was in a coma and on a respirator
i knew i had to go down, more for donnas sake than his, or even mine

but shes a trooper, and when it came time to
pull the plug she made sure he went out w/dignity

i am reminded of the african story of the hunter
who while on the hunt accidentally killed one of the kings men

he went to his brother and said i have killed the kings man
what should i do

his brother said i wish i could help you but i have a
family of my own that i must think of, surely you understand

he went to his father in law and said i have killed the kings man,
what should i do

his father in law, a man of power, said i wish i could help you
but i have responsibilities and people who rely upon me, you must go

he went to his friend and said i have killed the kings man
what should i do

come said his friend, we must bury him

imogunla took a lot of my secrets to the grave w/him

i watched him die and by god and all thats holy i will help him live
in myth and legend (and the works of his peers) - for i am mythmaker

and this story has yet to be told

and when it is - imogunla alakoye will live forever
in the hearts and aspirations of all our generations

martin simmons in his chosen yoruba name
knowledge leads to honor

my love to all of you
gods blessings on us all

rickydoc flowers

wouldbe prophet of
the hoodoo way

the decider and the okeydoke: bushs shifting rationale for iraq

been wanting to do something like this
for a long time now, chronicle how bushs okeydoke
keeps changing as he keeps trying new lines
on america

will get into this better later, just got time
to post it right now but i want to play with this one

some reporter on ap did all this:

President Bush's shifting rationale for why the U.S. is in Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003:

"States like these (Iraq, Iran and North Korea), and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic." _ State of the Union address, Jan. 29, 2002

"My nation will work with the U.N. Security Council to meet our common challenge. If Iraq's regime defies us again, the world must move deliberately and decisively to hold Iraq to account." _ speech Sept. 12, 2002, to the U.N. General Assembly.

"If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today _ and we do _ does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?" _ speech in Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002.

"We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. ... Secretly, without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists or help them develop their own." _ State of the Union address, Jan. 23, 2003.

"I am happy to see you, and so are the long-suffering people of Iraq. America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished." _ speech to U.S. troops in Qatar, June 5, 2003.

"It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in the world." _ second inaugural address, Jan. 20, 2005.

"I've come to not only look you in the eye. I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it keeps its word _ that it's in our interest that Iraq succeed." _ meeting in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, June 13, 2006

"I sense something different happening in Iraq. The progress will be steady toward a goal that has clearly been defined." _ to reporters in the Rose Garden about the Baghdad trip, June 14, 2006.

"Not only do terrorists try to stop the advance of democracy through killing innocent people within the countries, they also try to shake the will of the Western world by killing innocent Westerners. They try to spread their jihadist message, a message I call _ it's totalitarian in nature _ Islamic radicalism, Islamic fascism. They try to spread it as well by taking the attack to those of us who love freedom." News conference on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Aug. 7, 2006.

"We're not going to leave before the mission is complete. I agree with General Abizaid: We leave before the mission is done, the terrorists will follow us here." White House news conference, Aug. 21, 2006. Gen. John Abizaid is the commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East.

"And now the central front in the war on terror, the central front in this struggle to protect ourselves is Iraq." _ at a GOP fundraiser in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 30, 2006.

"You hear people in Washington, D.C., say that Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror. I believe it is a central front in the war on terror, and I believe we must defeat the enemy and help that young democracy succeed in order to make sure this homeland is more secure." _ at a GOP fundraiser in California, Oct. 3, 2006.

"We can't tolerate a new terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, with large oil reserves that could be used to fund its radical ambitions, or used to inflict economic damage on the West. By helping the Iraqis build a democracy _ an Iraqi-style democracy _ we will deal a major blow to terrorists and extremists, we'll bring hope to a troubled region, and we'll make this country more secure."

warcrime strategies: israeli cluster bombs and north korean nukes, ike brown and a technical foul

THURSDAY

damn near a warcrime: 600,000 dead iraqis

my nephew just shipped overseas to iraq

its personal now, hes a good kid and he
deserves better than to be a pawn in a neocon fantasy

was reading somewhere that dead american soldiers
arent the true criteria of bloodcost, that wounded are a better

yardstick because so many survive that would have died
in previous wars but they are maimed

the reports say life in baghdad has become hellish

the reports say more people been tortured to death
under bushs puppetplay regime than were tortured by saddam

surely more people have been tortured by americans under bush

than ever before - god help us its been made legal to do so

what kind of world is this
they see

stay the course indeed
i read the military made iraq plans up to 2010

4 more years of this

2 more years of bogarting spineless democrats & republican enablers
into perpetuating this travesty on the american soul

he does not care

caught up in a neocon fantasy
he shrugs off the dead

it is an abomination

my nephew is a good kid and does not deserve
to be caught up in neocon realities

but who does

how long must we endure this farce

how much longer must we endure
the rule of the rightwing

retaking america will be a long and complex struggle
but the absolute next move is november 7th

send the rightwing a message
send a message to ourselves

andf our childrens future
25 days and counting

in struggle
rickydoc trickmaster

wouldbe prophet
of the hoodoo way

WEDNESDAY

who tricking who in the holyland

the justice dept has used the voting rights act
to accuse blacks in the great state of mississippi

of suppressing the white vote

theyve accused local black power broker
ike brown of rovian tactics mississippi stylee

in the melodious hamlet of noxubee county, where blacks
outnumber whites 3 to 1

justice dept say white voters cant get a break
same justice dept aint done diddly for black voters nowhere

aiding and abetting republican efforts to suppress minority votes
through various voter id scams

i really shouldnt be tickled at this remedial action delta stylee but
as a child of the oldschool delta i just cant help myself

blacks say they outnumber whites 3 to 1
say they dont need to trick them

brother brown, clearly an officer in that great fraternity, the mystic knights of the sea

has no office in the classic white columned courthouse but habitually greets visitors from a chair near the front door (god this is rich material)

he was interviewed however under what the paper calls the obligatory confederate monument (bedford forrest most likely, on his horse)

"they cant win anyway unless we vote for them" say grandmaster ike “if I was doing something wrong — thats like closing the barn door when the horse is already gone”

“they had their way all the time. they no longer have their way. thats what it’s all about.” he say, “them trying to keep me from picking the lock” 

nevertheless whitefolk claim they been outfought, outfoxed, outvoted, outtricked
they say the lock been picked

they say maybe blacks was mistreated in the past

but they cant do nothing about that now, locking them out
is not just fair, and i know they right but i just cant bring

myself to care - hopefully folk will forgive
this petty transgression on my part

but the irony just too juicy
for me to resist

if i was back home id be
tricking them too

MONDAY

mission accomplished: bomb bomb who got the bomb

apparently north korea

let me recap
while bush & crew playing cowboys & indians in iraq

iran has built nuclear facilities
afghanistan has gone feral

and now north korea has the bomb

all because of the bush administration policy
of refusing to talk to your enemies

he considers it appeasement
to talk to your enemies

hed rather threaten them and call it diplomacy
(not much different from how he treats his 'friends')

then when issues like this come up they got no leverage
nor the trust of the worldwide community that they wont

take advantage of any deals to interpret them imperially

i remember their response during the recent lebanense conflict
when it was suggested they talk to syria

something along the lines of - syria knows what we want
and best they get on it - the bush idea of diplomacy

now their response will be to claim that as the party
of security only they can handle the north korean threat

god forbid any more of their threat handling

unless we want our children to grow up
in a nuclear winter

this the same crew that tried to push a policy of tactial nukes on iran until the generals pushed back

under their watch threats have proliferated around the globe

their idea of security is about par
w/their idea of hurricane protection

bush fiddling rightwing slogans while new orleans and the world drowns in nuclear fire

im telling you sex scandals are not the point
we will survive sex scandals

the bush administration is another matter

in struggle
rdoc

FRIDAY

winning on a techical foul

hello world

im sorry its the foley scandal thats taken root
and got the bush admin and his congressional enablers scurrying

like roaches when the light comes on

i been trying to avoid wallowing in that pit
but a couple of points i cannot resist:

one, do you really think foley was never successful in his pursuits, as he now claims (along with alcohol and priests and god knows what else)

or that any victims would come forth voluntarily to say yes he got me, i fell for it, im the fool that gave it up, make sure you spell my name right

only question is will that shoe drop before or after the election

ethics committee say foley aint they concern, only the coverup
they not interested in seeing just how far his transgressions go

gaping holes in they little stories will back them off that little plan
you know they knew - gon all come out, like festering pus

and two: what ethics committee
the house ethics committee been officially defunct for years

but as effective an october surprise as this has been in
drowning out bush & roves vicious wave the bloody flag campaign

id rather it be the woodward book, their criminal incompetence

their calculated policy of misleading the american people
that trips them up

a policy indictment rather than a sex scandal
at this point i will take what i can get, but a sex scandal win

doesnt change the toxic rightwing political climate
if anything it perpetuates it

thats winning by their rules
not ours

warcrime:
a million israeli cluster bombs still killing civilian hostages

israeli cluster bombs - supplied by america
still killing and maiming lebanese civilians

said cluster bombs dropped at very end of the recent 'war'
when the israelis already knew it was lost and ending

pretty obvious this last minute cluster bombing designed to
keep lebanese civilians from returning south -

more of  the warcrime strategy
used by israel and the united states

warring on a civilian population
and holding them hostage

again

israels pious declarations of victimhood
sound more hollow w/every explosion

every maimed lebanese child

exit strategy: how to leave iraq in 3 simple steps: by george saunders

hello world

was following google links to rootsblog as i sometimes do
(amazing to me sometime what google links to rootsblog)

somebody had googled george saunders mcarthur award
and got rootsblog - figures

while i was there i surfed other george googles

found this piece george did on slate in may of 2004
called  - exit strategy: how to leave iraq

in a column called: dubious and far fetched ideas
(i enjoy reading overtly political george - he still so george)

figured id repost it (& piggyback some more hits off of him)

fascinating that its 2 years old and still pertinent - still iraq
still dubious but perhaps not that far tetched

like most of georges work

--------------------------

EXIST STRATEGY: HOW TO LEAVE IRAQ IN 3 SIMPLE STEPS by George Saunders
(actually thats exit strategy but it typo-ed exist and i decided to leave it - figured thats the kind of typo george would appreciate)  

It is clear we are at a crossroads in Iraq. Naysayers are claiming the situation there is chaotic and confusing. Nonsense. It is not confusing. It is quite simple.

Allow me to explain.

There are, at present, two major constituencies in Iraq: those who want to kill us, and those who do not. Success will require minimizing membership in the former group. Complications along this path may include the following:

1) In the process of killing the ones who want to kill us, we sometimes kill some who are not trying to kill us. This has been observed to cause a sudden increase in the number who want to kill us, which means a longer stay for us, since we then must kill, not only the ones who originally wanted to kill us, but also the ones who just started wanting to kill us.

2) In order to identify the ones who want to kill us, it is necessary, once we have caught someone who wants to kill us, to encourage him/her to help us identify others who want to kill us. Sometimes we mistake ones who don't want to kill us for ones who do, and catch them, and encourage them. Upon their release, there occurs a sudden increase in the number of those who want to kill us.

3) Given the large number of us over there, it should come as no surprise that some of us are bad. Certain abuses have occurred. However, it is only fair to note that many more abuses were occurring before we arrived. Plus, if our abusers are abusing over there, they are not abusing over here. So really, it is a win/win: The Iraqis have fewer abuses than they were having, and we have fewer abuses than we would have had had our abusers stayed at home. Everyone is happy, except, it has been observed, those who were abused and those who hear of the abuse and suddenly join the group of those wanting to kill us.

Since it is clear that we cannot leave until they stop killing us, and equally clear that they will not stop killing us until we leave, I propose the following exit strategy:

1) Kill all the ones who are trying to kill us, in such a way that none of those who presently do not want to kill us suddenly start wanting to kill us.

2) At the moment of the death of the last person who wanted to kill us, race quickly out of the country before some additional person suddenly decides he/she wants to kill us, thus necessitating our continued presence in Iraq, in order to kill him/her.

3) Having left Iraq quickly, do not look back, so as not to witness individuals claiming they would have liked to kill us, which would then necessitate a return to Iraq, in order to etc., etc. (See No. 2, above.)

To implement this exit strategy, we will have to practice running quickly. It is further recommended that, while running, the eyes be cast down, to avoid witnessing any last-minute people trying to kill us. We will have to establish excellent communications so that the moment that final person begins dying, we can all begin running quickly at the same time, eyes cast down, quickly, to our vehicles, to get to the airport and get out of the country.

This exit strategy will demand a high level of coordination, dedication, and planning.

But our leaders have already shown the way by showing that, if one has a vision, and refuses to betray that vision by modifying it, or becoming distracted by small details, such as, for example, the confusing data emanating from the non-theoretical world, filled with actual people, pets, clothes on clotheslines, nuanced loyalties, etc., mountains can be moved, nations can be changed, great things can be accomplished.

It is clear that the fate of Iraq now rests in the hands of Iraqis.

People of Iraq, I say to you:

Stop trying to kill us, so we can leave. But also, do not fear. We are in it for the long haul, although we cannot stay with you indefinitely. No, as soon as you stop trying to kill us, believe us, you will never see us again. Therefore, trust us, people of Iraq, have faith, we assure you: As long as you continue trying to kill us, we will never abandon you.