December 2010 archive
Dec 01 2010
Open Bruce
Dec 01 2010
Lost Soldier
I know I said I’d never let you go. I didn’t. It was you that let me go, us go, you must know that.
I remember when we were rank and file, warriors on the ground, full of fire, hope, camaraderie. We recognized the profundity that sometimes it takes an Armageddon to truly win. We were John the Baptist, preparing the way, and The Postman planning the recovery. We breathed one anothers breath, beat of the same heart. I would nestle into your neck and tell you how I couldn’t stand one more moment without you inside me. We renewed eachother for the fight, love feeding honor, spirit feeding truth, vulnerability feeding resolve in the cool morning air in the tents.
Perhaps your star was too bright, because the lure of the officer’s club kept you out longer and longer each night. They tamed that star, with strategy sessions and ever new ways of manipulating the message until the real message was lost. Until your platoon itself became shades to you. Until I became an echo of something theoretical, unreal. The dream became life, and life became dream.
Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Dec 01 2010
On summarily executing Julian Assange and Dick Cheney
Conservatives want to summarily execute Julian Assange for leaking sensitive diplomatic documents that “expose American assets,” and yet that would mean we would have to execute Dick Cheney, as well, for leaking Valerie Plame’s identity. Is that really fair? Dick Cheney is already among the walking dead, whereas Julian Assange appears to have a pulse. Are their lives truly equivalent? Would taking each life have an equivalent force of law? Just a philosophical question, as we clearly have no laws to speak of in this country.
Dec 01 2010
Flying Candy in Paktia Province, Afghanistan
Operation Outreach Gardez volunteers toss candy to local children during a recent mission, October 24, 2010. The mission took place outside Forward Operating Base Lightning near a local Kuchi encampment, Gardez District, Paktia Province, Afghanistan. (Photo by U.S. Army Cpt. Kenneth Stewart, 17th Public Affairs Detachment)
Dec 01 2010
Muse in the Morning
Muse in the Morning |
Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.
In the moment of our creation we receive the stamp of our individuality; and much of life is spent in rubbing off or defacing the impression.
–Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare |
Ornamental 8 |
The following was written for a previous World AIDS Day.
Planet
|
Dec 01 2010
exmearden archives
exmearden (Kris Froland) was one of the original editors here (uid #15). A standout in an impressive group of writers buhdy invited to be part of Docudharma. So I decided to compile all of the essays she wrote here to preserve and distribute her work to friends, family and the blog community. It’s truly a blast from the past to revisit these posts.
Here is a link to all of the essays exmearden posted on our blog – comments included:
This will take you to Google Docs where you can download a PDF (6 MB) version to your computer. Look for the File menu and then select “Download Original”. Or read it there but it looks much better in Adobe.
Dec 01 2010
Interpol Most Wanted Julian Assange
Having forced Sweden and Interpol to issue arrest warrants, they are now calling him an ‘anarchist’.
If the US gets away with this they have proved that the rest of us are cowards.
Meanwhile Assange fired back:
In an online interview with Time magazine from an undisclosed location, Assange called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to resign because of the cables asking diplomats to gather intelligence. “She should resign, if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up,” he said.
Dec 01 2010
The real state of the economy
A few days ago Bonddad basically did a call-out diary to all skeptics on the economy. He called everyone who doubted the strength of the recovery a “Zombie Bear” (i.e. unthinking pessimist).
He then went on to unload nearly three dozen charts.
The one thing I could never accuse Bonddad of is an inability to read a chart. He’s got that down. My criticism of Bonddad has always been something else – he never asks “Why?”
Since Bonddad would count me as a skeptic, and since Bonddad felt it necessary to call me out, I feel obligated to respond in kind.
Dec 01 2010
Experiencing Reality
Most every spiritual system, be it institutionalized religion or various strains of spiritual practice that have survived the millennium in one form or another, all of them say something about the nature of reality itself.
The assumption being that we turn towards religion or spirituality because we have just finally said, “jesus, I just don’t know what’s going on any more and I’m not going to lie about it to myself any longer.” Yes, pun intended.
Anyhoo, as my ma used to say.