Tag: dharmazine

Jan 07 2008

See, Here’s the Thing

I have no answers here, so if you are looking for answers, this is not a good essay to read.

See, here’s the thing.  We have a Presidential election campaign going on.  It’s probably a good thing to pay attention to what’s happening there, yep.  After all, one of these folks is going to gain an enormous amount of power in November of 2008.

No question, attention should be paid.

But see, here’s the thing.  I’ve written reams about how not impeaching Bush and Cheney and their gang of criminals will have real consequences.  And I believe we are facing one of those many consequences.

As I am writing this, Bush, Cheney and their gang are breaking the law.  Nor will they stop breaking the law.  We all know this, it’s no secret.

Jan 06 2008

Best American Essays

If there were one thing I could get everyone to buy, it would be the annual Best American Essays anthology put out by Houghton Mifflin Company.  I’ve been getting them every year since 1992, and they have some of the best writing in the genre of the personal essay you will ever read.

Some of these clips are funny, some serious.  These are essays that, once read, I have never forgotten.

Jan 01 2008

2007 A Year of Advancements and Dissapointments

Politically we have seen our Representatives FINALLY start doing what they were hired to do,

unlike the previous Congress, Investigate and hold Hearings, way too numorous to list all.

We have some seeking to find the answers to all the wrongs committed by an administration

shown time and again to be Incompetant and Corrupt! And we have many, who once controlled,

playing the Obstructionists on every issue raised.

These Obstructionists were extremely lax in

their roles as the peoples representatives when they did hold that control, and will continue to be so,

we would have already seen a change in their ideology, whatever the hell that is!

One Extremely Important Issue that stood out, of the previous Congress, and the Media didn’t even question,

as they were beating the War Drums, and using three words ‘Support The Troops’ to marginalize

anyone questioning the Policies of the Administration, was ‘What About The Troops?’.

Dec 31 2007

We’ll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet . . .

Too many New Year’s Eves will come and go before humanity drinks from that Cup of Kindness Robert Burns spoke of in his classic poem, “Auld Lang Syne”.  Tragically, that moment may never come to pass, but if it does someday, it will be because people in this troubled world finally listened to poets, writers, singers and songwriters, and heeded the words of truth and wisdom they’ve been offering ever since the first warrior of the first king died for nothing on the first battlefield.        

In Artists of Resistance, Howard Zinn emphasizes the social and political importance of modern poets and painters, singers, songwriters, novelists and playwrights, for they can speak to the world with an artistic eloquence that transcends standard political discourse.  Their ability to communicate universal truths on a deeply personal level through compelling poetry, prose and music is not only inspiring, it insulates them against reactionary assault as they defend the oppressed and condemn their oppressors.

As our world descends into chaos, artists are struggling to reclaim the influence they once had on society, but their voices can rarely be heard above the din of distracting noise blaring day and night from several billion tv’s, radios, CD players, iPods, computer games, cell phones, and other electronic wonders purchased with such compulsion and “paid for” with plastic.  Artists will always strive to be the conscience of the human race, but hundreds of millions of human beings corporate propaganda targets have been psychologically conditioned with such pervasive intensity by Madison Avenue marketers that reactionary economic and political elites from Washington to Beijing no longer have to oppress them, they’re oppressing themselves.  

Eddie Vedder has some thoughts to share with us regarding this dehumanizing self-oppression that’s been spreading like a viral infection through the bloodstream of humanity . . .  

Dec 29 2007

Abuse, a poem

there are no thoughts before my dull burning thud of a brain went all dull burning and thud-like thud-like thud-like*

a street artist places a headless man in such a way as to appear that his head was enveloped by the concrete of an office building in Philadelphia

that mannequin knows what I’m talking about

that mannequin he understands

was it the fifth concussion

or the fifteenth

was it a brother pleading for revenge before parent returned home

or was it a mother saying kick him in the head and not the legs

he has to race later today you know

or an older mother saying

well i wanted a hug but just look at him —–>me

was it the 10th crack of my dad’s school ring on my skull

or the 40th

when did I go dim

I never realized I was disabled

but god i must be

looking back

at the attacks

on the smallest human in the house

my time to pack came at 15

I never looked back

but stepped into footprints

too tiny to fill

and a keg or two in order to do my own damage to my own brain

for once

how many times was I left in the rain

how many times did i cry

what is the name of this American game

oh that’s right…Abuse.

*hat tip to Capt. Beefheart in all his glory

Dec 26 2007

Three Years Ago Today

Cross-posted from THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

Three years ago today, in what scientists refer to as the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, the resultant tsunami caused more than 225,000 deaths in eleven countries along the shores of the Indian Ocean.

The 2004 tsunami has since been estimated as the ninth worst natural disaster in modern history, which deserves (at least) 225,000 moments of silence and reflection.  

For the people of Java, Indonesia, however, which has again been hit by rising waters, the monsoon rains that have impacted their region on the tsunami’s third anniversary don’t leave time for reflection as they run from landslides that are forcing thousands from their homes:

At least 80 people have been killed or are reported missing after floods triggered landslides in the central Java region of Indonesia.  Local officials say they fear the death toll could rise. Thousands have been forced to seek shelter after their homes were buried or washed away.  Landslides and floods are regular in Indonesia and many blame deforestation.

More below the jump…

Dec 20 2007

E.P.A. Denies California’s Emissions Waiver

Cross-posted from THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

(I’m having trouble figuring out if this latest Bush Administration move is cynical or arrogant or both…)

Just after the Bush Administration signed an auto fuel efficiency bill, they denied a request for a waiver by California to tighten their own emission standards.

The Bush administration said Wednesday night that it would deny California’s bid to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal law required as part of the state’s efforts to fight climate change.

The E.P.A’s decision was a victory for the American auto companies, and came just hours after President Bush signed legislation that will raise fuel economy standards by 40 percent to 35 miles a gallon in 2020.

More below the jump…

Dec 19 2007

Making the connections: Homelessness, vets and the Iraq war

This Friday is a day designated to remember the homeless, as well as a day to take some action to stop the war in Iraq.

And, yes, they are related. As the environmentalists remind us, everything is connected.

We are creating future homeless veterans every day in Iraq.

It’s got to stop.  And we’ve got to stop it.

Dec 18 2007

DocuD Stats and Related Info

The SoapBlox software is doing a wonderful job of getting us to the top of google search results.  But that wouldn’t be possible without the community members, you, doing such a good job at researching and presenting your information.  We have students and teachers looking for background information on everything from Greek Goddesses to Steroids.  We have political types tracking important developments in Washington, we have advertisers researching our domain to see how many links are on google and then returning to place ads (as witnessed by our two new ads today).  We have new visitors from all over the world clicking on your response essays to the top News Publishers.

Your diary didn’t get many responses?  Well, just consider that your diary is not only being published on the web site, it is also being sent out to newsreaders, myYahoo pages, Google Home Pages, etc.  So even if people aren’t logging in to DocuD they could still very well be reading your stories.  In time more and more of them will make there way here to find you.

Stats and stuff below the fold:    

Dec 15 2007

DharmaZine

I think I figured out the problems on the DharmaZine Demo.  Please do me a favor and visit the page and let me know if it is loading properly for you.

You should see:

Left Panel –

Top Graphic

Latest News

Free Content

Recommended Essays (with 10 headlines showing)

Pony Parties (with 7 headlines showing)

Women’s Issues From Congress.org (with 5 headlines)

Link to Congress.org

Right Panel:

3 Latest* Front Page Stories from Docudharma

Please tell me what browser you are using, if the page loads correctly and any additional links or information you’d like to see.  And please don’t recommend this diary as there are a lot of good ones up right now.

Thanks!

* There is a small delay from the time stories are published to the time they are indexed, this is natural and happens with all feeds.

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