Flash of Light

The long stair climb
left me breathless
but still able
to gasp
at you
standing gracefully.
Strong.
Balanced.
Smiling.

Straight into my eyes
Connecting
our darkness
in a flash of light

Fears go deep.
I hear the rats chattering
among themselves.
But caring goes deeper than fear.
Touch can reach
that far,
once the first flash of connection pulses.

4-30-07

TV Shows for Politicians

American Idol

I’ve never watched this show, but I read somewhere that more Americans watch/vote for contestants on this show than vote in the Presidential election. So my idea would be to have all the candidates appear on American Idol. (Let's call it American Political Idol). Then a panel of celebrities would make nasty comments (Sean Penn, John Stewart, for example), while the folks at home could use the internet to vote for their favorites. After weeks of sifting and winnowing, the President would finally be selected. Let’s bring the People back into Democracy!

I’m thinking of what the different candidates might sing:

Hillary Clinton: “Stand By Your Man (especially if it helps your political career)”

John McCain: Mama Tried……..“I turned 21 in prison, doin’ life without parole…..”

Barack Obama: “I Walk the Lline”

Tommy Thompson: “What Made Milwaukee Famous (has made a fool out of me)”

Dennis Kucenich: “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow”


Imagine that. No attack ads. Just pure, holsum, family entertainment. And remember folks, the winner gets a recording contract good for four years! How cool is that?
Any more suggestions?

History: Does it really repeat? Take this quiz and FIND OUT!

Who said the following after invading Iraq:

‘The people of England have been led in Iraq into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete. Things have been far worse than we have been told, our administration more bloody and inefficient than the public knows…….We are today not far from disaster”

Was it:

Tony Blair?

George “W” Bush?

Lawrence of Arabia?

Winston Churchill?

Margaret Thatcher?


If you chose Lawrence of Arabia, you are absolutely correct!!! Ding! Ding! Ding!

He was referring to the British invasion/occupation of Iraq (then called Mesopotamia) in 1920. History repeats. I read this in Robert Fisk’s excellent book: “The Great War for Civilization—The Conquest of the Middle East". Fantastic information. I’m learning an incredible amount as I work my way through the 1,000 pages.

The Bloody Sock '"Controversy"

Ardent baseball fans remember how star Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, had the tendons in his ankle surgically bundled together so he could go out and pitch against the Evil Empire (aka the New York Yankees) during the 2004 playoffs. He pitched a superb game, with many close-ups of the bloody sock, where blood had apparently seeped from the surgical site. What a dramatic story! What a gutsy performance! Now, a controversy is raging in the baseball world over whether it was really blood or maybe……..paint? Here’s an update from the New York Times:

“Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling offered $1 million to anyone who could prove it was not blood that blotted his sock in the 2004 playoffs, and he criticized members of the news media in a blog on his Web site yesterday. The controversy over what stained Schilling’s sock was reignited this week when Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne said that Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli had told him it was paint, not blood, and that it was done for a publicity stunt. Mirabelli called that a lie and Thorne said Thursday that he had misreported what Mirabelli said. Schilling, who had a surgical procedure on his ankle that allowed him to pitch in the Series, blasted Thorne and the news media in general yesterday in his first public statement since Thorne’s on-air comments.”

Schilling has made it public that he is a Republican and Bush supporter. Could the bloody sock controversy be the beginning of Schilling’s dark horse candidacy in the 2008 presidential elections? John McCain never pitched with a bloody sock! How will the Democrats respond to this “publicity stunt”? Perhaps a Congressional subpoena? Not wanting to be outdone, they may try to find a Democratic baseball player to counter this insidious Republican ploy!

From Where Do I Get My Hope?

"From where do I get my hope? From the people of this place, and those Israeli/Palestinian peace activists who believe passionately that given justice and equality for all its citizens, peace and human security is possible in this holy land. I take hope, too, from the courage of the young Israeli reservists who, following their conscience, have refused military duty in the territories. ... I have watched, too, those in the resistance movements who believe justice will only come through violence, and in their frustration, pain, and anger have turned to armed resistance, suicide bombs. Suicide bombs tragically take the life of those who use them, and have taken the lives of many Israeli people, and others, and such actions can never be justified. I would therefore like to appeal to those who use such violence, (including those who use the threat of violence by calling for the destruction of Israel) to abandon these immoral and illegal methods, and use nonviolent language and means of working for justice and freedom."

- Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as co-founder of the Community of Peace People in Northern Ireland, speaking to a nonviolence conference in the West Bank. Later that same day, during a nonviolent protest against Israel's separation barrier, she was shot in the leg with a rubber-coated steel bullet by Israeli soldiers. (Source: God's Politics blog)

Is it Ok for Quakers to Boo?

I was watching the Cubs play baseball the other night, as I often do. I’ve watched the Cubs for over 40 years. There have been ups. There have been downs. Mostly downs. But I never booed “my team”. The other team? Yes! The umpires? Sometimes. But my team? Never. No matter how inept they play (which is most of the time!) I just don’t boo them. So back to the other night. I was watching as the Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out. Incredibly, they were unable to score even one measly run. Now, I’ve seen this before with the Cubs. I groaned. But people at the ballpark booed. Loudly. It bothered me a lot. It seemed unfaithful. It seemed……unquakerly.

So I started wondering: is it ok for Quakers to boo? Because if we believe that “there is that of God in everyone”, aren’t we booing God? Is this at all acceptable? So, if there’s a natural disaster, for example, are we all supposed to go out and boo God?

Then I thought when IS it ok to boo? Well, today I’d like to boo the people in our Congress for some of their decisions and non-decisions. I mean an advisory bill on the Iraq war is like not running out a routine grounder to second. It’s lame. Perhaps we should boo.

So then I imagined that Congress could be moved out of the Capitol and re-located in a baseball stadium. When a member of Congress had to make a speech about a particular bill, he or she would have to come to home plate, and say what they had to say, in front of 50, 000 people! Then people could boo or cheer, depending on their political leanings. Then these folks in Congress would get the message. Maybe. All their votes would be displayed on the huge electronic scoreboard in center field. When a congressperson came up “to bat”, an enormous photo of them would appear on the same scoreboard, showing their past voting records, any interesting scandals, any “conflicts of interest”, etc.

But why stop there? Let’s move the Supreme Court sessions into a ballpark. Clarence Thomas might get booed a lot.

Or we could move those Presidential Press conferences, along with the Rose Garden, into a baseball stadium. How many people would like to boo Mr Bush? Well, a lot, I suppose.

So, IS it ok for Quakers to boo? My feeling is: sometimes! What do YOU think?

The Election Starts..............Now!!!!!

Is it just me, or are we hearing more this presidential "election cycle" about how much MONEY the candidates are raising, rather than their views on the issues? It seems that the amount of money raised is used as an early poll about who's hot and who's not. But nothing about what these folks stand for, really. Lots of talk about Clinton and Obama, how much money they've raised. Not much or any talk about their actual voting records say, on the Iraq war? Has it come down to this that money is the sole indicator of "electability"?

I'm not sure of answers. We don't need another arrogant fool like Nader bringing us another Bush (an even more arrogant and dangerous fool). But who is real and who isn't? And can you be real (ie, a flawed human being) and run for "high office" anyway? Or is it just about the money? Or am I just becoming yet another bitter cynic? (well, I hope not!)