my boy george saunders got 3 fan page on facebook, they good reading because folk think they talking to george instead of whoever set it up and after awhile it start reading like one of his stories
life as satire
rdoc
THURSDAY 4:43 AM
old boy struggling
between family and novel life being doing me wrong
uncle just died, last of that flowers generations except for my mother
walter, arthur, elise, martha, and their mates
walter the oldest, hung in there longest, dont know that i will be able to make the funeral - just got back from the delta
and taking these dcs parenting classes to adopt my nephew that if i miss i have to wait until the next
cycle to make them up, been doing them since january cause of makeups, uncle walter will understand if i
dont make the funeral but god that will hurt,
went youtube this morning cause i joined the randy crawford fanclub on facebook and saw these live randy performances that werent there last time i looked
you have to understand, randy crawford is my favorite performer ever was, voice like a bell - i have her entire collection, over the years ive hunted down everything she ever did, starting w/her 73 (?) work in the folk opera john henry by cannonball adderly and other old lps ive hunted down and digitized
but the live youtube performances were like a goldmine of new randy crawford, i missed her at
radio city music hall one year, came down to newyork for a party at patrices house and here come old comrades in struggle talking about they coming from a randy crawford concert, me and bonnie were
too distraught, if only we had known, last time i went to radio city it was to see nina simone, you talking about somebody acted a fool w/the audience, swore i would never pay good money to see nina simone ever again, but looking back it was a wonderful experience - apparently randy the same kinda diva, at one point they said she laid on the floor and sang - now i keep up with her concert dates, ima catch her before i die
or she do - in the meantime im going to bootleg her live concerts off youtube, and listen to the collected works of randy crawford till my uncles funeral tuesday in memphis,
and ima do my damnedest to get back home, good lord willing and the crick dont rise - if i dont make it my uncle walter will understand, got to take care of the next generation - in their name - the delta clan flowers - hanging in there
in the meantime, in uncle walters name - ill fly away - by randy crawford and joe sample- enjoy - life is so precious
all my love
rdoc
WEDNESDAY
hello world, back in the cuse but still kind of out of body
my stats have gone bad but they always do during the summer cause my posting get spotty
been fiddling aorund with facebook, bonnie kept suggesting i do it, but for awhile there it just
seemed like it was designed for folk w/time on their hands, of which i have none
then i found all my syracuse mfa folk there, found my fellow travelers in the tradition there, good % of my literary crew, joined fanclubs for ishmael, sekou and safiya
and just this morning started a fan club for john oliver killens - my underappreciated mentor, always take an op to give him some props
im under arthur rickydoc flowers, i tend to use my given name and my hoodoo name online these days
so if folk want to find me under either face they are able to do so, was explaining to a young hoodoo
in training about your magical name, how you choose one that makes you feel powerful, how you keep
it secret during your early training cause if somebody sneer at your magical aspirations they will kill the magic
because you are vulnerable in those early years and you have to believe in your magic in order for it to be
but as you become publicly defined as a magician your magical name becomes public - there are folk
in the hoodoo/atr worlds who only know me as rickydoc these days so when
they google et al i want both names to show - my literary name and my hoodoo name
of course i still got hidden names - you never show your whole hand
by the way: note the 5 defcons, ima use this in the future, stay tuned:
DEFCON 5 Normal peacetime readiness
DEFCON 4 Normal, increased intelligence and strengthened security measures
DEFCON 3 Increase in force readiness above normal readiness
DEFCON 2 Further Increase in force readiness, but less than maximum readiness
DEFCON 1 Maximum force readiness.
all my love
arthur rickydoc flowers
aka arf aka rdoc
WHO KNOWS WHAT DAY IT WAS
hello world, im down here in the delta doing the family thing
good news for literary folk, kayla blatchley doing a blog thats focused on close readings a particular forte of hers, one of the good things about teaching mfa is constantly being challenged
by young guns, they keep you on your toes, keep you connected with latest innovations in the field they keep you sharp, kayla one of those, young gun with a literary eye ive always found enlightening
i like to think this a literary blog but kayla put me to shame, her forte is the text, and she strong enuf in it to hold your attention, teach you a little something something, im tickled shes up, i plan to be
intersting sullivan pieece about those torture photos, say obamas longgame showing in his about face on the photos, say we need to slide him some slack on this one
cause the game still on and he doing what he can but inflaming our enemies dont seem to be called for say one of obamas fortes is giving the rightwing enough cookies to keep them calm while being resolute
even my personals i generally call myself being a resources for other writers struggling w/novels
a you are not alone kind of thing, its all struggle, hang in there, so forth
all my love
rdoc
----------------------------------
10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger
CPJ names the worst online oppressors. Booming online cultures in many Asian and Middle Eastern nations
have led to aggressive government repression.
Burma leads the dishonor roll.
New York, April 30,
2009—With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and
imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger, the
Committee to Protect Journalists says in a new report. CPJ’s “10 Worst
Countries to be a Blogger” also identifies a number of countries in the Middle
East and Asia where Internet penetration has
blossomed and government repression has grown in response.
“Bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution
and their numbers are expanding rapidly,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon
. “But governments are quickly learning
how to turn technology against bloggers by censoring and filtering the
Internet, restricting online access and mining personal data. When all else
fails, the authorities simply jail a few bloggers to intimidate the rest of the
online community into silence or self-censorship.”
Turkmen soldiers guard an Internet cafe in Ashgabat. (Reuters)
Relying on a mix of detentions, regulations, and
intimidation, authorities in Iran, Syria,Saudi Arabia, Tunisia,
and Egypt have emerged as the leading online oppressors in the Middle East and North Africa.
China and Vietnam,
where burgeoning blogging cultures have encountered extensive monitoring and
restriction, are among Asia’s worst blogging
nations.
Cuba and Turkmenistan, nations where
Internet access is heavily restricted, round out the dishonor roll.
“The governments on the list are trying to roll back the
information revolution, and, for now, they are having success,” Simon added.
“Freedom of expression groups, concerned governments, the online community, and
technology companies need to come together to defend the rights of bloggers
around the world.”
CPJ issued its report to mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, and to call
attention to online repression, a great emerging threat to press freedom
worldwide. CPJ considers bloggers whose work is reportorial or fact-based
commentary to be journalists. In 2008, CPJ
found, bloggers and other online journalists were the single largest
professional group in prison, overtaking print and broadcast journalists for
the first time.
In compiling this list, CPJ studied conditions for bloggers
in countries around the world. CPJ staff consulted with Internet experts to
develop eight criteria that included governments’ use of filtering, monitoring,
and regulation; authorities’ use of imprisonments and other forms of legal
harassment to deter critical blogging; and the extent and openness of Internet
access. For further explanation of CPJ’s methodology, click here.
WORST COUNTRIES TO BLOG
#1 Burma
Zarganar is serving a 59-year prison term. (APBurma
,
which heavily
censors print and broadcast media, has also applied extensive restrictions
on blogging and other Internet activity. Private Internet penetration is very
small—only about 1 percent, according to the Internet research group OpenNet Initiative—so most citizens access the
Internet in cybercafés. Authorities heavily regulate those cafés, requiring
them, for example, to enforce censorship rules. The government, which shut down
the Internet altogether during a popular uprising in 2007, has the capability
to monitor e-mail and other communication methods and to block users from
viewing Web sites of political opposition groups, according to OpenNet
Initiative. At least two bloggers are now in prison.
Lowlight: Blogger
Maung Thura, popularly known as Zarganar, is serving a 59-year prison term for
disseminating video footage after Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
2. IRAN
Authorities regularly detain or harass bloggers who write
critically about religious or political figures, the Islamic revolution, and its
symbols. The government requires all bloggers to register their Web sites with
the Ministry of Art and Culture. Government officials claim to have blocked
millions of Web sites, according to news reports. A newly created special
prosecutor’s office specializes in Internet issues and works directly with
intelligence services. Pending legislation would make the creation of blogs
promoting “corruption, prostitution, and apostasy” punishable by death.
Lowlight: Blogger
Omidreza
Mirsayafi, jailed for insulting the country’s religious leaders, died in
Evin Prison in March under circumstances that have not been fully explained.
3. SYRIA
The government uses filtering methods to block politically sensitive
sites. Authorities detain bloggers for posting content, even third-party
material, deemed to be “false” or detrimental to “national unity.”
Self-censorship is pervasive. In 2008, the Ministry of Communications ordered
Internet café owners to get identification from all patrons, to record customer
names and times of use, and to submit the documentation regularly to
authorities. Human rights groups noted that authorities harass and detain
bloggers perceived as antigovernment.
Lowlight: Waed
al-Mhana, an advocate for endangered archaeological sites, is on
trial for a posting that criticized
the demolition of a market in Old Damascus.
#4. Cuba
Sánchez’s Generación Y is among a small but emerging group of independent Cuban blogs. (CPJ)
Only government officials and people with links to the
Communist Party have Web access. The general population goes online at hotels
or government-controlled Internet cafés by means of expensive voucher cards. A
small number of independent bloggers such as Yoani Sánchez detail everyday life and offer
criticism of the regime. Their blogs are hostedoutside the country and are largely blocked
on the island. Two independent bloggers tell CPJ that they are harassed by
authorities. Only pro-government bloggers can post their material on domestic
sites that can be easily accessed.
Lowlight: The
government now jails
21 writers who were on the leading edge of online journalism in the early
part of the decade. These writers, all but one of whom was jailed in 2003,
phoned or faxed their material to overseas Web sites for posting.
5. SAUDI ARABIA
An estimated 400,000 sites are blocked inside the kingdom,
including those that tackle political, social, or religious issues.
Self-censorship is widespread. Aside from “indecent” material,
Saudi Arabia
blocks “anything contrary to the state or its system,” a standard that has been
interpreted liberally. In 2008, influential
clerics called for harsh punishment, including flogging and death, for
online writers guilty of posting material deemed heretical.
Lowlight: Blogger
Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan was jailed
without charge for several months in 2007 and 2008 for promoting reform and
the release of political prisoners.
6. VIETNAM
Bloggers have daringly tried to fill the gap in independent
news that is left by the traditional state-controlled media. The government has
responded with more regulation. Authorities have called on international
technology companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft to provide information
about bloggers who use their platforms. Last September, prominent blogger Nguyen
Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on
tax evasion charges. CPJ research shows the charges were in reprisal for his
blogging.
Lowlight: In
October 2008, the Ministry of Information and Communication created a new
agency tasked with monitoring the Internet.
7. TUNISIA
Internet service providers are required to submit IP
addresses and other identifying information to the government on a regular
basis. All Internet traffic flows through a central network, allowing the government
to filter content and monitor e-mails. The government employs an array of
techniques to harass bloggers: conducting surveillance, restricting
bloggers’ movements, and undertaking electronic sabotage. Online writers Slim Boukhdhir
and Mohamed Abbou have served jail time for their work.
Lowlight: In a March
address, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali warned writers against examining
government “mistakes and violations,” saying it was “an activity that is
unbecoming of our society and is not an expression of freedom or democracy.”
8. CHINA
With nearly 300 million people online—more than any other
country in the world—
China
has a vibrant digital culture. But Chinese authorities also maintain the
world’s most comprehensive
online censorship program, one emulated by many other countries. The
government relies on service providers to filter searches, block critical Web
sites, delete objectionable content, and monitor e-mail traffic. Because
China
’s
traditional press is tightly controlled, bloggers often break news and provide
provocative commentary. Blogs, for example, played prominent roles in spreading
news and information about the 2008
Sichuan
earthquake. But bloggers who go too far in promoting unpopular views or
reporting sensitive information can find themselves in jail. At least 24 online
writers are now in prison, CPJ research shows.
Lowlight: In
2008, the National Office for Cleaning Up Pornography and Fighting Illegal
Publications announced that it had removed more than 200 million “harmful”
online items during the prior year.
9. TURKMENISTAN
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov promised to open his isolated
country to the world by providing public Internet access. But when the
country’s first Internet café opened in 2007, it was guarded
by soldiers, connections were uneven, the hourly fee was prohibitively high,
and authorities monitored or blocked access to certain sites. The Russian
telecommunications company MTS, which entered the Turkmen market in 2005,
started offering Web access from mobile phones in June 2008, but service
agreements require customers to avoid Web sites critical of the Turkmen
government.
Lowlight:
Turkmentelecom, the state Internet service provider, routinely blocks access to
dissident and opposition sites, while it monitors e-mail accounts registered
with Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail.
10. EGYPT
Amer is jailed for insulting the president and Islam. (Reuters)
Authorities block only a small number of Web sites, but they
monitor Internet activity on a regular basis. Traffic from all Internet service
providers passes through the state-run Egypt Telecom. Authorities regularly
detain critical bloggers for open-ended periods. Local press freedom groups
documented the detention of more than 100 bloggers in 2008 alone. Although most
bloggers were released after short periods, some were held for months and many were
kept without judicial order. Most detained bloggers report mistreatment, and a
number have been tortured.
Lowlight: Blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online
as Karim Amer, is serving a four-year
prison term on charges of insulting Islam and Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak.
METHODOLOGY
In consultation with Internet experts, CPJ developed eight questions
to assess blogging conditions worldwide. The questions:
Does a
country jail bloggers?
Do
bloggers face harassment, cyber-attacks, threats, assaults, or other
reprisals?
Do
bloggers self-censor to protect themselves?
Does
the government limit connectivity or restrict access to the Internet?
Are
bloggers required to register with the government or an ISP and give a
verifiable name and address before blogging?
Does a
country have regulations or laws that can be used to censor bloggers?
Does
the government monitor citizens who use the Internet?
Does
the government use filtering technology to block or censor the Internet?
Based on these criteria, CPJ regional experts nominated
countries for this list. The final ranking was determined by a poll of CPJ
staff and outside experts.
report has put more pressure on obama to do some kind of inquiry on bush admin torture policy
redcross say that doctors who participated committed medical ethics crimes
redcross says the report was supposed to be classified, who could have leaked it
redcross say they shocked i tell you shocked, article that goes along with it is sobering
exxcerpt from accompanying article:
the CIA seems to have arrived at a method that is codified by the
International Committee of the Red Cross experts into twelve basic
techniques, as follows:
Suffocation by water poured over a cloth placed over the nose and mouth...
Prolonged stress standing position, naked, held with the arms extended and chained above the head...
Beatings by use of a collar held around the detainees' neck and used to forcefully bang the head and body against the wall...
Beating and kicking, including slapping, punching, kicking to the body and face...
Confinement in a box to severely restrict movement...
Prolonged nudity...this enforced nudity lasted for periods ranging from several weeks to several months...
Sleep deprivation...through use of forced stress positions (standing or sitting), cold water and use of repetitive loud noises or music...
Exposure to cold temperature...especially via cold cells and
interrogation rooms, and...use of cold water poured over the body
or...held around the body by means of a plastic sheet to create an
immersion bath with just the head out of water.
Prolonged shackling of hands and/or feet...
Threats of ill-treatment, to the detainee and/or his family...
Forced shaving of the head and beard...
Deprivation/restricted provision of solid food from 3 days to 1 month after arrest...
As the Red Cross writers tell us, "each specific
method was in fact applied in combination with other methods, either
simultaneously or in succession." A clear picture of this cumulative
effect comes from the three long excerpts of interviews with detainees
published as annexes at the end of the report, which I have quoted from
and discussed at length in my earlier article.[11]
To understand the effect one must remember what all experienced
torturers know: dramatic results can be achieved with simple
techniques. Forced standing, for example:
Ten of the fourteen alleged that they were subjected to
prolonged stress standing positions, during which their wrists were
shackled to a bar or hook in the ceiling above the head for periods
ranging from two or three days continuously, and for up to two or three
months intermittently.... For example, Mr. Khaled Shaik Mohammed
alleged that, apart from the time when he was taken for interrogation,
he was shackled in prolonged stress standing position for one month in
his third place of detention.... Mr. Bin Attash for two weeks
with two or three short breaks where he could lie down in Afghanistan
and for several days in his fourth place of detention.... Mr. Hambali for four to five days, blindfolded with a type of sack over his head, while still detained in Thailand....
This prolonged forced standing is, again, an ancient technique, and
a favorite, notably, of the Soviet intelligence services. It can be
difficult, when gazing at the stark descriptions of these procedures,
to understand their effect. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, for
example, when approving in December 2002 a series of interrogation
techniques that included forced standing for up to four hours, famously
scribbled in the lower margin, beneath his initials: "However, I stand
for 8–10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours? D.R."
Secretary Rumsfeld, who no doubt was standing at his desk when he
scrawled these words, professed to have difficulty comprehending the
difference between working at a standing desk in one's office—signing
documents, talking on the telephone, speaking to subordinates, drinking
coffee—and standing naked in a very cold room with hands shackled to
the ceiling for hours and days at a time.
One can gain a hint of the difference simply by rising and standing
motionless with one's hands extended directly overhead and trying to
maintain the position for, say, thirty minutes. Then imagine
maintaining it for several hours, or days, or weeks. The physical
effects, as described in a notorious study of Communist interrogation
methods by two psychologists, are dramatic:
After 18 to 24 hours of continuous standing, there is an
accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the legs. This dependent edema
is produced by the extravasation of fluid from the blood vessels. The
ankles and feet of the prisoner swell to twice their normal
circumference. The edema may rise up the legs as high as the middle of
the thighs. The skin becomes tense and intensely painful. Large
blisters develop, which break and exude watery serum....[12]
---------------------------
obama wants to 'move on', article makes case that its not a 'move on' situation
that it is a demon lying in wait to trip america up again under the right conditions
basically this guy calling on obama to perform an exorcism, he say that demon got to go
a luta continua
rdoc
MONDAY DAY
okay, a couple of quickies before i see if i can do it again
ward churchill won case that he was fired for this essay, which does seem to be intemperate radical left rhetoric instead of reasoned radical left analysis
this guy dewit makes the case that of course he was fired for the essay, not his scholarship, but that he never should have been hired but for political correctness in the academy, much less tenured et al
churchills article was painful reading and i found myself skimming,
but i have radical colleagues who would consider it righteous work - and me a sellout for pointing out that its problematic on a lot of levels
but this dewit guy makes some good points about why the academy was so late in realizing churchill scholarship was shoddy
i found this article to be interesting because syracuse has slid me some slack over the years and while i think i warrant any slack ive received i question churchill myself on a variety of planes
this dewit guy indicts what he calls postmodern multiculturalism while i of course say its a little more nuanced than that, but i look at that piece for instance i did for oxford and its not academic in the strict sense
and i wonder if there are parallels, though there are major differences in tone and substance i tend to dismiss intemperate rhetoric myself as not worthy of the struggle in the 21st century
i wouldnt call him venal, more like stuck in the 60s and counterproductive, preaching to the choir
i consider my work creative nonfiction and when you look at this blog for instance, wouldnt consider this academic either but i try to make it real on the literary side, make if of literary and destinic substance
that im a literary artist instead of a straight up academic works in my favor but when you think that my last novel came out some 10 years ago i have to acknowledge that syracuse has shown some faith in me that this guy would probably interpert differently
all the more reason to finish rest for the weary - this summer
same folk who championed churchill likely the same folk who would champion/tenure me
and i would like to come thru for syracuses vote of confidence in me - o what a tangled weave
on another note i see that zumas charges have been dropped another questionable characters questionable case,
im going to have to give zuma benefit of the doubt
mbeki was a disappointment, i fear zuma will be too i want him to be a good president and unleash south african potential
im gone, i got to clock some pages
all my love
rdoc
MONDAY MORNING
rickydoc on a sungun, 360%
clocked a 6 hour workday yesterday, damn i feel good (a 9 would have been better but hey)
good woodshed start, cant wait till im 24/7 - should do schoolhouse today but when you hot you hot
wasnt altogether happy with what i came up with but good or bad not for me to say - dont judge, just work
just keep on pushing, keep slogging thru, page by page, word by word, keep pushing thru
ima clock me another 6 hours today, (well maybe a 3) then i will wade into my manuscript pile
which mean schoolhouse week will be no sleep catchup again but such is life in the literary lane
its all good - i love the literary life, always have always will
all my love
rdoc
SATURDAY
hello world, ran down ot the city yesterday for ihsans memorial at fred dougs, it was packed mostly with theater folk, i realized ihsan was more theater than he was literary, i knew him
as a writer but his crew was theater and you know how dramatic the theater crowd is it was a good memorial, long string of readers, brenda connor bey miller was there
ihsans old buddy from the ceta artist days, thats how i met ihsan, we were ceta artists together ive wondered if they would have something like the ceta (or old wpa) program in current crises
ohwell, let me move on, came right back to syracuse after the memorial, didnt even hang out newyork cause i wanted to get back and get some rest and try to clock some pages today
saw this article about zumas impending dismissal that said he is more complex than the caricatures allow for and also gave like an insiders picture of the political infighting between zuma and mbeki that lead to his election, kinda ffascinating
im gone, its been weeks since ive clocked pagesk one of those really rough periods schoolhouse has been brutal and ive still got a stack of manuscripts to critique
ishan should be an insipiration to me, the harder life got on him the harder he worked on his novel he would be there in his hospital bed writing away, same same jeff allen w/his recent health crises
i told my memorial folk ishan reminded me of an old literary joke i once heard, my version - there was a painter a dancer and a novelist, they were all three told they had a year to live,
the painter was asked how the year would be spent and replied that there was this mountain that had been a lifelong goal, im going to climb that mountain if its the last thing i do
the dancer was asked and said im going to hunt down a lost love and im going to love like no one has ever loved before
the novelist was asked what will you do with your last year and said im going to work on my novel
see what im saying
rdoc
FRIDAY
hello world, closing down the semester, about 4 weeks, 6 counting maymester which is cool, im starting to withdraw now, thinking about the novel, clocking hours
pre summer woodshed, its a good sign that its coming down on me so soon cause the trick is to hit the ground running as soon as the schoolyear is over
have up a head of steam otherwise half the summer is spent just getting in the woodshed groove and that wont do, probably do more posting cause i will have more discretionary time, thats how it
works, im generally leary of personal posts and try to do strategic ones but i tend to get personal during a woodshed push, whatever i come up with will have to work fine cause this will just be runoff from me doing that novel
chelsea finished her market draft a couple of weeks ago and sent it on off, im real proud of her let me see, any commentary before i close down shop, try to clock some hours before i get on
the road to the city for ihsans funeral, theyve asked me to read from paths of sanctuary, id rather do ibo island but its not about me is it,
oh i was going to say something about obama, hes been p to a lot since the last time i spoke on him past the ephoria of the election, now its about pulling for his policies, hoping they good ones, hoping
they work out as he intends them, hoping he keeps his good ratings and dont commit no mistakes that cost him critical mass, hopiing things work out with the cars, with afghanistan, the financial sector, congressional challenges, hoping he get some good judges in place, just hoping hoping hoping
seems we can rack up a good european debute him and michelle, (hey the queen touched her 1st) and he got his budget through congress, he seem to be doing okay all on his own
ive basically decided to let obama handle his business i will handle mine speaking of which im out of here, see if i can clock me some pages
get me some woodshed momentum going
life is good
rdoc
WEDNESDAY
this video is for my fellow servants of the cat people my feline masters instructed me to post it
all my love
rdoc
,
TUESDAY
hello world, i been working, wouldnt say ive been working hard but ive been working ive reached that burnout stage in semester where ive moved from doing more than called for
to doing as little as i can get away with,
i keep getting nibbles behind that oxford piece, reminds me why i dont do shorts you the man for about a month then its gone, i prefer books
these are the names hes 'called out', his words, not mine
probably calls himself being bold, feels more like a temper tantrum:
-----------------
Prof. Dr. Leonard Jeffries, City College CUNY. Dr.
Jeffries refuses to present any substantive critique of Obama's actual policies
on Africa or any other issue. He proclaims that every Black person should study
"Obama-ology," meaning "how Obama does things."
Dr. James McIntosh, Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to
African People (CEMOTAP). Dr. McIntosh tells audiences to look out for Obama's
"winks" - those confidential messages meant especially for Black folks. The
rest is just Obama doing what he has to do.
Viola Plummer, December 12th Movement. Ms. Plummer has the uncanny
ability to call for revolution and declare the near-divinity of Obama in the
same breath.
Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz, New Black Panther Party. Atty. Shabazz and his
party bear no resemblance to the original. His evaluation of Obama: "He is a
good father and husband."
Amiri Baraka, playwright & poet. The one-time Prince of Schisms now
pillories Cynthia McKinney for failing to get on the Obama-wagon. His capacity
for both insult and reason appears to be failing."
----------------------
amiri? a tom? a war ciminal? now youve stepped over the line, buddy you dont fuck with amiri, the grand old lion of afroam lit
when i think back to how much i once respected glen and wanted to be part of his team
i thank god now for having escaped that rapidly closing circle of the hard black left,
they are, it seems, determined to miss the boat, theyve gone from being true force
to an entertaining sideshow - kinda like the republicans
this is the latest email from obama community organizing team, tickles me when they
call me arthur, send them some money and they will call you arthur too:
Arthur --
Yesterday, President Obama submitted his first budget to Congress.
As the President said, the budget isn't just numbers on a page. It
establishes our plans and priorities as we confront some of the
longest-standing challenges this country has ever faced.
With this budget, President Obama is asking Washington to do something
it rarely does -- look beyond the next election and take the long-term
steps to ensure America's future strength and prosperity.
It will involve sacrifices and difficult decisions. But it will also
boldly invest in the three areas most critical to our economic future:
energy, health care, and education.
Investing in a clean energy future will put America at the forefront of
industry in the 21st century and create the jobs that will form a new
foundation for the middle class.
Confronting the mounting cost of health care will put America back on a
solid foundation so businesses can thrive and families can prosper.
Reforming and strengthening our education system will ensure American innovation and competitiveness well into the next century.
This budget isn't just a reflection of President Obama's priorities. It's a reflection of yours.
This is the change you worked for and Americans demanded. But to make sure it succeeds, the President will need your help.
In the coming weeks, we'll be asking you to talk directly to people in
your community, to build momentum and demonstrate the broad support
President Obama has for this new direction.
Thank you for your continued commitment,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
rdoc
WEDNESDAY
my boy obama smoked it w/his fate of the union message last night did he not
whereas your boy jindal was a joke, had the nerve to use katrina as a republican selling point,
if jindal is the great republican hope we doing fine
got excerpts for you and the text of the speech whole
i try to avoid whole but i was so proud of him last night, its clear hes going for bold, fundamental change
i like that in a 1st black president, i like that a lot:
over next couple of days ima go thru this speech and mack it
right now still buried in schoolhouse, they got me humping
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
Address to Joint Session of Congress
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States: (whoa, look at that, gave michelle some props, you go boy)
I've
come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women
in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and
women who sent us here. (forget congress and outreach to the republicans, obama has decided to go with the american people, primary audience for speech, bully for you boy)
I
know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our
economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If
you haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probably
know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family.
You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our
economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry
you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you
thought you'd retire from but now have lost; the business you built
your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance
letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this
recession is real, and it is everywhere.
But
while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we
are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every
American to know this:
We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
The
weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.
The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in
our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in
the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the
hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made
America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history
we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this
country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and
take responsibility for our future once more.
Now,
if we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit that for too long, we have
not always met these responsibilities – as a government or as a
people. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because it
is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we'll be
able to lift ourselves out of this predicament. (cool, lets put the blame where it belong, the bush administration and the republican mantra of no government which means they dont govern worth a damn because they want the government to fail basically, to 'get out of their way' so they can run rapacious thru the land, okay okay flowers, chill out....i like obamas willingness to speak truth to the people and frankly say what everybody know to be the case, what he say last night, the united states does not torture, okay im getting ahead of myself, let me continue...)
The
fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all
of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock
market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on
finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever
before. The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings
each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our children will compete for
jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare
them for. And though all these challenges went unsolved, we still
managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals
and through our government, than ever before.
(this what i like, he has decided, probably intended to all along, use this crises to try and achieve fundamental change, o this is so sweet, hes going for it, for awhile look like he might play it cautious but he was just setting up for the drive, o these are wonderful times to be in the game are they not, let me continue...
In
other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term
gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look
beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A
surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of
an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for
the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People
bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who
pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and
difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.
Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here.
now its kinda strange to be saying these are wonderful times to live in cause times is really really hard and family floundering which mean you got to make enuf for everybody now and times hard for everybody but its because times so hard that they are willing to try a new way, to think out of the box and right now that mean that center right box and consider some liberal or shall we say progressive options and we been out of power so long that we the ones got the good ideas ready to go and obama obviously about all that and you should see the emails he be sending out rallying the troops and still playing his community organizer game and im real proud of the way that boy carrying himself, i need to go over to bar and see how the hard black left twisting themselves into knots to continue calling him a tom, okay, i digress, let me continue....
Now
is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive this economy,
but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time
to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like
energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as
we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my
economic agenda is designed to do, and that's what I'd like to talk to
you about tonight.
It's an agenda that begins with jobs.
As
soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery plan
by President's Day that would put people back to work and put money in
their pockets. Not because I believe in bigger government – I don't.
Not because I'm not mindful of the massive debt we've inherited – I
am. I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost
more jobs and caused more hardships. In fact, a failure to act would
have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth
for years. That's why I pushed for quick action. And tonight, I am
grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleased to say that the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.
Over
the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs.
More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector – jobs
rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar
panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.
Because
of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobs and
educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caring for
our sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of
Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their
department was about to make.
Because
of this plan, 95% of the working households in America will receive a
tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on
April 1st.
Because
of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs will
receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. And
Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to
receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care
coverage to help them weather this storm.
I
know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are
skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that
skepticism. Here in Washington, we've all seen how quickly good
intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And
with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.
That
is why I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented
oversight effort – because nobody messes with Joe. I have told each
member of my Cabinet as well as mayors and governors across the country
that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for
every dollar they spend. I have appointed a proven and aggressive
Inspector General to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud.
And we have created a new website calledrecovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent.
So
the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy
back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we
manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we
clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial
system.
I
want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because
every American should know that it directly affects you and your
family's well-being. You should also know that the money you've
deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is
secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial
system. That is not the source of concern.
The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.
You
see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability
to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home
to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms
buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.
But
credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from
the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many
banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now
fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or
to each other. When there is no lending, families can't afford to buy
homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy
suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.
That
is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break
this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.
We
will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending fund
that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans,
college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and
entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.
Second,
we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families
facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and
re-finance their mortgages. It's a plan that won't help speculators or
that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to
afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with
declining home values – Americans who will now be able to take
advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped
bring about. In fact, the average family who re-finances today can
save nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.
Third,
we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure
that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence
and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we
learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable
those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support
to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a
strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.
I
understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by
an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, and
that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But such
an approach won't solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken the
day when we re-start lending to the American people and American
business and end this crisis once and for all.
I
intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they
receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how
taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer.
This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their
paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those
days are over.
Still,
this plan will require significant resources from the federal
government – and yes, probably more than we've already set aside. But
while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost
of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that
sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That
would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and
worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen.
I
understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to
provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans
alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed.
So were the American taxpayers. So was I.
So
I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now,
especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad
decisions. I promise you – I get it.
But
I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of
anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – our job – is
to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of
responsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of
rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it
takes to help the small business that can't pay its workers or the
family that has saved and still can't get a mortgage.
That's
what this is about. It's not about helping banks – it's about helping
people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can
finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to
build it. And then those workers will have money to spend, and if they
can get a loan too, maybe they'll finally buy that car, or open their
own business. Investors will return to the market, and American
families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly, but
surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover.
So
I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary.
Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession. And
to ensure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again, I ask
Congress to move quickly on legislation that will finally reform our
outdated regulatory system. It is time to put in place tough, new
common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards
drive and innovation, and punishes short-cuts and abuse.
The
recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate steps
we're taking to revive our economy in the short-term. But the only way
to fully restore America's economic strength is to make the long-term
investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, and a renewed
ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only way this
century will be another American century is if we confront at last the
price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care; the
schools that aren't preparing our children and the mountain of debt
they stand to inherit. That is our responsibility.
In
the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we
have come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or
laundry lists of programs. I see this document differently. I see it
as a vision for America – as a blueprint for our future.
My
budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue.
It reflects the stark reality of what we've inherited – a trillion
dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.
Given
these realities, everyone in this chamber – Democrats and Republicans –
will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no
dollars. And that includes me.
But
that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I
reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of
themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation
for our common prosperity.
For
history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every
moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has
responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war,
we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce
and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a
system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new
age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation
to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a
twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American
on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our
world.
In
each case, government didn't supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed
private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of
entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.
We
are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity
from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is why, even as
it cuts back on the programs we don't need, the budget I submit will
invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic
future: energy, health care, and education.
It begins with energy.
We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century.
And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to
make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but
we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it.
New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on
batteries made in Korea.
Well
I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take
root beyond our borders – and I know you don't either. It is time for
America to lead again.
Thanks
to our recovery plan, we will double this nation's supply of renewable
energy in the next three years. We have also made the largest
investment in basic research funding in American history – an
investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but
breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology.
We
will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new
energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put
Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that
we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.
But
to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our
planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make
clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this
Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on
carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in
America. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen
billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and
solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient
cars and trucks built right here in America.
As
for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad
decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to
the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own
bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled,
re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs
depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the
nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.
None
of this will come without cost, nor will it be easy. But this is
America. We don't do what's easy. We do what is necessary to move
this country forward.
For that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care.
This
is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty
seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans
to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four
times faster than wages. And in each of these years, one million more
Americans have lost their health insurance. It is one of the major
reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship
jobs overseas. And it's one of the largest and fastest-growing parts
of our budget.
Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold.
Already,
we have done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the
last thirty days than we have in the last decade. When it was days
old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance
for eleven million American children whose parents work full-time. Our
recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new
technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy,
and save lives. It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that
has touched the life of nearly every American by seeking a cure for
cancer in our time. And it makes the largest investment ever in
preventive care, because that is one of the best ways to keep our
people healthy and our costs under control.
This
budget builds on these reforms. It includes an historic commitment to
comprehensive health care reform – a down-payment on the principle that
we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It's
a commitment that's paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that
are long overdue. And it's a step we must take if we hope to bring
down our deficit in the years to come.
Now,
there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve
reform, and that is why I'm bringing together businesses and workers,
doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin
work on this issue next week.
I
suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be
hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt
first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down
our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there
be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it
will not wait another year.
The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the promise of education in America.
In
a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your
knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity
– it is a pre-requisite.
Right
now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more
than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our citizens
have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school
dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students
who begin college never finish.
This
is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries
that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it
will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has
access to a complete and competitive education – from the day they are
born to the day they begin a career.
Already,
we have made an historic investment in education through the economic
recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education
and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most
formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have made
college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we have
provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher
layoffs that would set back our children's progress.
But
we know that our schools don't just need more resources. They need
more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for
teacher performance; pathways for advancement, and rewards for
success. We'll invest in innovative programs that are already helping
schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will
expand our commitment to charter schools.
It
is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system
work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in
it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one
year or more of higher education or career training. This can be
community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an
apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will
need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high
school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself,
it's quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the
talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support
necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020,
America will once again have the highest proportion of college
graduates in the world.
I
know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you
are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your
community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford
a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national
service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me
the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch
as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for
his country – Senator Edward Kennedy.
These
education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our
children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the
end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or
father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with
homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games,
and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but
as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education
must begin at home.
There
is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children. And
that is the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a
debt they cannot pay. With the deficit we inherited, the cost of the
crisis we face, and the long-term challenges we must meet, it has never
been more important to ensure that as our economy recovers, we do what
it takes to bring this deficit down.
I'm
proud that we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to
pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects
only our most important national priorities.
Yesterday,
I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by
the end of my first term in office. My administration has also begun
to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate
wasteful and ineffective programs. As you can imagine, this is a
process that will take some time. But we're starting with the biggest
lines. We have already identified two trillion dollars in savings over
the next decade.
In
this budget, we will end education programs that don't work and end
direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need them. We'll
eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and
reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era
weapons systems we don't use. We will root out the waste, fraud, and
abuse in our Medicare program that doesn't make our seniors any
healthier, and we will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our
tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship
our jobs overseas.
In
order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the
tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly
clear, because I know you'll hear the same old claims that rolling back
these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people:
if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your
taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In
fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut – that's right, a tax cut –
for 95% of working families. And these checks are on the way.
To
preserve our long-term fiscal health, we must also address the growing
costs in Medicare and Social Security. Comprehensive health care
reform is the best way to strengthen Medicare for years to come. And
we must also begin a conversation on how to do the same for Social
Security, while creating tax-free universal savings accounts for all
Americans.
Finally,
because we're also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to
restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget. That is
why this budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for spending that
was left out under the old rules – and for the first time, that
includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven
years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.
We
are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon
announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and
responsibly ends this war.
And
with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive
strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat
extremism. Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the
American people from safe havens half a world away.
As
we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad
and more are readying to deploy. To each and every one of them, and to
the families who bear the quiet burden of their absence, Americans are
united in sending one message: we honor your service, we are inspired
by your sacrifice, and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the
strain on our forces, my budget increases the number of our soldiers
and Marines. And to keep our sacred trust with those who serve, we will
raise their pay, and give our veterans the expanded health care and
benefits that they have earned.
To
overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values
our troops defend – because there is no force in the world more
powerful than the example of America. That is why I have ordered the
closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift
and certain justice for captured terrorists – because living our values
doesn't make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger.
And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or
equivocation that the United States of America does not torture.
In
words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new era of engagement
has begun. For we know that America cannot meet the threats of this
century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. We
cannot shun the negotiating table, nor ignore the foes or forces that
could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense
of confidence and candor that serious times demand.
To
seek progress toward a secure and lasting peace between Israel and her
neighbors, we have appointed an envoy to sustain our effort. To meet
the challenges of the 21st century – from terrorism to
nuclear proliferation; from pandemic disease to cyber threats to
crushing poverty – we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones,
and use all elements of our national power.
And
to respond to an economic crisis that is global in scope, we are
working with the nations of the G-20 to restore confidence in our
financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism,
and spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe. For
the world depends on us to have a strong economy, just as our economy
depends on the strength of the world's.
As
we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all
nations are once again upon us – watching to see what we do with this
moment; waiting for us to lead.
Those
of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary
times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege – one
that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans. For in our
hands lies the ability to shape our world for good or for ill.
I know that it is easy to lose sight of this truth – to become cynical and doubtful; consumed with the petty and the trivial.
But
in my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places;
that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or
celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are
anything but ordinary.
I
think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who reportedly
cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to
all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for
him. He didn't tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he
simply said, ''I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I
didn't feel right getting the money myself.”
I
think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by
a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of
how clean energy can power an entire community – how it can bring jobs
and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay.
“The tragedy was terrible,” said one of the men who helped them
rebuild. “But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible
opportunity.”
And
I think about Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I
visited in Dillon, South Carolina – a place where the ceilings leak,
the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times
a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told
that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to
the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this
room. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The
letter asks us for help, and says, “We are just students trying to
become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day
president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South
Carolina but also the world. We are not quitters.”
We are not quitters.
These
words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the
people who sent us here. They tell us that even in the most trying
times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a
resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres; a
willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity.
Their
resolve must be our inspiration. Their concerns must be our cause.
And we must show them and all our people that we are equal to the task
before us.
I
know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are
surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know
that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and
wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate
we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates
are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect
us to build common ground.
And
if we do – if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of
this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine
of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our
time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit,
then someday years from now our children can tell their children that
this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into
this very chamber, “something worthy to be remembered.” Thank you, God
Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
i put this post up yesterday, then i took it down, some things feel like they should be classified, this probably one of them
got on this orisha myspace type online community and this the message i left im kinda embarrassed about it, cause i get to huffing and puffing
and showing my arrogance, but you know im always about the mythwork about having that dialogue about our responsiblities as spiritual practitioners in atr circles
this is basically the manifestation of my wouldbe prophecy trying to take atr practice to higher ground
i get out there huffing and puffing and embarrass myself then i draw back and fumble about, i got to get the hang of putting it
out there then divorcing myself from negative or even worse, no feedback
i get out there in atr forums and say my bit, trying to generate dialogue on these issues and maybe some movment and folk ignore me but thats the way it is
comes with the territory when you try to run prophets game
at this point im just trying to leave a historical record cause it dont appear ima be getting any play in my lifetime
ohwell, got to have the courage of your convictions, ima repost this, ima move on:
all my love
rdoc -----------------
hello all
rickydoc flowers here aka rickydoc trickmaster, practitioner of the hoodoo way queenmama whodun brought me into the yard and a sweet yard it seem to be
i should low profile until i get a feel for the flow but im a delta mack and its my nature to spread my hoodoo gospel - ima writer and a blogger out in the world and the old boy got to do his thing
I figure a couple of words on hoodoo and atr might be pertinent to the moment as most of you know hoodoo has a complicated relationship with the atr family
hoodoo has traditionally been more of a magical system than a religious one every practitioner basically does what he or she please, we kinda like that freedom
of movement, that anymethod anytime approach, and as hoodoo is drawn deeper into the atr family, want to keep that freedom of movement by evolving the sorceric
into the prophetic, or shall i say the divinational, at least I would, cant speak for all hoodoos though I often try
that way we can be part of a religious community while maintaining the individuality that exemplify hoodoo - cause not much difference between the sorceric and the prophetic, same powers, cept one works for clients, the other works for god and community,
i would like to make the prophetic a hoodoo specialty - pertinent point here is that the prophetic is given the dispensation to change things, to challenge outdated and antiquated practice - the prophetic is part of the religious system but separate from it
folk think the prophetic is about foretelling the future but its more hooking up current behavior with destinic consequence - continue to behave as you do and you will suffer as a people – listen to me and your generations will thrive
there is a lot hoodoo has to learn from more traditional atr but as the indigenous african american system there is a lot we bring to the table
i believe that its our responsibility as atr practitioners to be guide and guardian of the tribal soul and destiny
im of the school that feels that if we as a people are suffering its because our spiritual traditions have been slack, its because we as spiritual leaders have been slack
folk like to speak of our atr strengths but the truth is in the condition of our people worldwide
wherever you got blackpeople they are on the bottom of their respective society, everywhere in the world that i can see, that mean we haven’t been taking care of business
losing out to the aggressor religions, in part cause they been doing a better job of guidance than we have, cant get around that
that mean that we have to move atr into a higherground, take better care of our people and our culture, our destiny - it is incumbent upon us to awaken the sleeper, protect the weak and guide the strong – it is the geas of rickydoc
cast your vision young hoodoo as far as you can see, determine the challenges the tribe will face, prepare the tribal soul to meet them
i believe that atr is in a period of evolution and manifestation, that the 21st century belong to us - if we take care of business
i believe part of our generational mission will be to determine what practices are outdated and need to be evolved, what needs to be maintained and strengthened, what need to be extracted and left behind
and it tickle me to see folk up in here on the case, i look forward to participating in this great endeavor with my fellow travelers, I am moved to be part of the fellowship, thanks for letting me in the yard
in the name of the conqueror
rdoc
FRIDAY
feel bad, rough class yesterday, left one of my students hanging, have to do better
that when they do that aggressive wardance that krumping entail
they calling down possession by malevolent spirits that dont accept boundaries too well
fascinating take on krump spirits as haints of the guede family
conservative cartoonists say they cant do anything without being accused of racism
say blackfolk need to lighten up, this guy stantis complains that he got accused of
drawing obama like a monkey and nothing could be further from the truth
look like a monkey to me, it was the gunshot wounds that pushed buttons on that other one
much as i dismiss protest politics, called creative license on the dutch dig at mohammad and did not object to depictions of bush as chimp, seem i object to chimp obama
conservative frustration at black president gon take some peculiar manifestation im ready to draw a line here but the very act of drawing a line invite folk to cross it
buch of mud wrestling, dont have time for it, dont like being subject to other folks triggers, everytime some body do this
do that mean i got to jump up and down and bust a gut
but sometime you got to call folk on it - they got the right to do it, we got the right to protest - and try to penalize offenders - guess you can call that dialogue
in the name of the conqueror, im out
rdoc
THURSDAY
so this that cartoon thats been the topic of much conversation lately some folk saying the new york post cartoonist was doing a racial thing on obama
he and the post say he was just commenting on that chimp amok story
cartoon in bad taste anyway, woman still in critical care after chimp ate her face
that boy knew he was skating close to the edge
probably warmed his wretched cartoonist soul
did it to the gay folk awhile back w/a cartoon of a man carrying a sheep to the same sex marriage license booth
boy a serial offender
its the bullet holes i find offensive
dont care for it but im not going to worry about it
aint got time to wrestle w/pigs, thats what we got al for
huff post did a piece recently on all the republicans that voted against the stimulus bill lining up at the trough hoping to dip their beaks, they say long as the money flowing
they want to get theirs - dont we all
me, i been slacking my noveltime, schoolhouse got me humping
been wondering if maybe i should go for 1 hour a day during the semester week
no matter how tight it is i ought to be able to squeeze 1 measely hour cause
im confident my boy got the economic condition, i believe he got that
gon give him a little slack, let his moves manifest, i believe he got a vision
and he gon go thru the motions but i bet he understand too
that he cant let the republicans cripple his game, i bet he do
worked hard this weekend, that always feels good, but the week got to be schoolhouse grind now
ima try to keep my 3 hour novelshift though, feeling mortal these days, feeling like its now or never
so many of my literary comrades are dead and gone - or no longer sharp - i just dont have time to waste
i will be 59 this year, i was in my 40s when i started this novel, its just incredible to me im still working on it
the redpen is when the novel becomes real, and i see it happening now, finally, but its like im in a race against time and im feeling the hot saliva of ravenous fate on the back of my neck, and every day i get a little more ruthless, a little more focused, showtime
ive become a big fan of ruthie foster lately, folk blues woman remind me of traci chapman, discovered her yesterday, i like her style, and she got a lot of those fighting against the odds songs i like - those i will not be defeated songs
interesting article in todays washpost about the stimulus plan that basically said is that americas consumer economy is no longer viable and has resulted in a consumer goods glut that americans can no longer sustain and that the criteria of successful intervention is can america come up with another growth engine to replace the retreating consumer base
i believe obama is trying to replace it with a green economy, we shall see
okay, latest on chris/rihanna - i am so out of the loop on some things, i didnt know chris brown from adam so i went on youtube to see what all the hoorah about and the boy got moves and i can see why
some folk feel betrayed cause its decent work and a good feel to it but all the while im listening im thinking woman beater and how hard i fight that my boys dont have that casual attitude towards women
that is so prevalent in much of our music and youth culture and i think he need to be penalized
so that the kids see that kind of thing is not good for the soul
just how much penalization depend on how sincere the celebrity counseling dance appear
we'll see if he really does learn from this
and rihanna, girlfriend need to walk away, dude dont get but one chance to beat on you
folk say her commercials in danger too but only if she appear to acquiesce in this tired scenario
me, the old hoodooman got to look at this in terms of cultural maintenance, extracting the weak, ennobling the good
men need to know there is a penalty for beating on a woman
woman need to know where the bottomline is - how to deal with a man, what to demand of a man
i cannot imagine being w/a woman i got to fuss and fight with, cannot imagine,
if dignity dont get it walk away
i liked chris browns work, i would have downloaded it, boy got some moves, but now he
in the michael jackson category, just a little too freaky for me,
everything he do say dance im judging it against knowledge that this is a woman beater
and a fool too to do it in the spotlight like that
if nothing else you would think he would realize the spotlight was on him and that was a no no
boy got issues, he need to be put in check
but i remember when bill withers got accused of woman beating and how much that hurt me cause bill withers
was my boy and i remember all the twisting and turning i did to justify still listening to bill withers
dont feel like brown a bobby brown category abuser, not yet at least, dont appear to be no r kelly quality sleezeball, least not yet
hopefully this a wakeup call for him (and his age cohort)
in hopes that he straighten up and fly right ima leave that boy in care of oshun
if that dont work ima assign somebody a little more ruthless on the case
rdoc
SUNDAY
this post is going to embarrass me, on a lot of levels, an article in todays commercial appeal about the young lions of the memphis civil rights movement, these were my earliest mentors in struggle
this article embarrasses me on a lot of levels, for one it only does the dudes, doesnt mention the lionesses like maxine smith and lauri sugarmon, who were just as active
and two it exposes me as one of the colored princes of memphis, for whom racial stewardhship has always been considered part of the family mission
i come out of the old committed wing of the southern black bourgie, back in the days of segregation when for better or worse the southern black achiever was considered a custodian of the race
that piece i did for oxford, they changed the title from:
on the nature of struggle in the age of obama and the geas of rickydoc to
raceman
when i see my old title it amuse me, damn near a parody of the clueless intellectual, off in my own world
i wasnt that comfortable with raceman, thought it was too stark, but it actually fit me
as a determined young radical my middleclass background embarrassed me, and politically my middle class ways and strategies still embarrass me
politically - lifestyle wise i appreciate my creature comforts
your basic bleeding heart tree hugger, i do what i can for folk who havent been as fortunate as i have
like obama i believe in spreading the wealth... man it look like im getting personal again
i had resolved to leave the personal alone, but this a very personal post here, decide to put it down whole because it spoke to the folk who trained me in the game when i was a little lad, the reporter kinda sexist cause it dont mention the women hardly at all
they mention maxine but not lauri and you cant speak to the turks of the memphis civil rights movement without giving maxine and lauri props - my mama was a soldier too, she dragged me and my sisters along
my father, dr flowers, was nobodys soldier, but as a family practitioner he was classic oldschool, with a distinct sense of responsibilty for the health of colored memphis, i like to think that i take after him, only ima spiritdoctor instead of a general practitioner
he took care of their bodies, i take care of their souls
im very proud of being from that world, i come from a long line of struggle and i liked seeing some of the old guard get some props
i like to think im more of a player than they were, going for more fundamental change in the game (whose tricking who) but hey im their legacy, im supposed to be a stronger player, i hope the ones come after me put me to shame
im gone, ive been working hard on that novel this weekend, im moving forward, step by step and inch by inch but im moving, using that whimsical character tech too, seem to have an affinity for it, its something ive been doing anyway only now im conscious of doing it, makes a difference, novel feels stronger as i move forward, at some point will have to go over what ive done and beef it too but for the moment, its all forward, ruthlessly driving forward, focus flowers focus, step by step and inch by inch, spent last two days focused and got maybe a page out of it but im satisfied, i will take anything, i will take a paragraph if i worked hard for it and thats what i got thats what i got
let me get out of here, i got so much work to do, and ive got to pay for those two days with some schoolhouse catch up starting today, later today, the day itself going to my novel, im feeling strong, im working hard, ima hang with this long as i can, i will pay whatever that cost
Hosea T. (H.T.) Lockard is 88 now, his mobility diminished to a careful but determined one-step-at-a-time move through his house with a walker.
Like his peers who pioneered the NAACP's legal activism, Lockard can peer back over the decades and appreciate the hard-won progress that is now so evident and taken for granted in February 2009, 100 years after the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
He knows that in a country in which African-American politicians ascend to places of power -- including President Barack Obama -- questions inevitably are raised about the need for organizations like the NAACP or commemorations like Black History Month.
But he hopes this centennial generates reflection and appreciation.
"I would hope the masses would look in retrospect and imagine what the conditions were then and then come forward in their minds with the gradual pace we have made changes and to look with relish on advancement thus far," says Lockard, a retired Criminal Court judge who was the first African-American member of the Tennessee governor's cabinet. "If we do nothing but educate and interpret the uneducated about the achievements, it would be a full-time job."
Before retirement from the bench and physical ailments like the
stroke that hit him years ago, Lockard brought a considerable vitality to the Memphis NAACP in its fight against local segregation and inequality.
He can recall vividly the sense of purpose he carried with him that Christmas Eve night in 1950 when, as a World War II veteran and LeMoyne College graduate from Ripley, Tenn., he returned to Memphis from St. Louis "down 51 Highway in a Pontiac I had bought with almost my last savings on four bad tires with no spare."
He had gone to law school in St. Louis and had wanted to stay -- conditions were much better for a black man five hours upriver -- but finally determined he would apply his ambition and legal training to the cause of making Memphis better.
When he visited the local branch of the NAACP, at the Abe Scharf YMCA at Linden and Lauderdale, Lockard found an older crowd discussing things like police brutality and segregation in public facilities.
"It was music to my ears," Lockard says now. "Good music, because that's what I wanted to get involved in and help bring about the change. So I kind of joined and I was accepted wholeheartedly in part because I was a young man -- only 31 -- and I showed the zest and zeal and vigor and vitality. I was ready to roll up my sleeves and go and ready to tackle anything needed to be tackled."
This was a few years before the movement in Memphis would come to include other now-colossal names of the local civil rights movement -- Benjamin Hooks, Jesse Turner, Maxine and Vasco Smith, Billy Kyles, Russell Sugarmon, A.W. Willis, among many others.
As Vasco Smith, a dentist and husband of Maxine (the longtime local director of the Memphis NAACP branch) once put it in the journal Southern Voices: "For a while, Lockard was pretty much the whole show. He did an outstanding job, and he probably laid the foundation for a lot of the things that happened later on."
He would be joined by so many others, and their efforts led to important victories, mostly won through the legal process, in areas like desegregation of the Memphis Street and Railway, public buildings and restaurants, and, of course, in education.
Like Lockard, those others chose to return to Memphis and enlist in the NAACP's cause because they felt a sense of obligation, despite knowing they could live other places where the obstacles were not so obvious nor the white citizens so malicious.
Hooks, a trailblazer as judge and Federal Communications Commission member, was the national director of the NAACP for 15 years and has received much attention lately, including a compelling Inauguration Day segment with Dan Rather.
Sugarmon, now 79 (born in the same year as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), graduated from Booker T. Washington High School at 15. After he finished his undergraduate degree at Rutgers, in New Jersey, he completed an application to Harvard Law School. Where it asked why he wanted to go to Harvard, the now-retired judge recalls writing, "Because I do not like my hometown."
Meaning, he wanted to do something about it, and using the law seemed like the best route. Though he could not afford Harvard, Sugarmon's education there was eventually provided by the University of Tennessee Law School, in an effort to avoid integration or lawsuits. And Sugarmon brought that training back to his hometown, joining Lockard, Hooks, the Smiths, A.W. Willis and a growing corps of bright and determined young African-American residents. Working for the NAACP and using the courts, they won desegregation of public transportation, of restaurants and public facilities, and started the long, frustrating path toward integrating public schools.
As Hooks likes to put it, the landmark Supreme Court ruling calling for school desegregation, Brown vs. the Board of Education, "has been successful on everything but education. It brought forth everything that came after. And all that was won on the backs of the NAACP."
Johnnie Turner, the director of the Memphis branch, which was founded in 1917, is hoping to use the centennial year to remind people of the NAACP's significance in blazing a path to progress -- and appeal to people to help the organization retain its relevance and prominence.
"People like Rev. Hooks and H.T. Lockard, these are the walking legends and the people who have lived all of the things we hope to transmit to our youth," Turner says. "We see these young black men and women now, sitting in board rooms, who say, 'I am sitting here because I am smart.' They need to recognize they stand on the shoulders of the lynched and the killed and the mutilated who suffered to get them where they are today."
Warner Dickerson, president of the local NAACP branch, says the centennial is a chance to remember those victories, but preaches continued vigilance in a country that has often lagged in its idealistic ambitions of freedom and equality for all of its people.
"Historically, America has said these things all along, but I am not prepared to become gullible and believe it is over," Dickerson says. "We are all proud of Barack. We have had historical moments. But I don't believe racism is over in America."
Hooks, pointing out the minuscule percentage of black members of corporate boards, says, "It doesn't take Einstein to know something is happening to that coin flip."
Lockard, Sugarmon and Hooks all take pains to point out that black residents of Memphis had it better than those in other places, and that in fact things like the political machine of E.H. "Boss" Crump, cynical though its motivations may have been, did see to it that Memphis' electorate included black voters.
Sugarmon to this day praises former police chief Claude Armour, a man he says was unapologetic about his racist views but unflinching in his duties to carry out the law when school desegregation began. Lockard will say, of his legal adversaries, "They were gentlemen of the very highest quality."
Yet, they all recall harrowing moments. Lockard remembers the nasty phone calls at all hours, and one particular evening when it seemed the police and fire departments were intent on harassing his household. Hooks talks about efforts in places like Brownsville, Tenn., where "when you went up there to talk about (civil rights), they'd run, they'd been whipped so much."
Sugarmon remembers a drive back from Somerville, Tenn., one night with Hooks and A.W. Willis, when they noticed the lights from traffic behind them growing stronger.
"A.W. said, 'Look at all those cars; it's like a funeral procession,'" Sugarmon says. "Benny Hooks says, 'Why the hell would you say something like that at a time like this?'"
Sugarmon says a bullet came through the window, fired from a car on the side of the road, but they escaped back to Memphis unharmed.
"Since nobody got hurt, I said, 'I am proud; we must be doing something right,'" Sugarmon says.
Now in the twilight of their lives, these legal veterans who fought for the NAACP find themselves being honored and admired by many of the very people and institutions they battled for so long. Maxine Smith, who never shied from controversy, says she often is stopped by people who apologize and ask her forgiveness for the hate they directed toward her.
"I just tell them, 'It's OK, I didn't know you hated me,'" Smith says.
Like her old neighborhood friends Hooks and Sugarmon, Smith says it feels nice to be appreciated.
Sugarmon says he mostly feels gratitude.
"The main thing I feel is lucky to be born at a place and in a time when something could be done," Sugarmon says. "Could you imagine living in a time when there is no threat, no challenge, you are just there, passing the time? I would hate that. When there is something worth attacking, something worth challenging and you can get to do that, that is a gift.
"To have a role that mattered, that's my reward."
Lockard says the hymn "Amazing Grace" captures his feelings best, because he believes those battles fought and won by the NAACP required what he calls "God's grace."
"With that mindset, all the negative stuff disappears," Lockard says. "Everything negative is taken away."
SATURDAY
did patrick chamoisiou (?) in my global narrative class thursday
excerpts from solibo maginficent and texaco and am reminded of why i love
that boys work so, that epic quality, that lyrical mastery, man im so jealous noticed something new this time around, much of the success of his style
is in the whimsical quality of it, he builds whimsical characters that are still profound i would really like to capture that in my own work, and i can see where i try but nowhere
near as successful, want to rewrite the whole manuscript but i know better, just push on rick just keep in mind that i really want that whimsical quality
next week we are doing peter hoeg, i had only read the story we are doing, portrait of the avant garde, so i went out and bought up a bunch of his novels and damn if i aint jealous of him too, i hate forms courses
picked up a novel by thiongo while i was looking, wizard of the crows, he got that whimsical quality down too i see, in the epic format, which i also admire, and aspire to
im realizing that everybody ive chosen has some narrative lick i want to master everybody in class supposed to be chosing a story so its one mine one theirs
so its not just my aesthetic vision represented, so i get some surprises too
i see already im going to have to be real disciplined about this else i will be lurching all over the place
reminds me of what aishah rahman told me back when i was a cub and i mentioned that i
wanted to be the best novelist that ever lived and she said no art, thats not what you want
you want to sing your song the best you can sing it, that way you can appreciate other folk
singing theirs - that little bit of advice has saved me a lot of grief over the years
im out,
rdoc
THURSDAY
score: one for obama: congrats on stimulus plan under pressure obama showed some clutch
one against: the bailout plan sounds like more of the same same tactics, same trust me rollout, doesnt sound that hot to me
got to come stronger than that barack, hopefully this initial run worked the beginners kinks out of his policy machine
and hope he smells the republican coffee, they mean him no good and will stab him in the back every chance they get
they dont want you to succeed my friend, hello talk that bipartisanship but dont depend on it, dont bet on it brother
just go through the motions
ive decided to cut back on anxiety for him, cant go with all the ups and downs, just assume it will all work out for him
continue to give him virtual strategic advice
zimbabwe opposition has signed onto government, we will see how that works out, got my fingers crossed
but it looks bad from where i sit, seems the joint operations command, the JOC, 5 man committee composed of leadership of police, military, and intelligence arms is doing abductions of opposition figures
lot of digital ink on chrisbrown/rihanna fight, lot of chrisbrown fans saying maybe she provoked him, i know i dont need to tell my readership this but there just
aint never no excuse for a man hitting on a woman, if she 'provoked' him then he need to do follow the advice of the immortal oscar brown:
that ukrainian arms ship has been released by somalian prirates and on its way to kenya kenya is embarrassed because its army cant use those russian arms but the southern sudan can
kenya is supposed to be a neutral mediator in that conflict and to be caught arming the south sudan is considered a stumble, but i for one am glad to see that they are trying to help the southern sudan
on the black hand side
congrats to obama for getting his bill through senate, ive been concerned, its clear that he will prevail i just dont want him to lose too many points getting it thru, i want my boy to 'look presidential'
it take a minute for you to grow into the role, every leadership role i ever had, at 1st it didnt feel right and i felt like i was faking it, but after awhile it start coming natural to you
he just got to get thru this rough stage with everybody judging him waiting for him to stumble
i thought this free floating anxiety for him would recede once he won but its just as strong guess i will have to carry it for the next 8 years, no problem, got your back, black
by all accounts michael steele, that blatant and clueless attempt at pandering by republicans, is a hustler but then thats explicit in his role as prominent black republican - hustler by definition
ben working hard on novel since ive been laid up last couple of days, its been sobering, passages you thought were fine, come back to them after awhile and they seem to have gotten bad somehow
i wish i could just quit trying to write this novel and just coast out the rest of my life - its doable
but that aint gon happen, good or bad im going to get this novel done, good or bad i just do not care
ive come too far, for the folk who still believe and those that dont, this novel gon get done - this summer
being feted in india made me just that more determined to get this novel done
being back in the schoolhouse grind, make me that more determined to get this novel done
became conscious of how much flack im going to get from that oxford piece, things i been saying all along about how black struggle stand in the 21st century will get me jacked up in context of oxford
lines like - blackfolk are on the bottom of their respective societies all over the world, we cant blame everywhere on anybody but ourselves - man, blackfolk are going to jump all over me for that
some of their final edits were designed to make the piece more palatable to their audience (progressive south) but made me uncomfortable for mine (the black generations) we negotiating those now, thats kind of a line in the sand for me, hope its not a dealbreaker
no matter what i do folk are going to jump on me about it, cause i spoke truth to my audience, and the other audiences not that important to me - all this assumes it doesnt do the invisible thing most of my work does - i believe because of context and content it will be high profile and perhaps even seminal
but then i think that about all my work -
if it does get any traction, ima catch a lot of flack for it, im tempted to withdraw it but that would be cowardly, literary cowardness, i will take the punch, i spoke truth to the people
i believe blackfolk have to face the reality of our condition in order to take effective steps to deal with it
i will take the punch for that
but i got to get my work done so its all in context
basically everything that happens to me, victories and defeats, same response - work harder, work smarter
all my love
rdoc
FRIDAY
brought back a cold apparently, down for the count
been listening to the guy who scored slumdog, a.r.rehman, real popular in india they real tickled at him getting awards for that soundtrack
so anyway i found this streetguy in kolkata selling cds w/100s of mps3 per cd, a couple of them aarahman, this was a jackpot find im almost shamed to say
i hunted down rahman and wadami brothers at music world in kolkata and bought up a bunch of sufi music but it was the street score set me up, even cleaning out the trash i got 100s of tracks of indian music,
rahman scores are like eclectic bollywoodic sufi pop - good working music probably good i cant tell what they saying, the beat cross culture
every once in awhile i get self conscious about this blog and tire of putting my business in the digital street feeling that now but if i stop blogging my numbers start falling and i dislike seeing that
i heard somewhere that sharks have to keep swimming or they die true or not thats how i feel with this blog, with writing period for that matter
but sometime blogwork strike me as vainglorious, hey everybody look at me i believe ima chill and just do the political commentary for awhile
good to see obama showing steel, saying what everybody know to be truth tried to be nice but nice wasnt working, lets see what a little steel does for it
in truth they dont want obama to be successful here, theyd rather he no we go down obama success would be that dreaded democratic realignment for 2, 3 generations
everytime i see him on tv im nervous for him, want him to look good, pull it off everytime he attempts some legislation or policy, im nervous for him, dont want him
to stumble, to fail, just looking at him in presidential settings is deep
he hasnt really settled into it yet, it will take a moment before he, and the american public, wear this comfortably, im pulling for him
so, what else rick
this article on connection between literature and evolution, i didnt get a thing from it which is unfortunate because i think its an important subject, unfortunate execution
qaddafi is head of the african union, qaddafi has long harbored dreams of a continental africa - his dreams arent very disciplined but then what dreams are
expect him to use libyan oil wealth to bid for unified africa
either way it goes this will be interesting, be interesting to see if he approaches
this as a player, or a dreamer - tried to play traditional leaders against political leaders by having 200 trads presumably kings anoint him africas
well, i blew it, couldnt have gone any other way actually 1st i got lost getting to long island city, made it about 10 minutes late
so i was off my game, then they put me in this bird outfit one of the artist had made so here i am afraid to move hardly for fear of destroying a museum quality piece they had me sign a paper to wear it, saying id be careful i wish i had pictures, but i left my camera running to make it there
and then i had my cheat sheet taped to a piece of driftwood, was gon read it off the driftwood i thought that was a nice touch, but when i came out i was in the groove, the musicians were playing
the moment was hot, i couldnt read some cheat sheet and what was pretty inevitable for the
1st time doing the piece from heart, i garbled it all up, forget some of my best lines and just basiclaly limped through
but the audience never realizes it, they complemented me on a good job and only me and terry knew that i had blown it badly - it was an extraordinary show though, terry is some kinda of ritual impressario, he had me dressed up in musuem wear and had his musicians wearing skicaps w/leopard hats so they looked like spirits, it was a magical moment, i gave him the money (most of it) he paid me back, told him i should have paid him for the experience
blew it, bummer
okay what else, starting to get excited about jaipur festival, you know what i like about going to these big literary conferences, that folk always dis me, treat me like im not a contender,
arthur flowers? never heard of him
so i go and i do my low profile observer thing and im beaming charisma so folk are curious but dismissive when i turn out to be a no name, or rather a low name - but then when it comes time for me to do my thing - panel, presentation, reading, whatever, i blow them all away
i always come strong, i always got something powerful to say and i always say it powerful - always
babajohn killens training: "the more important it is you have to say, the more obligated you are to say it well"
i always come strong, im always representing - and from that moment on im the talk of the town, or the conference as the case may be
at least among the few who see
and on that note let me work on my presentation, literature and the global narrative i always make sure my presentation is sharp, i always put the work in
saw steve cannon of tribes at the neohoodoo reading, it was good seeing him steve was part of ishmaels neohoodoo posse back in the day - groove bang and jive around
is i believe the title of his underground novel, steve is a literary underground legend and founder of tribes a lower east side literary insitution, steve cannon serious oldschool
hes gotten old and shaky now, still got what that scamp david earl jackson once called his seeing eye white girls steve is blind and he has always had these lower east side literary gothics leading him around
always two, one on each side
steve and i go back - he was once the moderator of a panel i was on at long ago medgar evers black writers conference and i was used to riffing my presentations then no notes, but steve took a couple of punches on me at that panel while introducing me and threw me off my game and everything just flew out of my head
i stuttered through some sentences and shut up and afterwards one of my fans told me she had come just to hear me speak and was very disappointed - and i swore then never again would i be unprepared
may be the only african american writer at conference, might be representing
im always very conscious when across the water and representing african americans, im always very conscious of challenging the global perception of african americans by
coming strong with the substance and the dignity
they got this one day scheduled during my goodwill tour part thats all about african american lit, i give presentation that morning and perform midday, coming at them with both hands
american and indian academics talking about afroam lit, one segment compares african american lit and dalit lit so its some interesting dynamics happening here
thats the day im really looking forward to, they will be academicing all over african american lit and then im going to show them what the cutting edge of afroam lit is all about - ima blow their indian minds
and i suspect that indian spiritual thing gon be receptive to a little hoodoo performance work
its an american embassy occasion, ima blow their minds too, did that at american ambassadors residence in kenya once,did my africanamerican shaman thing at a mucky muck lawn party
made a lot of good contacts at that one, embassy follk, kenyan elites, ford foundation folk, you getting my drift
i started working on my presentation as soon as they sent me the title, its going to be primetime i expect im going to have some followership in india after this is over
but while thats impo to me and my aspiration to be an international writer, i have to go deeper
otherwise its just entertainment, another negro singing and dancing, its the substance make it griotic its what you do with the congregation once you put them into the palm of your hand
i have to get into a significance mode, determine what is the most significant use of this time/exerpience
what am i suppose to be learning from, how best can i use this to grow stronger as a person and as a writer, can i get some product out of this
representing and showboating (building a literary constituency) is cool but its significance that butters my literary bread
oxford got back to me about that race in the south piece, they changed the title from "on the nature of struggle in the age of obama and the geas of rickydoc" to 'raceman'
we got a different approach to this piece - but that title was perhaps a little twisty - i had to say okay
but they were pleased with it, offered to pay me a nice little bit of change, didnt really change my intent, and considering using it as the feature - that was a satisfying little victory
much of the same stuff you been seeing here on my blog dear regulators, but conventionalized somewhat for journal wear - i think of this blog as eventual product so its nice to get paid
as you know im somewhat of an unortho thinker and im pleased to get a little respect from the industry - thats all i want just a little respect for what i do
cause i aint gon follow the party line, i never have, my artistic principle has always been ima do what i do and force the literary world to respect me for it - due to the power the substance and the grace
i aint gon come to them, they got to come to me, this novel so narratively unortho dont know if its good or bad, ive been going on faith for the last 8 years or so
but this is part of my hoodoo thing too, my sorcerors power is in believing in my reality over the consensus reality, magic is forcing reality to respond to my will
i dont adjust myself to reality, i make reality adjust to me, let me tell you that aint no easy task
very often reality wins - but such is the sorcerors burden
and that of the artist
i envision the world i see into a book, and then when that book is printed it become real in the world and everytime somebody reads it or is moved by it it becomes that much more reality in the world
true reality - magic - thats why i love
the novel, thats why i love conjuring
that neohoodoo exhibit was all about art as ritual, i took some outlaw shots with my cell phone of this extraordinary bottle tree one of the artist had made, the cataloque was too expensive
ima try it on amazon in a couple of months, im gone, need to work on novel
need to work on my presentation, need to pack, india is going to be interesting
im fronting the cool jaded cosmopolite but im actually quite excited
india no less, and my 1st time doing one of those american writer goodwill tours
im not only representing africaamericans, im representing america too - obamas america
old boy gon represent,
ima spread good will like some colored johnny appleseed
all my love
rdoc
THURSDAY
this is the info for that performance im supposed to be doing in the city saturday with terry adkins and the lone wolf recital corp at ps 1 contemporary art gallery 22-25 jackson ave in long island city at 2 pm
sound like my kinda exhibit, but me and terry almost fell out again
terry is an installation artist and he was doing a bessie smith exhibit here in syracuse and the curator, khelli willetts, buddy of mine, asked me to hit wth him, i said sure, i like khelli and i like doing collaborations with afrospiritual artists and it didnt feel like it was going to take a lot of my time - if i read it instead of trying to memorize/perform it
so i prepared a bessie smith piece, then day before hit terry sent me this carl van vechten quote he ask me to do and i told him ima african american literary man in the line of o killens, i dont do carl van vechten - my mentor, john killens, would spin in his grave, it got a little tense for a moment but he got khelli to do it,
this time, 2 days before the hit he send me a baldwin quote talking about how bessie connected him with his niggerness and a list of about 40 nigger phrases he wanted me to chant, he tried to explain the symbolics but
i had to tell him i dont do niggerwork and wasnt going to be no niggerwork performances on my historical record, i told him my constituency wouldnt understand,
now im already stressed cause i been trying to memorize this bessie smith piece so i can actually perform it this time instead of read it like i did the last time, old performance artist like me hate to have to read something, no room for the magic to come down on me when im reading, when ive memorized it i can just let the spirit move me
it was a beautiful installation and terry threw down, and here i am reading my piece, i havent even looked at youtube cause the very idea embarass me, so im struggling with memorizing it this time and i know i will be stumbling and be riffing thru and i might fumble it but if im in a performance mode the power might come down on me - its always a gamble, reading is certain, performance is a gamble
i did a good rewrite, got this nice come on down bessie hook that might get hypnotic, might move the congregation - wish i had a month to work on it but i got 2 days and here i am in the middle of stressing when he send me the niggerlist, 2 days before the hit, i told him i dont do niggerwork man and i aint reading nothing, he got this witchdoctor coat from somewhere im
supposed to be wearing, what kinda witchdoctor got to read his spell, got to read his invocation - told him if thats a dealbreaker let me know
i would have been disappointed not to be part of the neohoodoo thing, its ishmeal and his novel mumbo jumbo and his book of poetry conjure that turned me onto literary hoodoo back when i was just a literary cub
one of the best hoodoo lines in african american lit came out of conjure
"on you i said, to the enemies of the soul"
another great hoodoo riff in conjure is:
just cause you cant see the stones dont mean i aint building
i cant claim high hoodoo long as ishmael living, ishmael the man
terry say he didnt think i was going to do the niggerlist no way but he had to ask, terry like that shock and awe
but i dont do shock and awe, i do transformation - i just hope i dont fumble it, he will be taping it for youtube, i will post it when i can (assuming it aint awful)
wish me luck
-------------------------------------
PS 1 Contemporary Art Center presents NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith, an exhibition
co-organized by The Menil Collection that brings together a
multigenerational group of North, South, and Central American artists
who address the value of ritual in the artistic process and the wider
implications of spirituality in contemporary art. On view in the 2nd
Floor Main Gallery, Project Rooms, and Corner Gallery.
Including some 50 works of sculpture, photography, assemblage,
video, performance, and other media, NeoHooDoo asserts that the drive
towards a spiritual practice is as relevant today in our burgeoning
global society as it has ever been. Artists have long engaged with
ritualism to enrich their work, drawing on the traditions of shamans,
griots, and oral historians. NeoHooDoo “grew out of a desire to explore
the multiple meanings of spirituality in contemporary art,” states
P.S.1 Curatorial Advisor and Menil Curator of Modern and Contemporary
Art Franklin Sirmans.
In the late 1960s poet Ishmael Reed adopted the 19th-century
term “HooDoo,” referring to forms of religion and their practice in the
New World to explore the idea of spiritual practice outside easily
definable faiths or creeds and ritualism on contemporary works of
literature and art. “Neo-HooDoo,” he writes in his 1972 collection of
poetry, Conjure, “believes that every man is an artist and every artist
a priest.” His seminal poems, “The Neo-HooDoo Manifesto” and “The
Neo-HooDoo Aesthetic,” delve even deeper into this artistic practice to
demonstrate its vitality as an international, multicultural aesthetic
that embraces spiritual creativity and innovation.
From Vancouver to Havana, Guatemala City, and Bahia, the
artists in NeoHooDoo began using ritualistic practice as a means to
recover “lost” spirituality and to reexamine and reinterpret aspects of
cultural heritage throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. Visual
artists from across the Americas, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat
(1960–1988), José Bedia (b. 1959), Rebecca Belmore (b. 1960), Jimmie Durham (b. 1940), and Ana Mendieta
(1948–1985) have freely combined disparate materials and mediums to
create spaces where art and audience can interact unhindered by history
or societal constraints. For these artists, ritual practice often
emerges as a form of catharsis and political critique to approach
issues such as race, gender, slavery, and colonization. This exhibition
also will look at younger artists such as video artists Michael Joo and Regina José Galindo,
who carry on many of these practices and themes decades later,
reconfiguring the work of their predecessors into performative displays
of ritual through film and gallery installations.
Challenging conceptions of “insider” and “outsider” art, the
artists in the exhibition frequently create work using everyday objects
that resonate both within the confines of a gallery or museum and among
their own localized audiences who may or may not visit art
institutions. Situating their work in a vernacular aesthetic, the
meaning of the work fluctuates according to its context. Items such as
light bulbs, wine bottles, artificial flowers, piano keys are
repositioned in assemblages confronting themes of exploitation,
genocide, and poverty. The 53 pieces of discarded waste paper
comprising Jimmy Durham’s A Street-level Treatise on Money and Work are
brought to the center of a dialogue on the destruction of native
cultures and Dario Robleto
addresses American notions of manifest destiny in Deep Down I Don’t
Believe in Hymns by taking a military-issued blanket and “infesting” it
with hand-ground dust made from vinyl recordings of Neil Young’s
“Cortez the Killer” and Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.”
-------------------------------- sound like my kinda hit, sound like something the old hoodoo shaman
well,, wasnt i busy yesterday: today just some quickies:
bart cop arrested: comments on article sobering, lot of angry white guys out there - i got to assume this killing was accidental but i hope he does some time for negligent homicide or whatever its called
at least we can dispense with the riots bit, they do raise the profile but you cant help but think riots cost more than they worth
bush gitmo overseer susan crawford calls gitmo interrogation torture - she got more balls than all these journalists talking about 'harsh interrogations"
political and racial bais at justice dept: recent report says justice official hired only rightwingers and fired folk for being 'affirmative actions hires" or 'using ebonics"
but justice declined to prosecute him for illegalities or lying under oath to congress about it - i dont suppose this is news to you
one wonders will holder sweep house or will obama let them stay - heard he had a dinner w/a bunch of conservative columnists yesterday - boy bipartisan to a fault aint he - i understand the strategy here but some bush policies will need correction, a politicized justice dept is one of them
okay rick, what else, gon have to close down shop soon, been novel working again, back at the schoolhouse and desperate again i guess, ima try to clock hours every morning like a good writer should, before schoolhouse crunch takes it all
strategy of moment is to work the manuscript digitally so i will have a good manuscript to redpen on flight to india, and trekking around to all these cities they sending me to - problem with that strat is that you get someplace special like that and you spend all your time experiencing instead of writing - we shall see
if i wrote on lamu, the most alien place ive ever been, i can write anywhere (except maybe memphis)
one more and im gone:
was reading about recent stoning in iran, 3 men for adultery (as in being an adult?) but one escaped - apparently if you can dig out you are shall we say acquitted - what caught my attention is that men are buried to the waist, women to the neck - ima let that speak for itself but it strike me as cold blooded - thats like a double sin in the book of rickydoc
quick point on prophecy and i will go: cause these topicals they dont really interest me, its the more esoteric speculations that really move me - i figure i give you what you want, i can do a little of what i want:
in indigenous kenyan traditions the difference between a diviner and a diviner prophet is that the diviner just does personal readings/advisements for clients while the diviner/prophet also does public readings/advisements for the whole tribe
i say this in light of my effort to position myself as the high hoodoo in african american culture wouldbe prophet of the hoodoo way
i always stipulate wouldbe because i realize this is a big claim to make and i will let the generations make the judgment on how well i did it
not even sure i know what i mean when i call myself the high hoodoo im kinda figuring it out as i go along
rest for the weary will tell the tale
and on that note im gone
all my love
rdoc
TUESDAY
kinda jammed about getting to india, visa problem, hope its resolved in time
papua new guinea instituting new laws against witch burning after rash of them lately, 50 in last year or so - these the ones been reported
witchery and witch burning in developing countries is often an adhoc form of social control, self regulation of the community
too often used badly as expressions of social jealousy - people different or envied victimized by mobs/community
probably why i more often refer to myself as shaman than witchdoctor
though when i was called mganga mua in kenya - witchdoctor flowers i was told - i eagerly embraced the title
these are countries in which magic is still considered true force
and often blamed for unusual calamities and social ills
interesting how belief in magic can cripple social cohesion
whereas magic is at its best an instrument of communal harmony and enhancement of the human condition
sometimes its hard to maintain my belief in magical power - when you walk the magical paths its easy to get lost - next thing you know instead of you got the demon the demon got you
my distinction of my magic interest as high magic is an attempt to avoid the foolishness that so often accompanies a belief in magical efficacy
the magic i practice is very much connected to my literary practice, i define magic as making real into the world that which was not, exerting influence on human destiny, on the nature of reality
this the magic i want to put at the center of the hoodoo way
i call it high magic to distinguish it from the folk magic that so define conventional hoodoo, which interest me not at all, i do hoodoo magic to keep my chops in, to keep my standing in the hoodoo community
and because it helps me help the occasional client in need of spiritual ease, above all else ima soul doctor
right now ima anomaly in the hoodoo world, im one of a kind, but if i play my prophetic cards right i will be the model of the hoodoo future
the high hoodoo
my type of magic is ultimately tied to my identity as literary artist, to my Works, to the creative process - so what then makes it magic instead of just art, much the same process
consciousness i guess - so what cause me to be a magical artist instead of just an artist, apparently its some sort of afrospiritual retention, in the old days i would have been a straight up sorceror
in the spiritworld, the hoodoo world, i am rickydoc trickmaster, wouldbe prophet of the hoodoo way my contemporary manifestation in the realworld is as a mystically inclined literary artist
okay this is getting twisty, i got to move on
im not going to do that 2009 report,just dont have the time to get it right
o hell, how many times am i going to apologize for not doing that,
let me see if i can knock off a quickie maybe refine it over next couple of days
this is a manifestation of my definition of myself as the worlds shaman, or
witchdoctor as the case may be:
top 5 issues of 2008
1) election of barack obama and defeat of repub agenda 2) collapse of american/global economy 3) rise of fundamentalism (western & islamic) 4) health education & welfare of all peoples 5)
top 5 global issues of 2009
1) election of barack obama and defeat of repubs 2) restructuring global economy 3) health, education & welfare of all peoples 4) managing global interconnectedness 5) environmental
top 5 pan african issues 2009
1) election of barack obama and defeat of repubs 2) leveraging global economy 3) health educ and welfare of pan african populations 4) conflict resolution: 5) positioning & empowerment
top 5 african american issues 2009
1) finessing election of barack obama and defeat of the repubs 2) finessing collapsed economy so it doesnt fall on blackfolk 3) health, education & welfare of blackfolk 4) empowerment & positioning in evolving american mulitcultural reality 5) positioning as global players
top 5 amercian issues 2009
1) election of barack obama and defeat of repubs 2) jumpstarting global economy 3) repairing damage of bush years 4) delegitimizing radical islam 5) health, education & welfare
top 5 literary issues 2009 (this one will be tricky)
1) leveraging economys effect on publishing (survival guide; writers, publishers, literary institutions) 2) determine 5 masterworks of 2008: (what constitutes a masterwork?) 3) literary vision of society (how does this calibrate, evolve, function, what role am i saying its playing) 4) evolution of literary infrastructures (developing and shaping literary support systems) 5) finishing rest for the weary (okay okay, i thought that was kinda cute myself)
okay, ive set up the basic structure of it, will refine it over week, what i should really do now is
break those categories down into specifics but i just dont have the time, just dont have it
this could have been a passage in rest for the weary the time i spent on this, this post
started as a comment on witch burning in papua new guinea and got carried away
but the ideas and narrative techs i work out here in the arena find their way into rest so i guess its okay
i gotta go, i been feeling all aggreived cause life been treating me harshly lately
but jeffs maleria puts it all in perspective, if its not your health its nothing
sidegame, do the best you can, keep on pushing
you know this idea lately of myself as the worlds shaman, this is new, im just now realizing im making this claim lately and its like jesus flowers you aint pulled off being the african american tribal shaman yet now you talking about the world, but i can see it as part of me the nationalist striving for universalism, to be a universal force, but it do strike me a bit presumptious i must say
ohwell, now that im claiming it i got to start feeling it, see where it takes me
the old days my magical experiments/speculations i used to keep them to myself but now im keeping this public record of magical headplay and i find its not called an
occult science for naught
did a little novelwork yesterday, felt good, felt real good
all my love
rdoc
MONDAY
starting to get excited about this india thing, jaipur literature festival - apparently us gov sponsoring me and asked me if i would do a goodwill literary tour while i was there,
my 1st time in india and they asking me if they can take me here there everywhere with what i assume to be nice accommodations and pay me too - i believe i can work with that
couldnt stay as long as they wanted, would have missed too many classes - as is it will complicate my semester but what could i say, it was an offer i couldnt refuse
this will be a rough semester anyway, a search, the application process, two grad thesis (books), 4 undergrad honors thesis and a forms course with a lot of reading, i will be crunching this one
but it doesnt look like we will be doing palf this year, that means i get my summer woodshed - so thats a good thing, specially since i didnt get any work done for dec woodshed
also doing a performance with terry adkins saturday, some sort of neo hoodoo thing reprising my bessie smith bit, thats gon be sweet, 1st time we did that i had to read the presentation, which for an old
performance artist like myself is strictly amateur, this time it will be primetime - just looked it up, , neohooo, art for a forgotten faith, p.s.1 contemporary art center 22-25 jackson ave, long island city, nyc - various artists interperting contemporary hoodoo, look like my kinda exhibit actually
and of course i will keep a running commentary on what goes down in india - life is good and will still do some truncated 2009 reading, i promise, soon as i get a discretionary moment
hello world, you may have noticed that the old hoodooman been staying away
from the war in gaza, just doenst pay to get involved, say anything real about all that
and nobody appreciates it, nobody - combatants of mythic passion locked in a terminal death spiral with no way out
i can understand frustration on both sides, im not going to get into the nuances of right and wrong
or even good bad, works dont works
it just doesnt pay, above my paygrade, ima let obama handle it - this i will say
israel is not going to back down and neither is hamas, not until the suffering of the palestinians
forces the player with the least will to fight to crumble, that would be egypt
egypt will not be able to maintain its blockade of the palestinians in isreals name
just not going to be able to do it
i can understand why they dont want to open the border, it make them the frontline in an ugly intractable war in support of an unreliable actor/enemy - hamas
egypt say o hell no - but by helping the israelis bottle up hamas/gazans they the frontline anyway
every dead palestinian will be laid at their door
the arab street will crucify them for bottling up terrified gaza civilians trying to flee a war so israel can maul them, starve them, deny them, o it will not fly, i feel for them all - gazans israelis egyptians too, it just will not fly
corny though it be i feel for all the folk caught up in these tacky wars around the world, it will not fly, rickydoc will not have it
well if that aint a empty promise, why o god am i wasting my time with words that have no power
what kinda hoodoo is that
at this point in the game, only chance i got at true influence, real destinywork, is finish that novel, finish my holybook - anything else is sidegame, fun maybe but sidegame
these words im writing now, aint nothing but sidegame, but ive learned to trust my literary instincts, my creative obsessions, surely anything generate words is good
must be words of power, else the power wouldnt make me do it
likely scenario: world opinion and pictures like the one above force isreal to back down before it achieves its goal
ie unsustainable status quo and a newly riled up middle east - i have some suggestions
but ima keep them to myself, when it comes to the middle east honesty and nuance just dont pay
ima see what obama do - i wish them all all the luck in the world, a little vision
and perserverance too
all my love
rdoc
SATURDAY
i like youtube posts, its a cheap low effort post, entertaining and sometime enlightening and i like the multimedia approach, this one kinda questionable though, what can i say
im claim this one viable on a personal: slide me some slack okay:
okay i need to do my own 2009 hoodoo report, an assessment of what happened last year and a reading for the next, maybe a turncated one cause who got the time
but even truncated will require a lot of work, that then get cut to the bone
lord knows i dont feel like it but its the only thing i think worth my time right now
maybe next weeks post
all my love
rdoc
FRIDAY STILL
got a little treat for you here from the global shaman: neworleans street musicians w/a little backup
one thing has become pretty clear, he gon play it the way he play it and dont much care what i got to say, i kinda admire that, provisionally
looking forward to my global narrative class
makes me feel like the worlds shaman to be studying the global soul like that
im probably going to do a truncated reading of 2009 issues, where i think the significant issues of the year are, rickydocs 2009 hoodoo report, or whatever it is i call them, maybe next post, right now i got to clock some pages, 1st time since i believe dec 20th, whew, just thinking about not having worked that long takes my breath away
a couple of quickies and im out of here:
alamaba sheriff jailed until agrees to feed inmates: alabama law allows a sheriff to pocket whatever of $1.75 a day food budget per prisoner is not used; sheriff made a couple hundred thou over the last 3 years by starving his prisoners, judge sent him to jail, said it was an invitation to steal
senegal sent 9 homosexuals to jail for 8 years, senegal considered one of more tolerant african countries, 9 arrested at meeting of aids activists - that was cold
attorney general designate holder being jacked up for his role in FALN pardons
i know i know, i like to keep it tight, perhaps that was too tight but its 4:32 am and i got to clock some pages before the day gets away from me
i refuse to look at my numbers, i suspect i lost regulators last month takes a long time to build numbers, doesnt take long to lose them
shout out to buffalo soldier:thanks for holding down the fort
im gone
rdoc
THURSDAY
looks like burris is in, still it was a sleezy move and playing the race card on it embarrass me i find it embarrassing to be so blatantly used - obviously he does not
and the special election is out of the question, sneaky republicans making hay
im not into protest politic period, the frustration of losers is all they are
as strategies go, riots are played out and counterproductive but i do understand the anger behind that shooting in oakland, 4 police pull young brother off train
seem astounded at this one, that other video you can see them jump back in surprise but riots, thats deep, i do understand the frustration on this one, it seemed so callous
sometimes riots raise the temperature to point where they cant sweep it under the rug i generally frown on riots but killer cops can frustrate you, they rarely do time for it
video is not very clear, there is a better video here you can actually see the cops jumping back in surprise
cops say video doesnt tell whole story, what pray tell would that story be
the real beef is it it wasnt for the video (who you gon believe, me or your lying eyes) he woulda got away clean they always do - its enuf to make a tired old man like me want to riot somewhere
been a longtime since i felt like capping a pig
THUR 2009: SOME WEEKS LATER, BACK IN THE CUSE
hello world, i believe im out of that funk back in the cuse, didnt do no work last 2 weeks
im kinda astounded about that, took care of plenty family business so that was cool
my boy jeff allen is in the hospital, virulent case of maleria and other stuff probably not doing too hot, some organ failure, other issues, got me concerned
columbia presb uptown newyork, welcome to send blessings ima run on down there and see him tomorrow or day after
gotta run, playing catch up, will do a real post later today
hope the newyear is being good to you so far
all my love
rdoc
SATURDAY (STILL IN THE DELTA)
let me see if i can get into a better headset than i been, been a little under the gun
family wear you out, and not working worth a damn so i got a little blues down on me
then i went online this morning and i see the world stressed out too
the middleeast has gotten hot on me, sorry about that obama, add that to your list of miracles
i was reading where north and south sudan tense and some city died recently because of it
got to assume the congro still hot, feel like i need to pull back into my shell
be different if i thought i could make a difference, im gone
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