Does the Saturday, September 24, 2005 antiwar protest demonstrate that a majority of Americans now recognize the Iraq war as a mistake?

While polls show that a majority of us do believe that Mr. Bush has mishandled the war in Iraq, it would be foolish to believe that most of us are also able to admit that the invasion of Iraq was a blunder. It was encouraging to see that perhaps as many as 300,000 people marched past the White House while Mr. Bush was away trying to demonstrate that he is able to be physically and mentally present when natural disasters threaten American cities. However, I fear that most of us have little idea of what alternate course the ship of state should be taking instead of war in Iraq motivated solely (as it turns out) by oil dependence and personal vendetta on the part of Mr. Bush and the oil oligarchy.

It is my humble opinion that the Democratic Party must find a new dynamic leader. One who is already present on the national stage, or who is about to step onto that stage, a leader who is capable of clearly and powerfully articulating such an alternate course. It is also my humble opinion that such an alternate course must include the following.

*

1. An actual plan for removing our troops from Iraq.
2. A program that prioritizes the rapid development and deployment of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power with the ultimate goal to free us from oil dependency.
3. A program to reconstruct outmoded transportation infrastructure both air and high speed rail in the USA.
4. Once the high speed rail and air transport (that is not begging the government to rescue it) are in place, Americans need to be given incentives to use these modes of transportation instead of their gas guzzling automobiles.
5. Incentives must be applied to the automobile industry to make fuel-efficient highbred cars that can take advantage of stored electric power obtained from wind and solar installations.
6. Incentives that will encourage Americans to save more of their money.
7. Incentives for commercial enterprise to employ within the nation instead of outsourcing employment to other nations.
8. Moral leadership based on a concern for all members of our society, as opposed to divisive political and religious posturing that scapegoats and/ or ignores particular segments of our population according to socio/economic class, religion, race, ethnicity, sex, or sexuality.

Such a leader must also posses the rare quality of being an honest, straight shooter. He / she must be able to “tell it like it is.” At the same time he / she must be diplomatic. These two qualities can and often do coexist in the very best people. There are those of us who are able to speak honestly without hurting other’s feelings. (Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.) Such a person might be our next president.

*”edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/cardboard/boa…” Google Images. Friday, September 30, 2005 at 7:08 AM. EDT.

Jim's Health

I am pleased to report that my friend seems to be getting stronger by the day. Even he acknowledges that he is able to do more with his left arm. He is raising it almost to sholder height, and he can move the fingers in his left hand. He even held an empty coffee dup yesterday. He didn't use the handle - still -it was a first, and he almost did a dance.

Katrina Relief

Don’t forget to donate money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Friends are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.

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*
Every woman, gay man, lesbian woman, bi man and/or woman and transsexual should be screaming bloody murder. Ah well. I have an elderly gay male friend who voted for Mr. Bush and actually thinks all of us who have a sexual orientation other than heterosexual are going to hell, and he includes himself in that group destined for the eternal fiery furnace. Go figure!

Delay is Delayed

It’s about time the crook was removed. Perhaps Americans will begin to worry about those to whom they have handed the keys to their nation. Perhaps not. I don’t place much faith in the electorate these days.


* “LGBT” www.brunelstudents.com, viewed Thursday, September 28, 2005 at 10:10 AM EDT.


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I went to our Borders Book Store at Park City (the local monster mall) yesterday. While browsing through the photography section I came across Saints and Sinners a book of photographic works by Anthony Gayton.* Yes, that's his real name!

You can find Mr. Gayton’s work on line at Anthony Gayton, Photographer. I so enjoyed the idealized narratives and images that he processes through his unique vision of particular locations in time and space. I suppose that if I were discussing Mr. Gayton’s work from a pre postmodern position, I might say that he creates his work using an understanding and pastiche of the zeitgeist as it was in the 1950’s, 70’s and 80’s. Gayton has taken many years to develop his theme/s to a high pitch of perfection, and I’m envious because he can afford financially (after those years of hard work) to have the studio and the models to create such luscious images. It’s enough to make me want to stop creating my own, poor images, which you can view at “Isaac’s Artworks,” linked on my sidebar. Gayton’s book is worth the purchase just to read the section titled “Original Sinner.” There he mythologizes the obtainment of the detached position that allows him to create these juicy narrative images and individual photographs of men.

Yum!

∑ Gayton, Anthony, Saints and Sinners. Kempen: teNeues Verlag Gambh and Co., 2005.


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*

I accidentally (subconsciously perhaps) brought the August issue of National Geographic Magazine home from my doctor’s office a couple of days ago. There’s an article in the magazine titled “Future Power: Where will the world get its next energy fix?”* It’s about the use of alternative and renewable energy sources (wind and solar energy) to replace most or all consumption of oil. Of course, we know that the Oil Oligarchy and Mr. Bush would rather tear up the Alaskan wilderness in a mad search for more oil rather than begin a strong national program to push toward a massive use of renewable energy sources. In fact, the editor of the magazine makes a carefully phrased reference to the war in Iraq as being fought by a consortium of nations, and caused by our gluttonous consumption of energy. Ah well, I didn’t mean to start a political rant. Instead I am most interested in talking about what can be done to reduce our oil dependence. It seems that it will take the major part of the next three decades to reduce our consumption of oil by sixty percent. If we do so, we will need to cover twenty-five percent of our city rooftops and sidewalks with solar panels. We will also need to create vast wind turbine plantations. In the short term we must add more atomic energy plants to the power grid. We will also need more coal burning power plants to be used when the sun doesn’t shine. Interestingly there are studies being conducted that explore the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide emissions below ground.

There is much more to it than my streamlined discussion of the article here. However, a great president would be leading a national debate about and push toward alternative and renewable energy sources instead of fighting an expensive (both monetarily and in human lives) war in Iraq, a nation which did not have WMD, and which had absolutely nothing to do with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Ah well, that’s another diatribe and I’ll leave it for another day. My attention and concentration wander these days. Chalk it up to growing old. Be that as it may, can’t we as a nation force this foolish president and his administration to begin concentrating on the problem at hand (oil dependence) instead of participating in and regurgitating a barrage of limiting and divisive cultural wars?

Am I expecting too much of THE PEOPLE of this nation?

Check out the following Website – Planetary Systems.com.

∑ “Renewable Energy,” United Nations Environmental Program. http://www.uneptie.org/energy/act/re/. Image http://www.uneptie.org/energy/images/page/corn_windpower_NREL_sm.jpg. Viewed 11:44 AM EDT, Thursday, August 11, 2005.

I will dwell on alternate energy sources often in the near future.

Katrina Relief

Don’t forget to donate money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Friends are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.

And Now, Rita! However, Mr. Bush says there is no such thing as global warming. What is a hurricane but a mechanism for the distribution and diffusion of warmth from oceans and atmosphere? We've had eighteen Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes this year. Nine is normal.

* Parfit, Michael, “Future Power: Where will the world get its next energy fix?” National Geographic Magazine. (August 2005) 2 – 31.

I couldn’t help myself. I’ve created this Warhol-like image of Mr. Bush. He often seems angry and confused to me so I believe the image to be appropriate. I also wonder if the world outside of the USA sees our president as I do.

Katrina Relief

Don’t forget to donate money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Friends are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.


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With one day to go on Senate hearings it looks like it’s a done deal. One more nail in the Democratic Party’s coffin. The Neo-con plan to return us to the 19th century is right on course. Ah well, one can see - based on our non awareness of the needs of the poor in New Orleans before, during, and right after Katrina - that we don’t have far to go.

Don't Forget Victims of Katrina!

As stated in the last few entries, I have donated money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Quakers are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.

Rehab

I visited my friend Jim yesterday. If you recall, dear Journal, Jim had a stroke four weeks ago. He is in a rehabilitation center now and has physical therapy two times a day. He is making excellent progress, though he has poor fine-motor control on his left side. He is terribly frustrated with that as it makes performing the most ordinary daily tasks difficult. His neurologist says he expects Jim to have complete recovery. However, Jim is frightened because he thinks he will have another stroke. He is on an aspirin a day, and coumadin as a blood thinner to help prevent just such a reoccurrence.*

Plans for Florida Trip

I haven’t told Ruth, and I don’t plan doing so until the last minute. I’m leaving the third of October. I’ve made an appointment with a realtor in South Florida to look at condominiums. It’s sort of a step backwards. I don’t want to look at retirement communities. Allowing Ruth to put me here these past few years feels like a mistake. I have often felt so trapped in THE BIG NEEDLE. I may only be able to spend a few years on the outside before having to return to a retirement community or nursing home, or before I fall over dead, whichever comes first. However, if I must return to a retirement community, it will be a gay community. Remember my investigation of the Palms of Manasota near Sarasota last year. I can always go there. For now, I want to be in the warmest part of Florida, as far away from winter as I can get within the USA.


*1 “Warfarin (Coumadin). Florida State University, http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/pharmaceuticals/pages/warfarin.html. Modified March 3, 2004, 4:33 PM EST. Viewed Wednesday, September 14, 2005, 10:03 AM EDT.

*2 “Palms of Manisota.” http://www.palmsofmanasota.com/. © 2002-2005 Palms of Manisota, Inc. Viewed September 14, 2005, 10:10 AM EDT.



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It’s my birthday and I'm 86!

Every year the night before my birthday, Ruth has a dinner party for me at Orchard Hill Farm. We put away all our animosity on September 10 each year. Last night, as in the past, my sons Abe and Joe were there with their wives. My grandson, Zack was there - home from New York University - with his new girlfriend, Ellen - I think. I loose track. Zack will finish his Masters degree in Theater Arts this semester. My granddaughter, Rebecca, named after her grand mother, was there with her husband, Steven, and their children, Kayla and Steven Jr. I love Kay - I refuse to call her Kayla - but where did that name come from anyway? She is gay with the cutest giggle of any child in the world. Steven Jr. is quiet and introspective, too much so for a little boy of eleven years. Steven Jr. and Kay were with me four years ago on my birthday, and we watched the terrorist attack on television. Both their mother and grandmother wanted me to turn the TV off, but I refused. What’s worse, watching it live, or played back 200 times, or if totally protected, just hearing about it from friends and “others?” I’ve watched the vision of crashing cement, steel, glass, dust smoke, and fleeing terror stricken people at least ten times during the past week. It still sickens me. However, it bares watching in order to solidify our resolve to protect one another from international terrorism through education, equitable distribution of the world's wealth, and a crash program to create a world reliant on alternative energy sources, instead of oil.

Because it’s my birthday, and because that horrible world shaking event since tagged “9-11” took place on my 82nd birthday, I’m including the poem, “My Stand.” I’ve repeated it three times now on9/11/04, 9/1103 and 9/11/02 , but it can stand repetition, I think. It was sparked by a poem “The Stand” e-mailed to me by a friend. I have “The Stand” stashed somewhere, but can’t find it. I was incredibly angry when I read the poem, because, and I am paraphrasing, it said that anyone who was against the war in Iraq - and I still am - was not a patriot.

That war was, and is, a foolish adventure waged by a foolish president, who was not elected to be president at least the first time around, who has since been reelected by an equally foolish American people, all of whom have risked repeating history. I say that “We, the people” and our foolish president have risked repeating history because Vietnam, and the Spanish Armada should have given all of us great pause. The American people were fooled into going along with this misadventure, and for that, we must each take responsibility. We are all responsible, even those of us who did not agree, because we did not shout our opposition from the rooftops. Because of this misadventure, today the nation is poised on the brink of political and economic disaster. It was and still is politically incorrect to voice such ideas. So what! The war on Iraq was morally wrong. It stands in contrast to everything we say we believe in; God, peace, and freedom. We destroyed a nation and killed thousands of women and children in the process. Our own children are dying in Iraq.

God, and only God knows what the result of this travesty will be.

My Stand

Isaac Stolzfuts

I was born on September 11, 1919.
I was with my great grandchildren
On September 11th, 2001,
My eighty-second birthday.
We celebrated by playing together.
Drawing pictures, they told me what they saw,
The farm, our orchard, friends at school,
Their Mom and Dad.

Black space...

The TV’s white-noise-background
Suddenly stentorian to my mind
Though the anchor man’s voice
Even and measured announced
“APPARENT TERRORIST ATTACK...”
Pulled us away
And, no longer laughing at play,
We watched "live" as thousands died.
It felt as though we were there
Engulfed in that ebon cloud of dust,
The taste of death in our mouths.

Rebecca (named after her Grandma)
Cried, “That’s just a movie, Grandpa,
Right?” And Abe Junior said,
"Where are all the super heroes?
When we need-um!"
Well, the super heroes are in Iraq today,
Fighting for what they believe.
I pray for their safety even as
Mr. Bush claims to pray for peace.

I was born on September 11, 1919,
At the end of WW One and the flue epidemic.
A Surreal world of horror both then and in 2001
Flowers and fireworks opposed to cinders and soot.
A world in which the lost lives of Iraq's
Women and children are not counted.
A world in which stolen artifacts
Testament to the beginning of civilization
Are casualties to Imperialist ambition.
A world in which a 21st century crusade has begun.

I do not believe in this war.
I do not believe in the "New American Century."

I do believe in a United States that stands for peace and trust.
I do believe in a United States that leads the world by GOOD example.
I do believe in a United States that bequeaths to the world
A vision of democracy and freedom.

Each American in Iraq is a hero and a patriot.
Each American who states his or her opinion
Opposing this war is also a hero and a patriot.

Dissent is one of the freedoms we believe in!
Would you have 225 years of national endeavor destroyed?
Do not call me anti-American.
Do not tell me that I did not suffer on September 11.
Do not tell me that I am not a patriot.

I was born on September 11, 1919.
My life always circled around “Nine Eleven.”
I am a child of “Nine Eleven.”
By birthright I am “Nine Eleven.”
I am freedom.
And, like Whitman I am part of you
And all of you are a part of me.
I am American.
I don't believe in this war of American conquest, and
I am a 21st century American patriot!

Remember Them the Way They Used To Be

Saro & Luca Di Bartolo Photography

*

*Rodric M. Rabbah,"Lost But Never Forgotten". "http://web.mit.edu/rabbah/www/pictures/wtc/ny_3.jpg" viewed Sunday, September 11, 2005, 10:40 AM EDT. (09/17/05- Upon contacting Mr. Rabbah, he states that he obtained the images from various undocumented internet sources.)

Don't Forget Victims of Katrina!

As stated before, I am personally donating money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Quakers are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.


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Supreme Court Chess Conservative and Evangelical Politics in the Future Neo-con Supreme CourtWilliam H. Rehnquist is dead.He fought a valiant battleAgainst Death’s black head.Bush has nominatedRoberts to court’s head.Dark horse?Pundits say, “He’s a shoe in.”Ah, what the hell?Time only will tellWhether or notHis briefs will always lead from The conservative agenda,And evangelical addenda.Who’s next?To replace O’Connor now,What’s his or her name?All matters howIn this political game.Republicans here, thereAnd everywhere,Turning checksAnd balancesOn it’s head.Is freedom dead?For a gay or lesbian I fear the answerIs second-class citizen, In Neo-con paradiseTo be.AdditionallyRoe v. WadeWon’t pass the test.Because all life is sacred.If so, I sayNo man should expel seed.Since the male sexDoes the dirty deedAnd dooms thousands of Living sperm cellsWhether spawn of loveOr spawn of lust To an ignominious DEATH.Cloning is the only answer!Cloning only will save the race.From this great moral dilemma.Supreme Court in haste,Must proclaim the male human raceIts sexuality of all permutations illegalSince it invariably will leadTo the dirty deedA dump of seed.Women only shall be allowed to have sexIt shall be decreed,And women only with women shall have sex!Thus the new Neo-con court must ruleAnd create the cloning rule!

Conservative and Evangelical Politics in the Future Neo-con Supreme Court

William H. Rehnquist is dead.
He fought a valiant battle
Against Death’s black head.

Bush has nominated
Roberts to court’s head.
Dark horse?
Pundits say,
“He’s a shoe in.”
Ah, what the hell?
Time only will tell
Whether or not
His briefs will always lead from
The conservative agenda,
And evangelical addenda.


Who’s next?
To replace O’Connor now,
What’s his or her name?
All matters how
In this political game.
Republicans here, there
And everywhere,
Turning checks
And balances
On it’s head.
Is freedom dead?


For a gay or lesbian
I fear the answer
Is second-class citizen,
In Neo-con paradise
To be.

Additionally
Roe v. Wade
Won’t pass the test.
Because all life is sacred.


If so, I say
No man should expel seed.
Since the male sex
Does the dirty deed
And dooms thousands of
Living sperm cells
Whether spawn of love
Or spawn of lust
To an ignominious DEATH.

Cloning is the only answer!
Cloning only will save the race.
From this great moral dilemma.
Supreme Court in haste,
Must proclaim the male human race
Its sexuality of all permutations illegal
Since it invariably will lead
To the dirty deed
A dump of seed.

Women only shall be allowed to have sex
It shall be decreed,
And women only with women shall have sex!

Thus the new Neo-con court must rule
And create the cloning rule!

*
We have all watched national Television in horror as ten thousands of people were left stranded and starving on the Gulf Coast. We have all been amazed at the evil in the hearts of men, as we witnessed gun toting vandals take to the streets, and snipers shoot at rescue teams just days after Katrina had passed. Of course Mr. Bush was on vacation during August, and cut it short two days in order to get back to affairs of state such as his visit to New Orleans to assess the damage. Congress has met in an emergency session and voted ten and one half billion dollars in aid. Americans are donating money, time, and effort toward relief in unprecedented fashion. However, the question remains, what happened? Why wasn’t the United States prepared for this disaster?

It was predicted over and over again. I personally listened to a PBS broadcast during last year’s hurricane season in which a retired FEMA administrator, scientists, weather experts, and others discussed the worst case New Orleans scenario that we have watched unfold during the past week and one half. FEMA itself has concentrated on terrorism since September 11, 2001. Hurricane search and rescue operations are on the back burner, unless they are in some way related to an act or acts of terrorism. The nation and its president have focused attention on foreign invasions and war instead of problems here at home, including home brewed terrorism. I feel as though I’m beating a dead horse. Never the less, the nation and the American people seem to have their priorities misplaced. We are more interested in creating a second class of citizenship for women, and GLBT people than we are in protecting all of our citizens from the vicissitudes to which nature is disposed.

As stated before, I am personally donating money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Quakers are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.

* “Index of /government/govgraphics,” http://www.doce.lsu.edu/government/govgraphics/. Modified June 25, 1998, 2:00 PM. EDT. Visited Sunday, September 4, 2005, 9:48 AM EDT.


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**

The skyscrapers are standing but gutted. On television the French Quarter appears to be destroyed and under water. People are demonstrating the worst behavior imaginable, and flooding is getting worse. Hundreds are dead, and gas prices are going up and up. Perhaps this is a wakeup call, not just for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but the United States of America. Our behavior in Iraq and the Middle East is only symptomatic of our addiction to oil. The flow of oil can be disrupted right here at home. And, yes, we are addicted to “black gold.” We must work damn hard to achieve FREEDOM from our dependence on oil through alternative energy sources.

We need to fix New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We need to help the unfortunate folks whose homes have been flooded and strewn over the flood plain by Katrina to reconstruct their lives. We need to make sure that Gulf Coast cities are thoroughly protected by levies of adequate construction to prevent such a future disaster. Finally, we must cure the entire nation of our disastrous dependence on oil.

I am personally donating money to the American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. The Quakers are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of, and they will not proselytize while doing so.

** “Hurricanes,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: US Department of Commerce. http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/ . August 4, 2005, 5:30 PM EDT. Viewed Monday, August 29, 2005 AM. EDT.


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